Shopsmith Forums

According to the serial number on my Shopsmith Bandsaw, it was made between April and May of 1985. I was given this Shopsmith Mark 5 and Bandsaw for free from a friend who had it given to him from the original owner. I believe the original owner has misplaced several important parts. To be honest the Shopsmith with its current parts is nothing more than a big disk sander and bandsaw. No drill chuck, no saw arbor, no tailstock and other accessories for the lathe other than the lathe chisels. I am going to be piecing things back together as I get the money for it and prioritize by what I find important. Right now, I would really love to have the bandsaw up and running first. I have already ordered new rubber tires and a replacement lower guard roller bearing. Only thing else I need is the miter gauge that fits the cast iron table. Anyone know where I can find one that fits the cast iron table? I also do not have a miter gauge for the table saw. This is a 1985 Mark V 500 with the 500 table.

rdavidp wrote:According to the serial number on my Shopsmith Bandsaw, it was made between April and May of 1985. I was given this Shopsmith Mark 5 and Bandsaw for free from a friend who had it given to him from the original owner. I believe the original owner has misplaced several important parts. To be honest the Shopsmith with its current parts is nothing more than a big disk sander and bandsaw. No drill chuck, no saw arbor, no tailstock and other accessories for the lathe other than the lathe chisels. I am going to be piecing things back together as I get the money for it and prioritize by what I find important. Right now, I would really love to have the bandsaw up and running first. I have already ordered new rubber tires and a replacement lower guard roller bearing. Only thing else I need is the miter gauge that fits the cast iron table. Anyone know where I can find one that fits the cast iron table? I also do not have a miter gauge for the table saw. This is a 1985 Mark V 500 with the 500 table.

The miter gauge for my model 500 fits the cast iron BS table. As your MK V did not come with a miter gauge, you may want to make this a priority.

I think, In practice, a large part of band saw work is freehand. I know this was true when I made a band saw box recently.

I have only done a few tasks with band saw so far.

Yes, the table saw miter fits the band saw table and since you don't have one, this along with a rip fence are essentials for any table saw use. As a side note, the table saw rip fence does not fit the band saw table - SS makes a separate one for the band saw if you find yourself in need.

So I'd advise buying a miter gauge off of E-Bay as they are usually plentiful on there - make sure to get one with the safety grip hold-down assembly on it - here's an example:
E-Bay Miter Gauge with Hold-Down

You may also want to buy a copy of the owners manual for your band saw, as it has lots of useful info on proper adjustment, alignment, and maintenance. SS sells them for $10:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/bandsawmanuals.htm

dgale wrote:Yes, the table saw miter fits the band saw table and since you don't have one, this along with a rip fence are essentials for any table saw use. As a side note, the table saw rip fence does not fit the band saw table - SS makes a separate one for the band saw if you find yourself in need.

So I'd advise buying a miter gauge off of E-Bay as they are usually plentiful on there - make sure to get one with the safety grip hold-down assembly on it - here's an example:
E-Bay Miter Gauge with Hold-Down

You may also want to buy a copy of the owners manual for your band saw, as it has lots of useful info on proper adjustment, alignment, and maintenance. SS sells them for $10:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/bandsawmanuals.htm

Is there information needed that is not provided by this online PDF manual provided by Shopsmith..

dusty wrote:Is there information needed that is not provided by this online PDF manual provided by Shopsmith..

I would be interested in knowing the answer to that myself, as I already have the PDF manual, parts list, and parts diagram.

As for table saw rip fence, I see that Shopsmith still sells one for the Mark 5 500 table. As for table saw miter gauge, just like with my current tablesaw, I was planning on using a cross cut sled. That gives me the miter gauge, plus I can make the full size sled to be wider than the existing 500 table as it will be quite some time before I could afford the upgrade to the 520 table system. For the bandsaw, I have seen several examples where people have taken their existing miter gauge and just attach a piece of wood to it for a rip fence.

As far as the specific E-bay miter gauge that was linked, is that the right one for my 500 table and bandsaw iron table? Also say that the same guys has the table saw rip fence. Wonder if that would also work for my 500 table?

rdavidp wrote:I would be interested in knowing the answer to that myself, as I already have the PDF manual, parts list, and parts diagram.

As for table saw rip fence, I see that Shopsmith still sells one for the Mark 5 500 table. As for table saw miter gauge, just like with my current tablesaw, I was planning on using a cross cut sled. That gives me the miter gauge, plus I can make the full size sled to be wider than the existing 500 table as it will be quite some time before I could afford the upgrade to the 520 table system. For the bandsaw, I have seen several examples where people have taken their existing miter gauge and just attach a piece of wood to it for a rip fence.

As far as the specific E-bay miter gauge that was linked, is that the right one for my 500 table and bandsaw iron table? Also say that the same guys has the table saw rip fence. Wonder if that would also work for my 500 table?

The linked to miter gauge is correct for the Mark 5 table and the bandsaw table (and the belt sander table).

The rip fences offered by that seller are for the 10ER and 510. Neither will work on a Mark 5.

JPG40504 wrote:The linked to miter gauge is correct for the Mark 5 table and the bandsaw table (and the belt sander table).

The rip fences offered by that seller are for the 10ER and 510. Neither will work on a Mark 5.

Ok, bid placed on the miter gauge, so YA'LL STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!

Seriously though, thanks for helping me find that.

P.S. So I don't get carried away in a bidding war, what would you suggest the most one should pay for this miter gauge?

Whatever you are 'comfortable' with. They are listed often. The newer safety grip clamp is a plus.

rdavidp wrote:P.S. So I don't get carried away in a bidding war, what would you suggest the most one should pay for this miter gauge?

What you pay is up to you. But just remember that a NEW one wood cost ya about $113.00.

Use advanced search on E-Bay, enter "Shopsmith Miter" as your keywords, click the "completed listings" button (you have to make sure the "Title and Description" button is deselcted forst in order to be able to select the completed listings button). This will show you a bunch of past auctions for various miter gauge related items, inclucing a bunch of what you're after and this will give you a good sense of what they've sold for in the past.

As you look at the various auctions for these miter gauges, note that the hold down/safety grip has changed a bit over time, primarily having to do with how the hold down screw is adjusted. The older ones had a knurled nut on top of the bolt, while the newer ones have a big wing nut with black plastic wings on it. I'm not sure there's a lot of difference but thought you might want to know in case you have a preference.

Here is a photo of the older type:


And here is the newer type:


Also, make sure you get one for a 500 and not a 510 or 520 - the difference is the 510 and 520 have a t-slot for the miter bar, which has spring-loaded wheels that fit in the t-slots. The 500 is just a rectangular bar with no t-slot wheels - the 510/520 miter gauge won't fit on your 500. Most folks note the model # in their descriptions and/or you can tell by the photos.