Shopsmith Forums

I learned something about my Mark V this morning. My 520 quill has often been a little bit sticky, despite several attempts to clean/polish/lube/adjust it. But today, it started seriously binding up while under load -- as in the return spring couldn't even retract it without a lot of help. So out came the quill again.

This time, I noticed that the quill-feed pinion shaft itself was sticky, even with the quill removed. Bingo! I hit it with a combination of graphite powder and Teflon spray, and for good measure I lubed both sets of wing-nut threads with the same combo. Then I put the quill back in, and now it feels like a million bucks. I would never have believed it could be so smooth. No squeaking when I lock the quill or set the depth stop, either.

I don't recall ever seeing anything about lubing the quill-feed pinion shaft in the Mark V maintenance instructions. And I still didn't see anything during a quick instruction review and Google search today. Do any of you guys lube yours? Is there a written recommendation on this anywhere?

Sitcky congealed oil dissolved by the teflon propellant.

That be my guess.

I like 'dry' powdered graphite.

JPG wrote:Sitcky congealed oil dissolved by the teflon propellant.

That be my guess.

I like 'dry' powdered graphite.

I am a fan of powdered graphite and use it often where I don't want a greasy/oily film for something that I am lubricating. Related to this post, I have been wondering if anyone uses anything non-standard to lubricate any parts on their Shopsmith equipment? The reason that I ask is because I am a mountain biker, so I always have "dry-film" type lubricants in my shop for chain lubrication. The idea behind them is you spray them on wet, but after the solvent evaporates you have a dry, lubricated surface left which is less likely to attract dust. Hence their application for mountain biking in dry terrain where they excel. Similarly on woodworking equipment we want to lubricate and repel sawdust as much as possible. Just curious if anyone has tried these dry-film type lubricants on their Shopsmith equipment? I have used lots of brands, but I am currently partial to DuPont's Teflon Non-Stick Dry-Film Lubricant. It even says on the label "woodworking and trademen tools" as one of the applications for it. I haven't tried using it yet on my Mark V, but curious if anyone has used something similar before. It would be easier to just stock JPW (cleaning/polishing) and a dry lube (lubricating) that I can share with my biking hobby. Anyone used a "dry-film" lubricant on their Shopsmith?

https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Teflon-No ... B07L6X5HL5

JPG wrote:Sitcky congealed oil dissolved by the teflon propellant.

That be my guess.

I like 'dry' powdered graphite.

It could be, if any oil was put there by the previous owner. But it didn't feel gummy. It felt and sounded like galling metal.

By the way, I generally prefer powdered graphite myself. I proved to myself that it was slipperier than Teflon powder, back when I was helping my son with his cub scout pinewood derby car races. But in this case, the propellant in the Teflon stuff was real handy for getting the graphite powder where it needed to be.

I use dry lube on the lock handles of the 520 fence. I find they get hard to close after a while. I will have to look but I think it is Boeshield. It works great. I am not sure what one would use on the lock handles besides a spray on dry lube.

RFGuy wrote:

JPG wrote:Sitcky congealed oil dissolved by the teflon propellant.

That be my guess.

I like 'dry' powdered graphite.

I am a fan of powdered graphite and use it often where I don't want a greasy/oily film for something that I am lubricating. Related to this post, I have been wondering if anyone uses anything non-standard to lubricate any parts on their Shopsmith equipment? The reason that I ask is because I am a mountain biker, so I always have "dry-film" type lubricants in my shop for chain lubrication. The idea behind them is you spray them on wet, but after the solvent evaporates you have a dry, lubricated surface left which is less likely to attract dust. Hence their application for mountain biking in dry terrain where they excel. Similarly on woodworking equipment we want to lubricate and repel sawdust as much as possible. Just curious if anyone has tried these dry-film type lubricants on their Shopsmith equipment? I have used lots of brands, but I am currently partial to DuPont's Teflon Non-Stick Dry-Film Lubricant. It even says on the label "woodworking and trademen tools" as one of the applications for it. I haven't tried using it yet on my Mark V, but curious if anyone has used something similar before. It would be easier to just stock JPW (cleaning/polishing) and a dry lube (lubricating) that I can share with my biking hobby. Anyone used a "dry-film" lubricant on their Shopsmith?

https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Teflon-No ... B07L6X5HL5

This is the stuff that I used in conjunction with the powdered graphite. It may be the same stuff you linked to, just in an older-style can. It's great for door hinges and the like, and it won't make a mess like graphite powder can. But in head-to-head testing, including on my 520 fence-locking cams and pinewood derby car axles, it didn't perform as well as powdered graphite.

BuckeyeDennis wrote: This is the stuff that I used in conjunction with the powdered graphite. It may be the same stuff you linked to, just in an older-style can. It's great for door hinges and the like, and it won't make a mess like graphite powder can. But in head-to-head testing, including on my 520 fence-locking cams and pinewood derby car axles, it didn't perform as well as powdered graphite.

Dry lube.JPG

Dennis,

Yeah, the name is slightly different but the can (pics included) looks exactly like mine so probably the same stuff. Glad you figured out the lubrication on your quill. I never really thought about lubricating the pinion before. You said you used a combination of powdered graphite and teflon spray. Is this teflon spray that you used on the quill the DuPont one? I never heard of combining powdered graphite with a spray lubricant. I guess I mainly only use powdered graphite on door locks and the like because it can be messy, i.e. getting more on everything around it than the actual area that needs it. Is there a special powdered graphite you guys are using, e.g. maybe with a different applicator tip or something that makes it easier to use? Just wondering if there is a trick/tip here that I have been missing. That at least is the one nice thing with spray can lubricant is that with a straw attachment you can typically get the product into nooks and crannies where it is needed. Possibly less messy, but maybe not. Any tips on using powdered graphite and not losing half of it to all the surrounding areas that don't need it?

RFGuy wrote:

BuckeyeDennis wrote: This is the stuff that I used in conjunction with the powdered graphite. It may be the same stuff you linked to, just in an older-style can. It's great for door hinges and the like, and it won't make a mess like graphite powder can. But in head-to-head testing, including on my 520 fence-locking cams and pinewood derby car axles, it didn't perform as well as powdered graphite.

Dry lube.JPG

Dennis,

Yeah, the name is slightly different but the can (pics included) looks exactly like mine so probably the same stuff. Glad you figured out the lubrication on your quill. I never really thought about lubricating the pinion before. You said you used a combination of powdered graphite and teflon spray. Is this teflon spray that you used on the quill the DuPont one? I never heard of combining powdered graphite with a spray lubricant. I guess I mainly only use powdered graphite on door locks and the like because it can be messy, i.e. getting more on everything around it than the actual area that needs it. Is there a special powdered graphite you guys are using, e.g. maybe with a different applicator tip or something that makes it easier to use? Just wondering if there is a trick/tip here that I have been missing. That at least is the one nice thing with spray can lubricant is that with a straw attachment you can typically get the product into nooks and crannies where it is needed. Possibly less messy, but maybe not. Any tips on using powdered graphite and not losing half of it to all the surrounding areas that don't need it?

Yes, the Dupont can in my pic is what I used on the pinion shaft. My graphite powder is in a small squeeze tube, and it's difficult to get it into cracks and crevices. So I use something else to flush it into those. I've used WD-40 for this before, but here I didn't want to leave an oil residue on the shaft to attract sawdust. So I made a litle pile of graphite powder on top of the shaft, right next to the bore. Then I used the Teflon spray to flush the graphite powder into the bore, figuring that adding a second type of dry lubricant couldn't hurt. Much faster than disassembling the thing to lube it.