Shopsmith Forums

Hi all,

This evening I was reassembling the caster assembly on one of the legs of my '55 Greenie, and while hammering the pin back into the rocker wheel to hold it onto the rod, the thing split on the first hit of the pin. I had no idea that it was that brittle.

Anyway, I looked in my owner's manual and there appears to only be a part number for the entire assembly and I don't see any indication that ShopSmith sells them either, based on their parts lists. Is there any place to get a new one of these, or is the only source eBay?
Thanks,
John

I don't think you will get that from the mothership. However, full assemblies are available on ebay pretty reasonable. You might try there.

JMHO

Shopsmith does sell some of the retractable caster parts but apparently not this one. The current part number is 5015669 (Cam) but shows item not found. The cam is the same going back to even the retractable casters for the Model 10's. You might contact Shopsmith customer service to see if they can help. Another option would be to directly contact any online sellers who are advertising retractable caster parts as they may have one but not have it listed.

Thanks, guys. <sigh/> It's discouraging. I think I'm making progress and then something stupid like this happens. I just can't believe that it split like that.

johnkgerken wrote:Thanks, guys. <sigh/> It's discouraging. I think I'm making progress and then something stupid like this happens. I just can't believe that it split like that.

Could you repair the broken piece, Drill through and screw them together, Tap one side, recess for the machine screw head and clearance hole on the other, some CA glue or jb weld on the broken surfaces.

One thing to know going forward. Don't know if this is true for MK5 casters but it is true for Model 10 casters. At least the ones I have refurbished. The roll pin holes were not apparently drilled with an accurate fixture or any fixture at all. Every hole is slightly different and the cams have to go back on the same rod on the same end in the same orientation when they were removed. Otherwise the holes in the cam and rod will not line up all the way through.

Don't ask me how I know.

jsburger wrote:One thing to know going forward. Don't know if this is true for MK5 casters but it is true for Model 10 casters. At least the ones I have refurbished. The roll pin holes were not apparently drilled with an accurate fixture or any fixture at all. Every hole is slightly different and the cams have to go back on the same rod on the same end in the same orientation when they were removed. Otherwise the holes in the cam and rod will not line up all the way through.

Don't ask me how I know.

I'm sure of that very thing about lining up. I'll admit it I took mine apart and had a hell of a time getting it back together.

cham-ed wrote:

jsburger wrote:One thing to know going forward. Don't know if this is true for MK5 casters but it is true for Model 10 casters. At least the ones I have refurbished. The roll pin holes were not apparently drilled with an accurate fixture or any fixture at all. Every hole is slightly different and the cams have to go back on the same rod on the same end in the same orientation when they were removed. Otherwise the holes in the cam and rod will not line up all the way through.

Don't ask me how I know.

I'm sure of that very thing about lining up. I'll admit it I took mine apart and had a hell of a time getting it back together.

Thank you for confirming my experience. That may be why the OP broke his cam casting.

True fer sure. Also the connecting rod/casting holes are 'uniquely drilled' as well.

The model 10 cams were NOT drilled all the way through.

Then there are the later ones(MVII also) that have set screws and no pins.

JPG wrote:True fer sure. Also the connecting rod/casting holes are 'uniquely drilled' as well.

Wow. OK, so all of this explains much of the difficulty I had during reassembly. I purposely only disassembled one set of casters thinking that would ensure that I was able to get everything put back together correctly. But had great difficulty getting the cam holes to line up before trying to put the roll pins in, and frankly, I'm still not sure that I got them oriented exactly right.

So this raises an interesting question: Suppose I'm able to purchase another set of cams. Should I redrill the hole in the connecting rod to ensure that everything lines up when the pin goes in? I'm not even sure you can DO that without breaking the connecting rod. What do you guys do?

Thanks,
John