Shopsmith Forums

Looks like screwed to the clamped block.

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I can't believe the effort, time and money you guys spend to restore one of these machines to it's original condition (or better). Do you think it is a work of art? Isn't it just a machine to accomplish some things you want?

Now, if it were like the 1974 and 1976 Raleigh Gran Sport 10-speed bikes I bought in 1976 from a dealer closing shop, I could understand. After all, those are vintage and classics. Those you can hang on the wall in your garage and admire. Can you do that with a 10ER, a restored Greenie, Brownie?

I must admit that I completely restored an ER in 1984, painted it red and because I was moving sold it for $300. The first offer was accepted. What an idiot (not him - me).

Gran Sports pics are attached so you will know there other idiots that consider machines works of art. BTW, under those seat covers are vintage (never touched by a human butt) Brooks B17 leather seats - about $80 each on the present market).

Do I ride them? No, I'm too decrepit. I can’t do that anymore. Do I still use my 4th restored Shopsmith? (10-ER, Brownie, Mark VII & 510.) What kind of dumb question is that?

dusty wrote:Green or Gray - they both look great. It just goes to show. A little TLC goes a long way.

Please let me flash back to the wheels used to mount the tubes during the sanding process. Are they simply attached to boards that are in turn clamped to Mark V tailstock??

yep- for the first set of tubes I had these wheels screwed to a benchtop and spun them with an electric drill.

tc

The club where woodworkers(?) seem to spend more time becoming Shopsmith restorers. Be careful so as not to get hooked on putzing on & restoring basket case machines instead of woodworking. I can happen.

"Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone", if that's what the previous posts refer to can be had cheap at Amazon.com & is an amazing resource.

As to restoring, if you're pretty "mechanically inclined", It's a pretty easy thing to restore a machine. There's a flyer on replacing a gilmer or poly-v belt that is a good starting point for dis-assembly. It's probably available as a download. (maybe here?)

Otherwise, you can do it the way I did my first one. (you always remember your first one, right?) Go slowly, looking in all the nooks & crannies for set screws. (don't pry anything off before this step) They're pretty logical. Make notes & drawings as you go to aid in re-assembly. If you get stuck, take pics & post them here & ask for help. I wasn't aware of this site when I started which, no doubt, cost me in time & frustration. I think restoring a SS is the best way to understand the wonder of the machine and in keeping it in top condition moving forward.

Have fun with it. If you get frustrated, step back, have a beverage of your choice & reflect for a while. It will all eventually come together.

As John Keats said "A thing of beauty is a joy forever". Some of the great restorations of old machines like the ones on this site are like that- it's an end in itself. Note that I don't put myself in that catagory, I'm more in the form follows function camp, so I like things that do stuff and have intrinsic quality to them. The Shopsmith is ingenius that way.

I have obtained other old machines over the years too, made by Rockwell, Crescent, Craftsman and Dewalt- all 50 years old or more- and always just did the belts and bearings, electrical when it needed it and put them to work. The patina on old machines has a unique quality that was come by honestly.

Because the green Shopsmith came to me already in pieces and mostly lacking paint it was a good candidate for re-finishing and I'm glad I did it. You take better care of equipment you've invested time into and that looks good, I feel that way about the Green right now. We'll see how I feel after working on it awhile though. For I haven't forgotten why I got this in the first place. Re-furbing machines is a worthy challenge for sure, stretching your mechanical, electrical and painting skills in different directions than woodworking does. But the best is when the old machines get to once again do what they were made for. And so I'm not going to hang them on the wall, not yet.

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tc

cranehead wrote:As John Keats said "A thing of beauty is a joy forever". Some of the great restorations of old machines like the ones on this site are like that- it's an end in itself. Note that I don't put myself in that catagory, I'm more in the form follows function camp, so I like things that do stuff and have intrinsic quality to them. The Shopsmith is ingenius that way.

I have obtained other old machines over the years too, made by Rockwell, Crescent, Craftsman and Dewalt- all 50 years old or more- and always just did the belts and bearings, electrical when it needed it and put them to work. The patina on old machines has a unique quality that was come by honestly.

Because the green Shopsmith came to me already in pieces and mostly lacking paint it was a good candidate for re-finishing and I'm glad I did it. You take better care of equipment you've invested time into and that looks good, I feel that way about the Green right now. We'll see how I feel after working on it awhile though. For I haven't forgotten why I got this in the first place. Re-furbing machines is a worthy challenge for sure, stretching your mechanical, electrical and painting skills in different directions than woodworking does. But the best is when the old machines get to once again do what they were made for. And so I'm not going to hang them on the wall, not yet.

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tc

It appears as though you have removed the legs and are setting on a cabinet. Is the true? If so, did you do this to get the lathe at a proper height for you?

I would be interested in knowing what, if anything, this has done to reduce vibration.

BTW Your machine looks great.

As one who has recently gotten the 'restore' sickness(damn y'all MickyD:D and Skip et al), I can say that using a restored machine has definite warm fuzzy effects upon the operator/restorer. Sorta like Harmon's expressed emotions looking at Jethro's newly acquired 10ER.

dusty wrote:It appears as though you have removed the legs and are setting on a cabinet. Is the true? If so, did you do this to get the lathe at a proper height for you?

I would be interested in knowing what, if anything, this has done to reduce vibration.

BTW Your machine looks great.

Yes, I mounted the machine on a workbench to get the lathe at a good height and to hopefully dampen vibration. I saw a you tube video of a chap turning a big bowl on a shopsmith and he was having to chase it all around the shop. I never tried it on legs so can't say what the difference is. Also haven't tried a big bowl yet.

tc

JPG40504 wrote:As one who has recently gotten the 'restore' sickness(damn y'all MickyD:D and Skip et al), I can say that using a restored machine has definite warm fuzzy effects upon the operator/restorer. Sorta like Harmon's expressed emotions looking at Jethro's newly acquired 10ER.

Speaking of Micky D, does he ever post?

fjimp wrote:Speaking of Micky D, does he ever post?

Last post 6/27/2012. A long dry spell prior to that.

For some reason right after a trip to AZ, he stopped posting.