Shopsmith Forums

I read somewhere in the books that when you use the paste wax on the way tubes you should not slide the headstock until the paste wax is polished off.

Well last night, I put the headstock in the drill press mode...went to drill a hole and wondered why the drill bit did not go deep. The depth stop was not used. Then I noticed my table was sliding down every time I lowered to drill. I tried the "hold my beer/watch this" route by holding the table with one hand to drill with the other. Too awkward for me.

I then put two metal hand clamps on the tubes under the lock portion. This worked!

Now my question, how do I remove the wax from the locking portion or will it remove it self in time?

I don't remember sliding the headstock over the wax but I must have.

Or is something else wrong?

Thanks,

Greg

I would clean the tubes with mineral spirits to get rid of any dead wax and then rewax the tubes.

The carriage and headstock locks should work for you even with the tubes waxed.

Wax has never caused me any issues. I wax one end of the tubes, slide the headstock, and wax the other end. It doesn't cause any problems here. Wax dries after a bit, so it shouldn't stop the headstock from locking down.

If you have a model 500 check the wedges to make sure they are not worn. If you have a mod 510 or 520 check the lock nut on the rear of the carriage that sets the tension of the carriage lock handle.
Bill V

wa2crk wrote:If you have a model 500 check the wedges to make sure they are not worn. If you have a mod 510 or 520 check the lock nut on the rear of the carriage that sets the tension of the carriage lock handle.
Bill V

I have a 520

I will look for then check the locknut.

I hope it will be that easy

Thank you

I found the nut but now confused. I was looking for guidance on how much to tighten. According to page D-20 of the mark V model 520 maintenance and troubleshooting it says," tighten nut on back of carriage lock handle shaft"

That is all

Reading further down to other problems it tells us to tighten 1/4 turn past snug

Is this how much I should tighten this nut?

pilvr83 wrote:I found the nut but now confused. I was looking for guidance on how much to tighten. According to page D-20 of the mark V model 520 maintenance and troubleshooting it says," tighten nut on back of carriage lock handle shaft"

That is all

Reading further down to other problems it tells us to tighten 1/4 turn past snug

Is this how much I should tighten this nut?

No, just tighten it a little at a time and check the lock. The lock handle should get tight and then feel like it went over center. Do Not over the nut. If you do the lock handle will not rotate fully and not lock. Excessive over center pressure on the lock handle is not needed.

Creep up on it until it stops slipping.