Shopsmith Forums

First, I need to be clear. I hate whiners. I try to make a habit of not saying Or complaining negativity about others. I do speak up when I am well served. That said...
One of the things I enjoy most with my ShopSmith is that it is old school. Like me, when others see my machine they smile. I still feel the thrill of running my machine unlike any others I have owned. ShopSmiths are just Bitchen.
Several weeks back I came across a post from a fellow member about the cost of buying a screw from ShopSmith. OUTRAGEOUS,, $3.95 for a screw! I agree. However, after owning my own company for 25 years I get it. Even at $3.95 ShopSmith could not possibly make money selling screws, washers, and similar common parts. Labor is just too expensive.
ISSUE,
Why does ShopSmith seem to refuse to bring current publications, discriptions, photos, drawings up to date? Why? If ShopSmith took the time to list a “ Machine Screw” as just what it is.. list the type of screw, thread count, length, head style, it seems to me that would solve a huge amount of problems. Why have the photographs not been updated to HD? Why are all the exploded views so hard to decipher?
I am a new guy. I don’t know the rules of play with ShopSmith. I have now sent 3 emails to them asking questions about my order. Not one reply. I talked with customer service about the poor poor description on the glides for the miter gauge. Nowhere did it say Hex Head Glide. If it had, we never would have had a problem. I bought one of those $3.95 machine screws I spoke of earlier. Guess what? The screw is so short it barely reached the threads! I need a screw 3/16” longer. That’s a lot of unused threads. Please note! The most important part of this post is ShopSmith is not properly identifying what the part is. Example. Glides. That’s what I ordered. Then you get the printed invoice and it states Hex Glide. I know Hardware and proper nomenclature across the board. On my newly acquired SS many of the parts are missing. I have no idea that there are two types of glides. The ones I currently have are completely stripped out. I rely on the accuracies of information presented when I order.
I get the entire “ push” to upgrade. Mark 7, move up to a 505, or 510. The exact same problems would exist.
Being the New Guy, I welcome others to speak up and tell me the best way to continue to do good business with ShopSmith.
Warm Regard and Happy Holidays,
Thom Schuck
Portland, Oregon

I can sure understand your frustration. I worked for Shopsmith back in the 90's and knew the wealth of info the staff had back then because we all worked with the older models and knew them. Then there is even more info with the intro of the newer models and many changes that are still used today. Unfortunately, very few people are left that have that knowlege base and understanding of the equiptment.

On the positive side, as I have continued to work in the woodworking tool industry I don't know if there are any other companies that you could even hope to get a part for a 20 year old machine let alone 50 plus year old machine. Overall my experience with Shopsmith has been very positive and I actualy got an email response the next day about a part question.

The drawings do bother me as well but I like to think they are doing what they can and keep trying if you are not satisfied. Also make use of this forum because there are some very dedicated users who love to help.

I hope this helps and gives you some encouragement.

Thank you for that Paul. Words of experience are always the ones I value most. I am quick to recognize the talent and experience of fellow members. Having this many active members speaks volumes as to the life long passion of so many. Don’t get me wrong! I love all things ShopSmith, and all it represents. The Mark 5 should be in MOMA. This forum is a HUGE bonus that came with my Mark V. I have owned my ShopSmith for 3 months. Absolute Blast....
Like I said, New Guy.
Thom Schuck
Portland, Oregon

You are preaching to the choir. We all feel your frustration and have experienced some of it as well.

In spite of that I for one is still loyal and do hope the inexperienced folks do get up to speed. I do not expect that to take place very soon. Too much uphill and generational attitude must be overcome.

SS is in the midst of a combination of new personnel and new procurement problems. A while back JIT became the operation mode. That has not gone well. SS production quantities and cash flow(assumption) causes lead times that do not fit into JIT 'planning'. Recent purging of excess parts inventory lead me to those conclusions.

Keep the faith!

FWIW a half century ago common hardware parts were described in the parts lists and local sourcing was suggested. Within this forum, many of those parts and descriptions(by part #) are documented.

DUSTY this is your que to link to it.

I know too little to make many comments about the price of parts needed to maintain a Shopsmith. I do, however, know that I don't buy what some have called common hardware from operations like Shopsmith. Would you even consider going to the local Ford garage to purchase bolts, nuts and screws. Yes, if they were special/unique items but NO if they are common hardware. Just don't buy the "small stuff" from Shopsmith. Go to a nearby hardware store. Oh, you say that tappered screw in the miter bar is not available at your local hardware store. Now if you can't look at a 1/4"-20 1/2" screw and tell it is a 1/4"-20 1/2" screw...well...

I wonder what this hardware ended up costing the OP.

Reading this, I realize that I'm "really old school". I have a good selection of basic SAE hardware in my garage so when I need a generic screw, bolt, or nut, I simply get one from the garage. I don't need a diagram or list to find the right one. If I need a bolt, I just eyeball it and if it looks like 1/4", try a 1/4" bolt to see if it threads in. If it does, I measure what length I need and pick one that length from my garage selection. If it needs a unique part, I'm more than happy to order it from Shopsmith. As already stated, there are no other 50 year old machines that still have parts readily available. That is why I love my Shopsmith. It is old school like me and it works every day.

As a bonus, my Shopsmith doesn't use metric fasteners which is great because I don't have a selection of metric parts on hand. I'm not metric.

Sometime ago I stripped the hex socket out of the screw which holds the blade guard on the quill. I went to a local Ace hardware store and they found me an exact replacement that they had in stock. I have found some good alternatives to manufacturer's parts ordering. They be, Rural King, Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware and sometimes Lowes or Home Depot. Looking in these places may be fruitful.
Bill V
McMaster Carr is also an alternative but you will pay shipping.

Hi Thom,

In your first post you asked about the guides for the miter. Are yours the set screw style (P/N 501406) or hex bolt style (P/N 514566)? You did not post which ones you had. The replacement set screw style I believe I got at Parkrose Hardware at 10625 NE Sandy Blvd. They have a larger selection of nuts, bolts etc. than most hardware stores here in the Portland area. W. C. Winks Hardware at 200 SE Stark also has a large selection of parts not commonly found at most hardware stores. When looking up parts on the Shopsmith website it usually has only the most current part in the exploded view drawings and parts list. In the case of the Miter it shows the newest one with the "T" track washer which is removed for use on the Mark V 500 table. That one uses the hex bolt glide and there is no mention of the set screw glide. It can be found by looking it up by it's part number. Having a parts list for your era of Mark V is helpful for that along with parts lists for any upgrades.

Also did you resolve the bent bar issue on the miter from your second post?