Shopsmith Forums

A few months ago I bought a the 1954 SS Mark 5 with a jig saw and jointer for $10, somebody painted it John Deere green.
sold the jig saw because I already had one.

Well today I took the head stock apart to check it over.
Cut a hole in the back so that I could check the insides easier.
Check the control sheave - looks okay but no hole to oil the shaft.
careful drilled a hole in it for oiling.

checked the teeth on the quadrant assemble - a little worn.
careful filled the teeth and checked to see how it turned.
turned a lot better now.

both belts looks like new.
checked all the bearings - all sound good and turn smoothly.

check the rest of head stock - looks good.

put it all back together and tested it out.

sounds great and checked the speeds with a digital tech.
the speeds are just about right. 725 rpms a slow speed.
speed changer turns smoothly both up and down the speeds.

I made a platform on the 1954 to hold my jointer, belt sander, band saw and lathe tool rest and end.

I will be using it for drilling and routing only.
It sits 4 feet behind my 1986 510, so that it is easy to get to.

It is great to have more than one SS.

$10? Thats a no brainer, even if it doesn't work. Nice job. Going to change the paint?

Beave2012 wrote:$10? Thats a no brainer, even if it doesn't work. Nice job. Going to change the paint?

I think he wants to use it, not decorate it!

I will not repaint it. Since I have five different John Deere garden tractors - 110 with FEL, 210 and 212 for mowing, 212 with cab for snow removal and 214 for plowing, tilling and etc.
I like buying and restore them. I have sold several that I restored over the years.

I the old 1954 SS will be used
here are some pics.

At least they picked a good color to paint it, not Farmall red.

lyall wrote:A few months ago I bought a the 1954 SS Mark 5 with a jig saw and jointer for $10, somebody painted it John Deere green.
sold the jig saw because I already had one.

Well today I took the head stock apart to check it over.
Cut a hole in the back so that I could check the insides easier.
Check the control sheave - looks okay but no hole to oil the shaft.
careful drilled a hole in it for oiling.

checked the teeth on the quadrant assemble - a little worn.
careful filled the teeth and checked to see how it turned.
turned a lot better now.

both belts looks like new.
checked all the bearings - all sound good and turn smoothly.

check the rest of head stock - looks good.

put it all back together and tested it out.

sounds great and checked the speeds with a digital tech.
the speeds are just about right. 725 rpms a slow speed.
speed changer turns smoothly both up and down the speeds.

I made a platform on the 1954 to hold my jointer, belt sander, band saw and lathe tool rest and end.

I will be using it for drilling and routing only.
It sits 4 feet behind my 1986 510, so that it is easy to get to.

It is great to have more than one SS.

The early (50s) Shopsmith used much higher quality bearings than the later models. I seriously doubt if you will need to change any bearings in the future. I find the heavier and thicker casting (A) reduces the noise level and vibration too. With an access hole to oil the control sheave, it is the best headstock casing to use. Good job on adding the oiling hole to the control sheave. Just be sure to use plenty of oil when oiling the headstock. I do not believe you can over oil the headstock. 90% of the headstock problems I found were due to lack of or insuffient oiling.

billmayo wrote:

lyall wrote:A few months ago I bought a the 1954 SS Mark 5 with a jig saw and jointer for $10, somebody painted it John Deere green.
sold the jig saw because I already had one.

Well today I took the head stock apart to check it over.
Cut a hole in the back so that I could check the insides easier.
Check the control sheave - looks okay but no hole to oil the shaft.
careful drilled a hole in it for oiling.

checked the teeth on the quadrant assemble - a little worn.
careful filled the teeth and checked to see how it turned.
turned a lot better now.

both belts looks like new.
checked all the bearings - all sound good and turn smoothly.

check the rest of head stock - looks good.

put it all back together and tested it out.

sounds great and checked the speeds with a digital tech.
the speeds are just about right. 725 rpms a slow speed.
speed changer turns smoothly both up and down the speeds.

I made a platform on the 1954 to hold my jointer, belt sander, band saw and lathe tool rest and end.

I will be using it for drilling and routing only.
It sits 4 feet behind my 1986 510, so that it is easy to get to.

It is great to have more than one SS.

The early (50s) Shopsmith used much higher quality bearings than the later models. I seriously doubt if you will need to change any bearings in the future. I find the heavier and thicker casting (A) reduces the noise level and vibration too. With an access hole to oil the control sheave, it is the best headstock casing to use. Good job on adding the oiling hole to the control sheave. Just be sure to use plenty of oil when oiling the headstock. I do not believe you can over oil the headstock. 90% of the headstock problems I found were due to lack of or insuffient oiling.

Same as the 10ER. I replace the bearings with the OEM bearings, Fafnir no sub. They are still made and I would never use an inferior bearing in such a machine. Yes they cost more but they lasted 60 years to start with so hopefully they so will last another 60 years.

Great find lyall!!! And 10 bucks is a steal. It's great having multiple SS machines.

Mike

Actually that paint job looks like someone really took their time and did a nice job. I was expecting a rattle can job over everything.

Yes they did a great job on paint the 1954 SS.
Somebody did a good job years ago rebuilding it.
The belts still looks and measure new.