Shopsmith Forums

I always thought the fence adjustments were clunky, but as not used to anything better, what did I know, after years of using a good fence on my stand alone table saw, I saw what the problem was, the 2 cup head screws used to adjust alignment were scraping on the rail, so I came up with this solution designed after my table saw fence. Plus I replace the spring that is supposed to release the rear clamp with a stronger on to more effectively release the rear clamp.

I like it!

I still have fond memories of fixing up a derelict 500 fence once, with some threaded rod, red loctite, etc. Little satisfactions in life are the best!

Chris

I always liked the original fence. To me the locking design is superior. I never had my 500 fence lock down crooked.
To me the ideal fence would be the 500 lock down with a 520 fence body.

Ed in Tampa wrote:I always liked the original fence. To me the locking design is superior. I never had my 500 fence lock down crooked.
To me the ideal fence would be the 500 lock down with a 520 fence body.

I always thought it was great, BUT then I had a Biesemer fence on a table saw I had years ago and then I realized the short comings, BUT that said, this improvement makes the 500 fence wok 100 % better. I was going to but the new Shopsmith fence system but decided to try what was rolling around in my head and after I did, I decided this was a good fence, now I am working on a UHMW slide for the opposite end so it doesn't SCREEEEECH as it slides on the table, will post that after it is done.

Interesting idea, you do know that those setscrew should be retracted right? They are there to off set the fence for sanding operations and not for alignment.

But the idea of a slick surface to slide on sounds interesting. I have a roll of 3/4" self stick unmw plastic some where out in the shop and I have a rip fence that I use on my shopsmith drill press so I'll give it a try.

Before anyone else says it "slick idea".

Ed

And again the set screws have confused folks.

THEY ARE NOT THERE TO ALIGN THE FENCE 'NORMALLY'.

They are to bias it for operations that require off setting.

Slick tape may 'feel' nice, but the registering surface is the bevel underneath.

The clamp sequence is controlled by the different spring tension on both ends of the center rod.

The front clamp with a weaker return spring is closed by the control rod rotating(and advancing into the nut at the rear clamp). Since the front spring is weaker, the rear clamp does not begin to close until the front clamp is closed. Then further rotation of the control rod will cause the rear clamp to close as the rod continues to advance into the nut.

The spring you replaced looks like the one that should be on the front. If the 'stronger' one is indeed placed at the front, it needs to be weaker than the one at the rear.

To hopefully clarify, a weak spring at the front and a stronger one at the rear.

The control rod merely moves in/out of the rear nut(taking the sleeve that actuates the front clamp with it) and advances the rear clamp after the front clamp is closed.

Well with the UHMW on the face it slides 1000% better than it ever did before, I guess that is why all other fence makers use the nylon or UHMW to face that surface, AND they all use the set screws to correct the alignment rather than having to loosen the bolts any time a change is needed, I admit I used the set screws to align the fence, because all of the other fences I ever used did that and said so in their instructions, I just read my Mark 5 original manual(1981) and on the fence it doesn't mention the set screws anywhere, it may in another section, but I read about setting up the fence, that would have been an ideal place to explain that, but they chose not to in my manual anyway, but then as I went through the fence parts list they mis-numbered some things, uncorrected typos, so maybe in a later version they did go into the set screws, what page in your owners manual do they explain that, I will look in mine to see if it is there. Thanks for the info, but now I will use the set screws to move the UHMW in and out. I changed the spring on my fence near the lock nob, because when I would loosen it I had to wiggle the fence to get it to release, now with the stronger spring, loosen the knob and slid, no wiggling needed because the new spring pops it loose.

I checked my manual the long spring, the one I replaced goes at the end nearest the the lock Knob, the short spring goes at the other end near the back lock.

Did it occur to you that the set screws and the scars were causing the front clamp to jam?

From the Mark 5 manual circa 1962.
Description of both can also be found in PTWFE of that vintage(1955) and the later reprint by SS Inc..

no the "scars" weren't the problem, it was the bevels between the fence and the table, once wedged together they were LOCKED and had to be wiggled to loosen, the two beveled surfaces were clean and not scarred, only covered in the rough original paint, might have been better if the paint was sanded off, with this UHMW slip strip it doesn't wedge. and releases immediately, yet locks FIRMLY in place. I have 3 versions of the owners manual, the original that came with the Mark 5, one that I bought in the early 90's in a SS store in the Chicago suburbs and the one that came with a 1954 version I once had, each one is different in some manner, I have always used the one I bought in the early 90's, figuring it was the newest, so it must be the best, maybe not.