Shopsmith Forums

Hello All!

My name is Bill, and I live in Rockford, WA (about 27 miles SE of Spokane,WA.)

As of right now, my woodworking skills are limited to basic carpentry, but fate has opened a door to woodworking, in which I have been interested for a very long time.

I now am the new owner of a venerable Shopsmith MkV.


Preliminary archeology reveals her to be a late 1950s model, upgraded to a Poly-V belt and not much else. She looks like she has an old style table and fence. It doesn't look like the miter handle unit has changed much over the years.


(If I'm wrong, I welcome corrections!)

All in all she's in pretty good shape!

Any how, I look forward to getting to know everybody over the next few decades!

Best,

Bill

Hi folks!

The folks who were selling this unit didn't know anything about Mk Vs, and so they dumped all the pieces and parts they guessed might be part of the unit together. I'm still learning, so I'd like to tap into the knowlege base of you folks, who know these machines inside and out (and I promise that I will keep learning about this beastie as well!)

I need to know what these following pieces are, (or if they even belong with the Mk V):








Bill

Finally,

I know that these are Shopsmith components, but I don't know exactly what they are:




Thanks for your help!

Bill

Bill0331 wrote:Hi folks!

The folks who were selling this unit didn't know anything about Mk Vs, and so they dumped all the pieces and parts they guessed might be part of the unit together. I'm still learning, so I'd like to tap into the knowlege base of you folks, who know these machines inside and out (and I promise that I will keep learning about this beastie as well!)

I need to know what these following pieces are, (or if they even belong with the Mk V):Magna Dad (wobble style dado blade)


Front table (miter slot) extension




Molding table insert and some other non Shopsmith accesory


Bill

The third picture has a 1-14" saw arbor and what appear to be washers from other arbors. See other comments in red above.

Welcome Bill

Start with the first 2 sticky threads in the Maintenance and Repair section
http://shopsmith.net/forums/showthread.htm?t=7092
and
http://shopsmith.net/forums/showthread.htm?t=5092

These are the best starting places to start figuring out your machine and what needs to be done to get it up to speed and keep i there.

Hi Bill;

Welcome to the forum. That is a great old machine you have acquired. Looks like its got a lot of years left on it. I picked up one very similar about 20+ yrs ago. Its been added to and upgraded and its still going strong.

Looking at the pictures of the accessories that came with your machine I have a few thoughts based on my experiences with my '54 Model 500 that might prove of use to you. First, don't fall into the new owner's trap of thinking that the SS is a "second best" tablesaw. That is just not true. I see you have a front table extension and I would recommend getting a second one. Also, I would suggest upgrading the fence to the one that has a t-slot on top and locks front and back. Hang on to the old fence, though, as it is nice to have one with the hole in the top...the lathe tail center fits in that hole and makes a great pivot point for circle sawing or sanding. Probably should spring for the wider auxiliary table too, its really nice. Hold on to the old one though as it comes in handy sometimes to have tables on both ends of the machine. Also, the narrower table is a great place to mount a sharpening jig to use with your sanding disk. Finally, I recommend the SS sliding table. With the sliding table and two front table extensions, one on the main table and the other on one of the auxiliary tables, and an auxiliary table at either end, your Model 500 makes a really functional table saw. When you get into making beveled cuts with the tilting table, check the threads in this forum for lots and lots of great information.

And of course besides buying a fine old tablesaw you have also bought a lathe, disk sander, drill press, jointer etc etc. all of which also work really well.

Final thought...if your Shopsmith didn't come with a copy of "Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone" by RJ Cristoforo, cruise the internet book stores to find a copy or order a new one from SS. It is essential.

Best of luck with your new Shopsmith and I look forward to hearing about what you build with it.

Do be aware that the front table extension for a 'greenie vintage' is different from later versions. The front edge of the main table is different.