Shopsmith Forums

I'm going to be painting the head and I'm wondering if there is a trick to getting the Left and Right Wedgelocks and rod out of the head these lock the head to the way bars. Looks like the handle has a pin that needs to be removed.

Rich

Hi,

For painting purposes only you might want to just mask that area.

If you happen to have issues with the wedges then it might be worth the disassemble to repair them or purchase new ones.

You are correct in that the pin will have to be removed. Then comes the wedges, threaded in opposite directions which might or might not want to come off due to corrosion on the threads... if bad corrosion is the case you may have to cut the rod in half and replace it.

Assuming you will have the headstock off the machine for painting it might be easier to drop the motor and pan and have better access. You can then also give the inside a good cleaning (inside painting optional).

Bottom line, easy road is to mask, better road is to dig in and go from there.

Ed

rwilabee wrote:I'm going to be painting the head and I'm wondering if there is a trick to getting the Left and Right Wedgelocks and rod out of the head these lock the head to the way bars. Looks like the handle has a pin that needs to be removed.

Rich

I just did this last week. It is a simple process. Just use a punch that will push out the pins (not all the way) and disassemble everything. Then sand, prime and paint but not the wedges. Wax them. When you reassemble make sure that the wedges have the same number of turns (close counts) so that they fit well. Simple task once you have done it twice (as I did) or once with instructions which you now have.

After the paint has dried wax it to provide additional protection. You don't have to paint it but when you remove the rust wax it thoroughly.

I want to repaint the headstock. There are a few small areas where I can see aluminum. Should I prime the entire headstock or just those areas. What kind of primer works best. What type and grit of sandpaper works best before painting.