Shopsmith Forums

Hi everyone. I am a brand new Shopsmith owner. I picked up a 1999 Mark V for very short money and many of the parts have never even been unpackaged. The lathe drive parts are still on the cards and the turning tools have never had the covers taken off the working ends. A couple of things are missing, but I have already ordered them from Shopsmith.

I am very new to all of this and got it to do work on my house. Starting off small I plan on ripping up the carpet on the stairs and making wood steps and landings for it. Figure that would be a pretty easy way to start off.

I hope this will start off as a new hobby and help upgrade the house at the same time.
Hans

Welcome to the forum.

May I suggest that you spend some time getting used to your Shopsmith before you start the stair case project.

Spend some time cleaning and lubricating the machine and when done with that do a COMPLETE ALIGNMENT. Spend some time doing the alignment. Maybe even do it over a time or two.

Absolutely. I have already started getting to know things and have watched as many videos as I can find online. The original VHS tapes came with the tool as well as the original bill of sale and all of the books. It even came with all 4 of the project books Shopsmith sells.
Thing was built a couple of days before my birthday in 1999. I got it for $350.00 The only missing items were the upper saw guard and the set of push sticks and such, but they have been ordered and I am not running the saw until the upper guard arrives.

Welcome Hans. The Shopsmith is an amazing tool. There is a whole set of vintage videos on youtube that I'm sure you'll enjoy. They're from the earliest years of the Mark V and don't always adhere to modern safety best practices, but you can learn a lot from these videos. The tablesaw chapter is linked below.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5QP27eMXMI[/youtube]

Nice. I had not seen this series yet on you tube. Thanks for the link!

Spend a lot of time not only on youtube, but with your machine in general. Don't be afraid to "take it apart" as it is a very simple machine. You will do regular maint to it so it is a good start to getting intimate with it. When on you tube, do searches for shopsmith of course, but also for Doug Reid, he is the current youtube ambassador for shopsmith. Also, there is a LOT of video and other materials on the ShopSmith web site to get you hooked as well. Especially the Saw Dust Sessions ... http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/Sawdust_Sessions.htm

Have fun, lots of great help from guys here and an amazing amount of real world knowledge from many of the guys here ....

Welcome Hans. I will ditto what Dick said. The SS is a wonderful machine but it has a long learning curve ( a life time for some of us !) and that is half the fun of it. When you get a new machine, used or brand new, it is probably not tuned up to specs and will be in need of adjustment and alignment. Assume that as a used machine it is automatically in need of lubrication. By going through these processes you will learn the machine. A SS that is adjusted and aligned is a pleasure to work with. One that is not is disappointing at best. This forum and YouTube are both amazing resources.
Paul

I am living proof that this place is a wealth of helpful information and support. As stated, the learning curve can be steep. I actually think that my lack of information about other saws and systems was a plus in getting started! I did not have to unlearn any thing. I was pretty much a black slate. That said, spend a lot of time in the manuals and on the internet, because there are some things that are not apparent but are important. Things like turning the saw on BEFORE you adjust the speed! I have a nice neat kerf in my miter gauge as a result of NOT reading about what happens when you tilt the table! Some things are best learned by methods other than experience. Enjoy the machine.

Welcome to the Shopsmith "family". You may be interested in our new series:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/star ... signup.htm

moiramph wrote:Welcome to the Shopsmith "family". You may be interested in our new series:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/star ... signup.htm

Thanks much!!! I just signed up for it