Shopsmith Forums

My first post here as I haven't been able to find an answer in the forum.

I recently sold my 520 and bought my neighbor's 3 year old Mark 7. So I understand most of the set-up and alignment which I learned with my 520. My first question has to do with the table insert for the saw. If I try to adjust it to be flat by the time I get it close the front screw is so loose I'm afraid it will vibrate out if I run the saw. I don't recall this as an issue on my old Shopsmith so I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong or the insert is bent/warped out of specification. I believe it is suppose to have a small amount of curvature or as I noticed on another posting I believe is was called coined.

My second question has to do with the placement of the carriage ring stop on the way tube. On my 520 it was on the front way tube. On my Mark 7 it is on the rear. Does it make a difference? I've noticed that when using the table saw and the ring is butt up against the motor that the saw blade is not centered in the table insert. Of course I can adjust for that but if my memory is correct it should be pretty close to the center. If it makes no difference I won't worry about moving it to the front tube.

Thanks.

Jim

Front or rear placement of the spacer should make no difference.

When the spacer is in contact with both the headstock and the carriage, the blade should be close to centered.

I think the coining is inconsistent or non-existent in some of the inserts. To fix mine I inserted some set screws. Here's the link:

http://shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic ... ng#p129749

Another Welcome!

This is the first time I have 'heard' of the spacer being on the front waytube. Yes it should center the saw blade in the slot, but that also depends upon the quill being fully retracted.

The insert should be slightly concave upwards(ends 'higher' than the middle).

The ends should keep tension on the screws.

With the ends 'flush' where is the center?

algale wrote:Front or rear placement of the spacer should make no difference.

When the spacer is in contact with both the headstock and the carriage, the blade should be close to centered.

I think the coining is inconsistent or non-existent in some of the inserts. To fix mine I inserted some set screws. Here's the link:

http://shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic ... ng#p129749

Thanks. I hadn't seen that post but a lot of good information in that one. I had thought about using some set screws but now that I know others have had a similar issue I will give it a try.

Jim

JPG wrote:Another Welcome!

This is the first time I have 'heard' of the spacer being on the front waytube. Yes it should center the saw blade in the slot, but that also depends upon the quill being fully retracted.

The insert should be slightly concave upwards(ends 'higher' than the middle).

The ends should keep tension on the screws.

With the ends 'flush' where is the center?

JPG,

When I got the Mark 7 I initially noticed a couple of things that were "unique" to it. The first was the location of the spacer on the rear way tube and the second was the location of the indicator mark for setting the depth of the quill. It was pointing down. To visualize this, if you were in the drill press mode you would have to sight up the drill bit to see the little tick mark. The calibration for the depth was correct.

Looking things over I also noticed that the sealant on the screws that are used to remove the quill and others pieces had never been removed. So I assumed that nothing had been done to the Mark 7 since it left the factory. This leads me to think that it may have been assembled this way. It was easy enough to reset the depth indicator and get everything into alignment.

As for the location of the saw blade, with the quill fully retracted (yes, it is fully retracted) it appears as if the table never slides over enough. It looks like, and this is just an eyeball measurement, that the blade is about 1/3 of the way into the slot instead of being halfway. That's why I was asking about the location of the spacer. It appeared to me that things were identical front or back and not dependent upon which tube the spacer was on.

I will have to check to see if the table insert is slightly concave. I made some quick measurements yesterday but didn't write anything down. If my memory is correct it may be opposite of what you mentioned. It may be convex with the ends lower than the middle or it may be flat. I will put a straight edge on it later today. But algale's post on using set screws is a pretty good fix. Similar to what my old Delta table saw had.

Thanks,

Jim

jimsteinmetz wrote:
As for the location of the saw blade, with the quill fully retracted (yes, it is fully retracted) it appears as if the table never slides over enough. It looks like, and this is just an eyeball measurement, that the blade is about 1/3 of the way into the slot instead of being halfway. That's why I was asking about the location of the spacer. It appeared to me that things were identical front or back and not dependent upon which tube the spacer was on.

Jim

The process of table alignment can have an impact on blade position relative to the slot and if the blade is centered in the slot. I'm not sure if it can so dramatically impact blade position as to make the blade be only 1/3 of the way into the slot but it has an impact.

If the quill is released (not extended) and then the table alignment procedure is performed, the blade will be centered in the insert. It may deviate from center by a fraction of an inch but not as much as is being discussed here.

How much?? Loosen all four trunnion bolts and move the table around. That is how much.

Thanks to all for their responses. Been a bit busy the last couple of days and haven't made much progress on this.

I will look at your suggestion about table alignment. It makes sense. I will have to see how much I can move it. Good suggestions that I hadn't thought of.

On my other issue--the table insert. I took a look at the insert and find that it bows in (down?) so the center is always lower than the two ends. Additionally I notice a bit of rocking back and forth when placed upside down on a fairly flat surface. I noticed the bow on one side is about .025 inches and about .010 inches on the other. I'm assuming that the difference is what causes the rocking. Sorry for the use of "about" but I'm preparing to move shortly and a lot of my stuff is packed away. Measurement made with a caliper which is all I had available.

Thanks for all the help.

Jim

jimsteinmetz wrote:Thanks to all for their responses. Been a bit busy the last couple of days and haven't made much progress on this.

I will look at your suggestion about table alignment. It makes sense. I will have to see how much I can move it. Good suggestions that I hadn't thought of.

On my other issue--the table insert. I took a look at the insert and find that it bows in (down?) so the center is always lower than the two ends. Additionally I notice a bit of rocking back and forth when placed upside down on a fairly flat surface. I noticed the bow on one side is about .025 inches and about .010 inches on the other. I'm assuming that the difference is what causes the rocking. Sorry for the use of "about" but I'm preparing to move shortly and a lot of my stuff is packed away. Measurement made with a caliper which is all I had available.

Thanks for all the help.

Jim

The bow should be end to end, not side to side.

.015 difference is negligable.

Realize the important surfaces are the nubs on the bottom side.

The top surface is merely the result.