Shopsmith Forums

Last summer I bought two 520 upgrades for my 510s and received them in late September. I installed one almost right away and installed the other one a couple of weeks ago. On the second one, the grommets in the aluminum rail pull out so it is impossible to secure the tables.

I thought about epoxy to keep them in place but thought maybe I should call the mother ship and see if I can get them replaced before I make the problem worse. I can pull these all the way out with my fingers.

Of course call SS. Why not?

When you notify a manufacturer of an obvious defect like that, you’re actually doing them a favor. The sooner they can inspect their inventory and take corrective action, the less it costs them in the long run.

As John and Dennis said call Shopsmith. These Blind Nuts were not set when they were installed. They work somewhat like a pop rivet when being installed pulling the "nut" end closer to the material it is being set in. A tool is required to properly set them which has a threaded end that screws into the "nut" end of the blind nut and is squeezed like a pop rivet tool. This expands the sleeve of the blind nut between the threaded part and the back of the material it is being set in just like a pop rivet. Simply putting a bolt into the blind nut and "tightening" it may work but you could just as easily tear off the ribs it has and never get it tight since you cannot hold the back side of the blind nut to keep it from turning.