Shopsmith Forums

I am using and restoring a Model 500 (circa 1989) that I purchased about a year ago.

This weekend I was using the drill press function. I set it to a given depth, but subsequent holes were deeper than the first hole. (Yes, I had thoroughly tightened the depth adjusting wheel, so it shouldn't have been slipping.)

I searched on this forum and have seen discussed the problem of holes becoming shallower due to the table slipping a bit, but that is not my problem.

My guess is that there is some worn part in the depth adjustment mechanism that is causing the depth stop to fail.

But maybe I'm off base.

Will appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,

AEP

Are the two 'serrated' washers correctly installed?

One behind(headstock end) the 'dial' and one in front(handle end). The serrated side of both washers should face the dial.

Also realize it stops at "0". The wingnut must be tight.

I have had the same problem and it did indeed turn out that the serrated washers were installed improperly.
Paul

Thanks for the quick reply. I will check the washers, but may not be able to do so until the weekend.

Will report back to the forum so there is a record in case others have this problem.

AEP

Could the headstock be sliding down?

mountainbreeze wrote:Could the headstock be sliding down?

I thought this to be a possibility, but it has been documented that when the headstock is loose the holes usually get less deep. Really depends on how much pressure is used during drilling.

charlese wrote:

mountainbreeze wrote:Could the headstock be sliding down?

I thought this to be a possibility, but it has been documented that when the headstock is loose the holes usually get less deep. Really depends on how much pressure is used during drilling.

Headstock or carriage??????????

Drilling RAISES the headstock?

JPG wrote:

charlese wrote:

mountainbreeze wrote:Could the headstock be sliding down?

I thought this to be a possibility, but it has been documented that when the headstock is loose the holes usually get less deep. Really depends on how much pressure is used during drilling.

Headstock or carriage??????????

Drilling RAISES the headstock?

Yes! If the headstock is a little loose, downward pressure of a drill bit could raise the headstock. Of course that pressure could also lower the carriage. But if drilling like I do, from a sitting position, the carriage is already as low as it can possibly go.

But that is not An Ex Parrot's problem. His is the opposite. Deeper holes.

I have found that if I use very hard pressure on the quill feed stop handle, I can cause the feed stop to slip. I was never able to prevent this from occurring. I found even when using new serrated washers, it only prevented the feed stop from slipping for a while before it begin slipping. This problem has occurred when I was doing my milling operations on the Shopsmith.

As Bill Mayo said, if you put a lot of pressure on the quill handle when it is against the stop it WILL move. I can make mine move if I put a LOT of pressure on it. Some folks have the opinion that if you press hard enough you can clear the chaff and chips from the bottom of the hole. Not really true. Use an air hose or a vacuum to clear the bottom of the hole. I side with the vac.
Bill V