Shopsmith Forums

I recently acquired a 10er. It came with a hollow chisel mortising attachment and the hold down arm. It does not have any hollow chisels or bits. I wanted to ask if the chisel/bit sets that Shopsmith sells will fit? They certainly look the same in the photos, if so then I should be able to use the mortiser with my Mark V as well.
Also, I understand that Shopsmith stopped selling the mortising attachment for some time. I wondered if that was because of its usefullness or simply lack of interest. I've never used a hollow chisel mortiser on my Shopsmith. Do they work well? How do they compare to a dedicated mortiser?

Yes to the 10/2/5/V/VII question, however only with a 500 version of a V. The mounting shaft which installs into a hole in the top of the rip fence can be modified by drilling and tapping a hole in one end to allow attaching a ss t-nut and short stud to a 510/520 fence. Since thread orientation is a crap shoot, shimming may be required to properly align the flat on the shaft.

So that is why all those attachments have gone at way too high $.

The 'kicker' is the chisel shank size(5/8").

It does not work as well as a 'dedicated' mortiser since the table does not provide rigid support for the workpiece(it deflects). Under table support(2x4 or adjustable leg) greatly improves that.