Shopsmith Forums

My dad had this in his shop for years, and used it frequently until about 6 years ago. I recently brought it home with plans to clean it up and use it myself. Didn't get far before I ran into trouble. The extension table will not budge, not even a wiggle. I haven't been able to find any suggestions for this issue, hoping someone out there has some insight for me.

The first two posts in the Maintenance and Repair are the best sources of a well founded base if you need that.

Do the Accessory Mount Lock that holds it in turn? If so keep turning it and the Studs that lock the extension table, or any accessory in the mount will retract sufficiently where you can remove it.

Try the opposite end first so you can see how it looks.

You can squirt in Kroil or another penetrant to help break it loose. My preference is a 50 - 50 mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid.

Let your penetrant run down the length of the outside of the extension table bases (tubes that are stuck). If you can remove the Accessory Mount Lock then insert some of your penetrant in from there and wait overnight.

See if it moves the next morning, and take a 2 x 4 block and a rubber mallet and gently tap on them from below if they are low enough to be exposed. Very gently, just a bit on each side. Aluminum bends and you can wedge them in if not careful to keep them equal. That may even be part of what is wrong if someone used the work surface to pound on something.

Patience, and gentle persuasion with your penetrant will likely get it free.

I'm sure some others will weigh in with what works for them as well.

Everett

Thanks for the advice. I will try it. The accessory mount lock came off easily. There's really not much rust around the extension table, I'm hoping the tubes are not bent, but that is likely the case. I'll keep at it.

If tapping on each side go gentle so you dont cock it in the tubes, I would tap in the middle between the vertical, these machines have pretty tight tolerances and they can jam/gaul easy when sitting for years.

Austinnewby wrote:Thanks for the advice. I will try it. The accessory mount lock came off easily. There's really not much rust around the extension table, I'm hoping the tubes are not bent, but that is likely the case. I'll keep at it.

I doubt the tubes are bent, but they may well be jammed in at a very small angle and need some gentle persuasion to free up. The housing, and table mounts are aluminum, so go very easy with the enticements to move them manually.

Sounds like you are on the path to having a great experience. Once you get ready to do things, lubricate the lubrication points, wax the tubes etc. with Johnson's Paste Wax (JPW) you may see it called. If you have the Gilmer belt system drive (toothed opposed to ribbed) there is a clutch that may need some attention.

Everything of that nature is covered in the first two posts with links.

Check out a piece I wrote on Buying a Used Shopsmith - Revisited at https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... 90#p185690

Though you didn't buy it, you acquired it, and the core knowledge and history of the machines can be very useful in applying what you find in the first two posts in Maintenance and Repair.

Welcome to the Shopsmith family.

Everett

I got it loose last night. Thanks for your help. I'm still working on cleaning and waxing, but I will definitely check out your article. Fortunately, my
Father took good care of it, so fingers crossed that there aren't any major issues.