Shopsmith Forums

Quite awhile back, I removed the lift assist from my Mark V. I did this at the same time I installed the Double Tilt and have never put it back.

Two days ago I decided to quit moving the box or Lift Assist parts around the shop and installed it on the Shorty. My Shorty doubles as a drill press and power source for the Belt Sander most of the time. It therefore goes back and forth between configurations frequently and frequently I am reminded that I don't handle that task as easily as I once did.

Well, I decided to install the Lift Assist on the Shorty. It works!!! In fact, it works almost too good. I fully realized that the Shorty would come up more easily than the Mark V BUT I did get a bit of a surprise. The Shorty has to be constrained as it goes up. The Lift Assist is actually too strong. I am not going to remove it because it is easier to hold the Shorty in check than it was to lift but I do have to be careful.

This is interesting to hear but for a different reason then you might expect.

Maybe a month ago or so I had my powerpro up in drill press mode and then was returning it to the horizontal when a mini emergency came up which I thought needed my immediate attention so I left the machine down but didn't secure it. It seem to be staying but when I return about 15 minutes later it had risen back up all on its own.

Need less to say I will not do that again but it shows you have things sometimes happen that could have caused some ill effects, just glad they didn't this time.

Ed

reible wrote:This is interesting to hear but for a different reason then you might expect.

Maybe a month ago or so I had my powerpro up in drill press mode and then was returning it to the horizontal when a mini emergency came up which I thought needed my immediate attention so I left the machine down but didn't secure it. It seem to be staying but when I return about 15 minutes later it had risen back up all on its own.

Need less to say I will not do that again but it shows you have things sometimes happen that could have caused some ill effects, just glad they didn't this time.

Ed

If I remember correctly (not a guarantee by any means) I think the specs for the non Power Pro lift assist say that at a certain point of the head stock to the right it is self lifting. That seems to be what Dusty experienced. I would think the Power Pro lift assist would be the same.

jsburger wrote:

reible wrote:This is interesting to hear but for a different reason then you might expect.

Maybe a month ago or so I had my powerpro up in drill press mode and then was returning it to the horizontal when a mini emergency came up which I thought needed my immediate attention so I left the machine down but didn't secure it. It seem to be staying but when I return about 15 minutes later it had risen back up all on its own.

Need less to say I will not do that again but it shows you have things sometimes happen that could have caused some ill effects, just glad they didn't this time.

Ed

If I remember correctly (not a guarantee by any means) I think the specs for the non Power Pro lift assist say that at a certain point of the head stock to the right it is self lifting. That seems to be what Dusty experienced. I would think the Power Pro lift assist would be the same.

Yes, with the carriage and headstock moved off to the right the Mark V would begin to elevate into the drill press mode but I never had one go completely vertical without some assistance. Obviously, with the Shorty the carriage and headstock are going to be closer to the base arm than they might be with a full length Mark V BUT I never expected this puppy to shot up like it did.

I actually have to hold it down when I release the lock. At any rate, this is why I reinstalled the lift assist. I now NEED that assistance to go vertical. Getting old has all sorts of consequence.

The Main Table has gotten a lot heavier too. I found that out when I removed it from the carriage to install the lift assist.

dusty wrote:

jsburger wrote:

reible wrote:This is interesting to hear but for a different reason then you might expect.

Maybe a month ago or so I had my powerpro up in drill press mode and then was returning it to the horizontal when a mini emergency came up which I thought needed my immediate attention so I left the machine down but didn't secure it. It seem to be staying but when I return about 15 minutes later it had risen back up all on its own.

Need less to say I will not do that again but it shows you have things sometimes happen that could have caused some ill effects, just glad they didn't this time.

Ed

If I remember correctly (not a guarantee by any means) I think the specs for the non Power Pro lift assist say that at a certain point of the head stock to the right it is self lifting. That seems to be what Dusty experienced. I would think the Power Pro lift assist would be the same.

Yes, with the carriage and headstock moved off to the right the Mark V would begin to elevate into the drill press mode but I never had one go completely vertical without some assistance. Obviously, with the Shorty the carriage and headstock are going to be closer to the base arm than they might be with a full length Mark V BUT I never expected this puppy to shot up like it did.

I actually have to hold it down when I release the lock. At any rate, this is why I reinstalled the lift assist. I now NEED that assistance to go vertical. Getting old has all sorts of consequence.

The Main Table has gotten a lot heavier too. I found that out when I removed it from the carriage to install the lift assist.

Well, with a shorty you have less weight to the left of the head stock when you reach the sweet spot with the head stock due to the shorter way tubes.

jsburger wrote:

dusty wrote:

jsburger wrote:
If I remember correctly (not a guarantee by any means) I think the specs for the non Power Pro lift assist say that at a certain point of the head stock to the right it is self lifting. That seems to be what Dusty experienced. I would think the Power Pro lift assist would be the same.

Yes, with the carriage and headstock moved off to the right the Mark V would begin to elevate into the drill press mode but I never had one go completely vertical without some assistance. Obviously, with the Shorty the carriage and headstock are going to be closer to the base arm than they might be with a full length Mark V BUT I never expected this puppy to shot up like it did.

I actually have to hold it down when I release the lock. At any rate, this is why I reinstalled the lift assist. I now NEED that assistance to go vertical. Getting old has all sorts of consequence.

The Main Table has gotten a lot heavier too. I found that out when I removed it from the carriage to install the lift assist.

Well, with a shorty you have less weight to the left of the head stock when you reach the sweet spot with the head stock due to the shorter way tubes.

I think it has more to do with the distance the headstock is from the pivot.