Shopsmith Forums

farley wrote:no, don't you guys know thicker is better

I was looking for a ID that would fit over the hubs. I thought it would be more secure than over the shaft which is beveled flat for the allen screw.

also I was looking for a woven type hose for more strength.

I guess that depends on the hose size vs the hub or the the shaft.

Alignment is going to be critical, farley. If the SPT is not properly aligned to the respective drive shaft the pressure felt by the misalignment will effect bearing life and will possibly generate more heat than normal.

Once well aligned, if all you do is slide the headstock back and forth to mate with the SPT, realignment should not be required.

When I suggested hose some time back (post #7) I meant using it over the hubs and I meant, and should have said, The flexible wire Gates or equal heater hose with the wire reinforcement inside. I bet it will hold up longer than a standard SS coupler. You should be able to buy it by the foot at your auto parts store. For 2 or 3" they might even give it to you.

Paul M

Hello all:

I agree that the easiest way out is a spider coupler. I think you could save some 4' on each side of the headstock by using these instead of the Shopsmith coupler, so that should save Farley's too-short mini. No need to make offset mounts or replace the too-short tubes.

I got Lovejoys from Enco, and they work well when I use them. However, as my garage floor is uneven and twists my Mark V's I have to be very careful with alignment of the hubs. I would bet that Shopsmith probably made their couplers long in order to be more forgiving with hub misalignment than the shorter couplings would be.

I never thought of using hose, but then you need clamps, say, hose clamps? It concerns me that these could gouge you or catch on hair or clothing. Ouch!

Regards,
Collector

Hello all:

I just ran into a new coupler for sale on Ebay. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DESIGN-SHOPSMIT ... 519552ba0a

I've never seen these before.

Regards,
Collector

Collector wrote:Hello all:

I just ran into a new coupler for sale on Ebay. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DESIGN-SHOPSMITH-MARK-V-POWER-COUPLING-KIT-UPGRADE-/350397577738?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519552ba0a

I've never seen these before.

Regards,
Collector

Looks very much like the early ss Mk 5 coupler( Right ALEC?). Also the Model 10 fig saw very short coupler.

isn't the accessories the same 5/8 bore as the headstock?

plus the price is high. In my first SS back in the early 80's, I use it for 15 years and used the same coupler without breakage.

farley wrote:isn't the accessories the same 5/8 bore as the headstock?

plus the price is high. In my first SS back in the early 80's, I use it for 15 years and used the same coupler without breakage.

The jointer and jig saw and scroll saw and paint sprayer compressor all have 1/2" shafts. Everything else is 5/8" shafts. That is why two sizes of hubs.

I still use my original coupler(approaching a half century).

I could see this if the standard couplers needed frequent replacement or were hard to find. Considering the cost of this coupler, not to mention the extra hubs for all your SPT's it seems a bit silly. For this much you could buy enough of the factory couplers to last for centuries!

Troy

horologist wrote:I could see this if the standard couplers needed frequent replacement or were hard to find. Considering the cost of this coupler, not to mention the extra hubs for all your SPT's it seems a bit silly. For this much you could buy enough of the factory couplers to last for centuries!

Troy

They won't last for centuries if they are used in this Arizona climate. The desert sun does nasty things to anything plastic like.