Shopsmith Forums

John, I just measured my double tilt to make certain I remembered correctly. The double tilt Bench and Way Tubes measure 48 7/16" between the castings (exposed}.

The other machine (not DT) measures 48 1/4".

The depth of the bores into which these tubes are inserted are not consistent but they measure in the vicinity of 1 59/64". This accounts for the fact that the exact measurements of different machines will vary. That along with the fact that not everyone buries the tubes all the way.

Looks like I came out ok, mine are 48 1/4 and equal on the diagonal, so I'll take that as a win. Thanks for the replies.

Follow Dusty's recommendations installing the way tubes and tie bar and adjust as he recommended. As he said now is a great time to get the base squared up without the carriage and headstock in the way. Once done and you are ready to install the carriage and headstock just remove the tie bar put them on and reinstall the tie bar. After that the most you may need to do is rotate the way tubes to get the headstock and carriage to slide better. There is a video by Nick Engler about that which I cannot find right now. If they slide easily than don't worry about "tuning" the way tubes further and enjoy using your Shopsmith.

If you want to know for sure when your Mark V was made there use to be a by month list instead of the by year list currently on the SS site. January 1984 serial numbers started at 166958 and December ended with 196118 but you probably already knew that. The PDF below is the month by month starting serial numbers.
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Mine’s 174442

Got the way tubes cleaned up and installed today. They measure 48 inches between the castings, and equal on the diagonal.

And the carriage went on easily. Slides end to end with one finger and locks up nicely.

John4337 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 5:44 pm Got the way tubes cleaned up and installed today. They measure 48 inches between the castings, and equal on the diagonal.

way tubes 1.jpg

way tubes 2.jpg

Excellent. Looks kike a real nice machine in the makings.

Ways = 48" Are the Bench Tubes the same? If you check all of the tubes for level, are they all identical? I think they should be but miner are not and I have been unable to make progress toward that objective.

dusty wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 6:18 pm

John4337 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 5:44 pm Got the way tubes cleaned up and installed today. They measure 48 inches between the castings, and equal on the diagonal.

way tubes 1.jpg

way tubes 2.jpg

Excellent. Looks kike a real nice machine in the makings.

Ways = 48" Are the Bench Tubes the same? If you check all of the tubes for level, are they all identical? I think they should be but miner are not and I have been unable to make progress toward that objective.

My bench tubes are about 52 1/2

I had to put a turn and a half or so on the adjuster under the tie bar, but everything is level and square.

With the way tubes locked down, the critical thing is the 'angle' across the two way tubes is the same at both ends(twist). That big set screw is adjusted to achieve that.

A way to check that is the tailstock center point aligning with a drive center point on the quill, then moving the drive center to the top aux shaft and moving the tailstock to the other end. If the points do not align(front to rear), the way tubes are 'twisted'.

John4337 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 6:31 pm

dusty wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 6:18 pm

John4337 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 5:44 pm Got the way tubes cleaned up and installed today. They measure 48 inches between the castings, and equal on the diagonal.

way tubes 1.jpg

way tubes 2.jpg

Excellent. Looks kike a real nice machine in the makings.

Ways = 48" Are the Bench Tubes the same? If you check all of the tubes for level, are they all identical? I think they should be but miner are not and I have been unable to make progress toward that objective.

My bench tubes are about 52 1/2

I had to put a turn and a half or so on the adjuster under the tie bar, but everything is level and square.

52 1/2" is the total length, correct. That should leave close to 48" exposed between the castings.

You should be able to lift up on the Ways right there by the tie bar and not feel them lift.