Shopsmith Forums

Hi,

This is an initial report on a set of ebay tubes I have in hand. The data presented represents the set I have and what I have observed about them.

The tubes are sold in a pair. Shipping is by USPS. the tubes are taped together and taped to a layer of cardboard which is then taped. Packing seemed to do the trick and they arrived in good shape.

The bad news, a minor issue, more of an pet-peeve that I have was that a cheap packing tape was used on the tubes. The tape pulled away but the glue stuck to the tubes. I went to my "GOO GONE" for a half hour session. When I went back today I can still feel the areas where the tape was so I'm not done yet. I'm sorry but this really bugs me.

So putting aside the sticky issue the tubes are plated and feel about the same grade as the shopsmith version. The major difference was in the weight, these new tubes are heavier then the shopsmith ones, you would have no trouble figuring out which is which by the weight. My "not for tender" scale has the shopsmith tube at 3 pounds even. The new tube is 14 ounces more.

Using my dial calipers I read the tube thickness as .060" on the shopsmith tubes. The new ones I read .080".

Without the knowledge of the type of steel used it would be hard to say if these new tubes are stronger or not. If all things were equal then the addition thickness be a plus strength wise.

The shopsmith tubes were de-burred inside where as these new ones I felt compelled to do as I felt they needed it. This would be a personal decision for you to make but the few moments it takes I think you would be a fool not to take care of it.

I will be taking a look at roundness and straightness either later today or within a few days. I will also look at a simple deflection test to see if that can show anything, more thought has to be put in to how to do this without damaging either tubes.

Ed

Ed- are your ebay tubes the same OD as the Shopsmith tubes?

Gary

My straightness tests show the new tubes to be in better shape then my old used shopsmith tubes. While this can not be a valid test by way of comparison but it did at lease show that the new tubes look pretty good to start with.

I used string and corks in my verification. I also used a test where the two tubes are held together at the ends and the rotated against each other while I watched for gaps. No glaring problems from that test. When I attempted this with my shopsmith set the problem of a bent tube showed up very clearly but it unclear how much "off" things need to be to show up.

I had to scrub my plan for testing how round they are. I have a set of 1" shaft couplers that I had planned on using. They would not slid on the new tubes. So that pretty much means I don't have a quick and dirty way to check things out. BTW the couplers slip on the shopsmith tubes but do not allow me to do much as they find every place where a small burr happened from tighten the screws in use or maybe a small flattening???

So I may have to put off that testing until I come up with a better idea.

Ed

greitz wrote:Ed- are your ebay tubes the same OD as the Shopsmith tubes?

Gary

Yes, or at least with in specks for a 1" dia plated tube.

They are sold for use on the shopsmith.

Ed

lightnin wrote:I will be interested in reading on as I purchased a pair of the same.
I totally agree on tape on any shipped items as a pet peeve.
People do it all the time, I get enraged when I have to remove it.
Goo Gone, Goof Off, Lighter fluid, I saw a tip once to use mayonnaise
just let it sit awhile and wipe off. Never tried it, we use Miracle Whip here.

So what did you use to get the tape off, or are you that far yet?

My next try will be with GOOF Off. If that don't work it's off to the chemical cabinet for some banned stuff.

Would like more feed back from you on these too.

Ed

Give lacquer thinner a try. It works wonders on the sanding disks to remove adhesive residue, so I'd expect to work on those tubes.

reible wrote:So what did you use to get the tape off, or are you that far yet?

My next try will be with GOOF Off. If that don't work it's off to the chemical cabinet for some banned stuff.

Would like more feed back from you on these too.

Ed

My Shopsmith is not assembled yet still in the painting process lots of coats of clear coat.
tubes are still in box I did take them out take off the tape and use creative language about it.
Banned stuff carbon tet? I still have a quart myself from my TV repair days.

I just went out in the garage and put some citristrip on will let it sit I'll let ya know results next time it get chance to log on.

Now we go to the deflection test.

What I have done is set up the shopsmith with the main table at one end, the 5 foot tube flush at the end of the table, both screws tight on the tube.

On the opposite end an extension table with short tube extended out away from the machine so the length of the tube is just longer then the extension of the 5 foot tube.

[ATTACH]17912[/ATTACH]

I was now able to measure the distance between tubes.

[ATTACH]17913[/ATTACH]

The distance was 5 3/16 as shown here.

[ATTACH]17914[/ATTACH]

I added a 5 pound weight to the end of the 5 foot tube.

[ATTACH]17915[/ATTACH]

New measurement shows that it is 7/16" lower. However I could see a good deal of movement on the main table when I added the weight.

[ATTACH]17916[/ATTACH]

The ebay tube was next in line for testing and that will be in the next post.

Ed