Shopsmith Forums

Here is my situation. I have a 1983 vintage model 500 along with a jointer and bandsaw. A while back I bought used parts and upgraded just the main table to a 510 (they tell me this is called a 505) with no floating table, etc. This has worked well for me. I use a guided saw system (Eurekazone EZ) for many of my cuts of any size -- especially sheet goods. I also have a good compound miter saw. For my needs, the larger (510) main table is a good size. I use use the bandsaw a lot, too, along with drill press, sander, etc.

I have been looking at the Mark VII, but for the way I work I don't need all the table parts and would likely never use the shaper function.

I am thinking I'll probably do the PowerPro DIY upgrade and maybe upgrade my main table to a 520.

Is the upgrade to the new 520 rails and fence worth the cost? Is it that much better than the 510 setup I have?

Thanks for reading this and offering your thoughts.

In my opinion if you aren't using floating tables a 520 won't buy you a thing.
In fact I think I like the 510 fence once it is initially aligned and adjusted better.

That said if you are going to use floating tables then yes the connector setup is better than the 510.

Let me put it this way I had a 500 which I loved I upgraded to a 510 and hated it. I then upgraded to a 520 and was back in love with my SS.

The way the floating tables work with the 510 is sorry, there is no other way to put it. The way the floating tables and connectors work with the 520 is fantastic.

But again you said you weren't going to use floating tables.

Fence wise the 520 is far easier to do initial setup and alignement but in just I like the twist lock lower lock on the 510 better than the double lever lock on the 520. I have to play around to get the fence to stay where I want it when it comes to locking it down. I never had a problem with the 510 fence.

My perfect machine would be a 520 with 510 fence lock mechanism. Actaully I might even like a 520 with a 500 fence lock mech.

Ed in Tampa wrote:In my opinion if you aren't using floating tables a 520 won't buy you a thing.
In fact I think I like the 510 fence once it is initially aligned and adjusted better.

That said if you are going to use floating tables then yes the connector setup is better than the 510.

Let me put it this way I had a 500 which I loved I upgraded to a 510 and hated it. I then upgraded to a 520 and was back in love with my SS.

The way the floating tables work with the 510 is sorry, there is no other way to put it. The way the floating tables and connectors work with the 520 is fantastic.

But again you said you weren't going to use floating tables.

Fence wise the 520 is far easier to do initial setup and alignement but in just I like the twist lock lower lock on the 510 better than the double lever lock on the 520. I have to play around to get the fence to stay where I want it when it comes to locking it down. I never had a problem with the 510 fence.

My perfect machine would be a 520 with 510 fence lock mechanism. Actaully I might even like a 520 with a 500 fence lock mech.

I think a standard 505 has a Main Table and an Extension Table.

Without an Extension Table, all that has been done is an increase in table size. Adding an Extension Table (along with extension tubes) into the setup facilitates a "four post" system which provides much greater stability.

meisterwood wrote:Here is my situation. I have a 1983 vintage model 500 along with a jointer and bandsaw. A while back I bought used parts and upgraded just the main table to a 510 (they tell me this is called a 505) with no floating table, etc. This has worked well for me. I use a guided saw system (Eurekazone EZ) for many of my cuts of any size -- especially sheet goods. I also have a good compound miter saw. For my needs, the larger (510) main table is a good size. I use use the bandsaw a lot, too, along with drill press, sander, etc.

I have been looking at the Mark VII, but for the way I work I don't need all the table parts and would likely never use the shaper function.

I am thinking I'll probably do the PowerPro DIY upgrade and maybe upgrade my main table to a 520.

Is the upgrade to the new 520 rails and fence worth the cost? Is it that much better than the 510 setup I have?

Thanks for reading this and offering your thoughts.

If you find the Main Table to be adequate in size for how you use your Mark 5/V, I don't believe an upgrade to a 520 gains you anything in useful functionality.

The major cost items in a 510 to 520 upgrade are the rails. The rails improve functionality only when using multiple tables (main plus floater plus extension).

This is my opinion which is effected mostly by your declaration that the Main Table alone is large enough for your needs.

Personally, I use floaters and extensions a great deal.

I have both a 510 and a 520 and I find them to equally accurate once they are properly aligned.

I bought a Model 500 new in 81 (as I recall) and, like you had a bandsaw and jointer. In 2012 I bought model 510 and I didn't like the floating table or the fence. When the 510 to 520 upgrade went on sale, I bought it and that made a world of difference in my opinion. I really prefer the 520 and sold my model 500.

Having said that, I have a friend with both a 510 and a 520 and he too likes the fence on the 510 system better. Perhaps it makes a difference whether you use the auxiliary floating tables (I did), like Ed said. Perhaps I didn't have the 510 set up right (I doubt it as I'm a stickler for setting things up square) but I gave away the 510 parts that I had left over....and was hoping I wasn't charging too much. <g>

My guess is a lot of the difference is subjective. Maybe you should find someone with a 520 and check it out and see what you think before you spend your hard earned cash.

I appreciate the responses from you all. This has been very helpful for me as I think through what is next for my faithful Shopsmith. It seems that the main table I have will continue to work for me, but I am going to look for someone in my area with a 520 to check out.