Shopsmith Forums

Hello, I have a 10er with single wedge locks and they all work wonderfully. I recently acquired two more machines, a 10e and a 10er, and both have the double wedge locks. EVERY SINGLE ONE binds when tightened (they were abused prior to finding their way into my care). I have tried flattening the angled faces and knocking them back into round but am having no success at resolving the issue. Has anyone successfully rehabbed double wedge locks? Can you help me out? Or should I just go buy some that haven't been so beat up?

It sounds like they are in pretty bad shape. All 10E's and early 10ER's, under S/N R53198 from the Western Plant and ER 40908 from the Eastern Plant have double wedge locks. I have restored 21 Model 10's, 12 of those have double wedge locks. I have two more 10E's waiting restoration. I have not had the problems you are describing with the double wedge locks being out of round and binding up. Some have benefited from being touched up on the flat locking face and I remember touching up the end of one or two that were slightly mushroomed to make them slide in better. For a time a spring was included in between the two wedges for the quill lock to help them release but I haven't really seen a binding problem on the earlier ones without the spring. The alloy used on most of the locks is softer than the brass double wedge locks that came on the early Model 10E's. If yours are out of round so bad that they cannot slide within the casting of the headstock or carriage they may need to be replaced. You could try getting them back into a useable "roundness" since you have nothing to loose if they need to end up being replaced anyway. If it is the flat locking surface causing the binding try filing them flat to the original shape.

If replacing them make sure to get the correct Quill Locks as later 10ER double wedge Quill Locks were keyed as shown below third from the left.

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What is the proper lube for the wedge locks after cleaning? I have 2 10 ers to be restored.

I do not use any lubrication on them. They should slide easily in the holes of the Headstock and Carriage. Just make sure the wedges and the holes are clean. You would not want to have lubrication on the lock face against the Way Tube or Quill making it more difficult for them to hold things in place. I use Original Formula Johnson's Paste Wax in the holes to protect the bare metal the same as the Way Tubes and other bare metal, cast iron or steel parts. See the attached PDF below for waxing Model 10's.

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I have a 10E Serial No 228 made under Licence by CC Engineering Industries Ltd in Australia.
I have misplaced a headstock tubular way wedge and have similar problems described in the forum re jamming.
Are these available or do I have to have them made up.
They are the same as the second image in the forum, no keys.
Regards Peter

Peter,

You said,

They are the same as the second image in the forum, no keys.

Are you are referring to the picture in my earlier post in this thread with the picture of the different Quill Locks? If so, we can talk about the Double Wedge Locks if those are what you need. I would suggest starting by making sure the holes in the Headstock and Carriage are clean, smooth and waxed. Then try the individual wedges fitting into the Headstock and Carriage holes to determine which wedges need attention. Any not sliding freely into the holes can either be corrected or replaced. The wedges can be filed or sanded down carefully to adjust their fit in the holes if they are binding. You will still need to replace the missing wedge and any that cannot be made usable again.

Anyone with single Wedge Locks making them slide in the Headstock and Carriage lock holes is simpler. The wedge is not a full round one and the slit the handle goes into can widen and need to be closed up a bit for the wedge to fit smoothly into the hole.