3" Caster Upgrade - My Review

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:40 pm

I TOTALLY agree with Ed!

A major contributer to the "works"/"doesn't work" confusion is IMHO a lack of understanding what 'works properly' means on both the user's part and the creator of the instruction(s).

The 'upgrade' should function the same as the original casters.

The foot pedal problem is I assume due to ignorance on the part of whoever created the 'instructions' of the earlier versions.

What 'disturbs' me most is the defensive position taken when folks started calling things to their attention. (I wonder if Dave wrote the instructions:D)

I also attribute the varying results to the standard practice (by SS) of using 1/4" screws in 5/16" holes for mounting the casters.

A template similar to what Dusty made with 5/16" holes accurately punched(poking a pencil through the hole IMHO is grossly inaccurate) and using two 5/16" 'plugs' to locate the template would help(that and locating the punch positions correctly) (IMHO the template places the new holes about 1/16" to 1/8" too high on the leg).

Having gone through the 'exercise' of locating third party casters myself, I can understand how all this myoptic design by SS occurred. Whoever did it all did not understand the 1/8", 1/4" goal(EDIT-that should read 1/4" and 1/2" goal), nor the need for clear concise non-ambigious instructions and quality illustrations.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:41 pm

Given all the grief these wheels have caused folks here, I can only say I'm glad I have no interest in "upgrading" as these wheels clearly are causing way to much angst. If I were interested, however, I'd likely chuck the template provided. Instead I'd simply mount the new wheels on the Shopsmith, set the cams so that the wheels would be retracted were the original wheels on it, measure how far off the ground the legs were, add to that figure about 1/16" for good measure, and then redrill the mounting holes for the caster assemblies. After drilling the new holes, I'd compare these hole locations with what the template wanted. I'd then write a review on the Shopsmith website.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:46 pm

JPG, what is this 1/8", 1/4" goal?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:33 pm

pennview wrote:JPG, what is this 1/8", 1/4" goal?

Read the three 'bullets']http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... asters.htm[/URL]

Not sure about that 'gentle' part!:rolleyes:

P.S. Your need to ask, illustrates the non objectivity of stating 'it works'. IMHO(and Ed...), anything other than the description above does not work 'correctly'.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:08 pm

JPG, I still don't get where the 1/8" and 1/4" come from. There's nothing in those three bullets or elsewhere that I can find regarding these two measurements as a goal, so I though I'd ask you to clarify. And, I'm really not sure what the post script in you response is about either. My need to ask stems from wondering where those two measurements come from, as I though the "goal" was for 1/4" and 1/2" lift from the caster assembly. Just curious.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:51 pm

pennview wrote:JPG, I still don't get where the 1/8" and 1/4" come from. There's nothing in those three bullets or elsewhere that I can find regarding these two measurements as a goal, so I though I'd ask you to clarify. And, I'm really not sure what the post script in you response is about either. My need to ask stems from wondering where those two measurements come from, as I though the "goal" was for 1/4" and 1/2" lift from the caster assembly. Just curious.

Step once on the actuator and your Mark 7/Mark V raises 1/4" off the ground for rolling over smooth surfaces
Step twice on the actuator and the ground clearance increases to 1/2"
A third step allows your Mark 7/Mark V to settle gently back onto the ground when you're ready to go to work.

Sorry! I mis spoke.

I will correct my original post.

The 'extra' comment was off target also!

nil · Post by **nil** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:31 am

JPG40504 wrote:

Step once on the actuator and your Mark 7/Mark V raises 1/4" off the ground for rolling over smooth surfaces

Step twice on the actuator and the ground clearance increases to 1/2"

A third step allows your Mark 7/Mark V to settle gently back onto the ground when you're ready to go to work.
Sorry! I mis spoke. I will correct my original post.

The 'extra' comment was off target also!

To be clear, it sounds like I have the opposite problem.. step once, and legs do not leave the floor, hit the highest setting and I can roll the mark 7 across completely level ground without scraping.

In fact, I just measured.. if I have the wheels fully retracted, they are 7/32" off the floor, and if I hit the first step on lowering the wheels, the casters touch the ground and the legs are still completely grounded, and when I get to the highest setting off the ground, the legs are 3/16" off the ground.

Maybe shopsmith overcompensated in the May 2012 "rev d" 3 inch caster template.

Am I expecting too much, is this what other people with the upgraded wheels are seeing? Since I just got the mark 7 and the wheels delivered friday, I was considering calling shopsmith on monday morning. I would have loved to see 1/4" or 1/2" clearance for the two levels!

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:50 am

After completing the upside down part of my double-tilt upgrade I decided to check the wheels. I got a 4x8 sheet of plywood and put it on top of the legs to act as a floor. The first thing I noticed is my wheels hit the wood even in all three settings (this was not the case before the upgrade). I removed several washers so that the wheels no longer touch when they should not. During the upgrade you are encouraged not to tighten the legs to the headstock rest until the machine is turned over and leveled with the floor.

So after getting the wheels as close to the wood as possible with washers I tried adjusting the legs and noticed that I now needed the washers again to get close to the wood.

I no longer think this issue is just hole placement, I think the position of the legs has a much bigger inpact than anyone thought. I plan on turning over the machine tomorrow, finish leveling the machine and then seeing if I still need any washers or I need to add end more washers to get the desired 1/4" and 1/2" clearance.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:55 am

nil wrote:To be clear, it sounds like I have the opposite problem.. step once, and legs do not leave the floor, hit the highest setting and I can roll the mark 7 across completely level ground without scraping.

In fact, I just measured.. if I have the wheels fully retracted, they are 7/32" off the floor, and if I hit the first step on lowering the wheels, the casters touch the ground and the legs are still completely grounded, and when I get to the highest setting off the ground, the legs are 3/16" off the ground.

Maybe shopsmith overcompensated in the May 2012 "rev d" 3 inch caster template.

Am I expecting too much, is this what other people with the upgraded wheels are seeing? Since I just got the mark 7 and the wheels delivered friday, I was considering calling shopsmith on monday morning. I would have loved to see 1/4" or 1/2" clearance for the two levels!

Yes I think a call to SS is in order considering it is all new stuff.

For whatever reason the new holes are 5/16" too high.

They could be redrilled, but I would drill them smaller than 5/16"(17/64").

I am curious how far apart are the new holes from the original holes?

nil · Post by **nil** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 1:06 am

JPG40504 wrote:Yes I think a call to SS is in order considering it is all new stuff.

For whatever reason the new holes are 5/16" too high.

They could be redrilled, but I would drill them smaller than 5/16"(17/64").

I am curious how far apart are the new holes from the original holes?

I have attached a scan of the template that I followed with a ruler thrown in the scan so you can get an accurate scale. A quick check with a ruler showed 1.75 inches between the old holes and the new holes. If I had more time, I would measure the scan accurately.