Shopsmith Forums

Ed,

Thanks. So, I just tried the same test that you did with one of my telescoping legs. Difficult to get a reliable number because the display rises so fast, but once I get past about 50lbs mine slips big time. By the time it is at 60lbs and above it has slipped 6 inches or more. Tried it multiple times all with similar results. I tightened the leg as far as it would go by hand and you can feel resistance where it just won't move anymore to tighten, so I don't think it is a hand strength question. Clearly my telescoping leg is far inferior to yours so there must be some manufacturing variability or different suppliers or something because there is a big difference in performance here.

P.S. Went back and did some more tests. Another telescoping leg that I have tends to hold well until about 60-65lbs then slips bad, but still an improvement over the 1st one. So, I went back to the 1st leg again and did a few tests where I started out with different heights and was surprised that the results vary significantly. Each time I made sure I fully tightened the leg. One time it slipped a lot at about 40lbs. Another time it didn't slip until 60-65lbs. At another height it slipped consistently around 50lbs as in the first test. Bottomline, is I think some of the telescoping legs are weaker than others, but also I think one leg can vary quite a bit depending on what height you clamp it at. Would be interesting if other owners can do this test and report their findings back to the forum here.

Keep in mind all of my extension legs came to me used, don't know how that were treated in the past. Some are definitely older than others, some clearly stronger than others.

I will make myself at least one pair of very sturdy legs that I can rely on. If I do use the mortising tool I can put it on my drill press where I have support legs in the SPT mounts so it shouldn't be a real concern, however I have heard it does take a lot of force to mortise hardwood and I don't see that much need for it given the available alternatives.

I have two types of legs. One pair has 2 setscrews on the yoke to attach to the connecting tube as seen in the second picture of the legs in this eBay listing. The others have a smaller yoke with just 1 setscrew. I don't find the single set screw to be a problem however the legs with the two setscrews are of slightly heavier construction all around.

Now I understand the legs have to swivel so extension tables can be tilted to cut bevels but why isn't the swivel be locked with a screw?

reible wrote: ↑Fri Oct 15, 2021 3:17 pm
I saw 82.x to as high as 87.x but most reading were about 85.x pounds. This seems pretty reasonable but it would be nice to see what other find.

I tried this but my scale (digital) sucks for the purpose. Does not really provide constant readings like you'd like. I found I could significantly change the slip force based on how tight I tightened the leg. Mine initially slipped around 60 pounds, but I tightened it with some shelf lining material I keep around for the purpose and applied 115 pounds with no slip on the same leg.

- David

DLB wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:44 pm I tried this but my scale (digital) sucks for the purpose. Does not really provide constant readings like you'd like. I found I could significantly change the slip force based on how tight I tightened the leg. Mine initially slipped around 60 pounds, but I tightened it with some shelf lining material I keep around for the purpose and applied 115 pounds with no slip on the same leg.

- David

Thanks David for testing and reporting your findings. I had one leg slip at only 40 lbs which is terrible. How exactly are you using shelf lining material to get a tighter grip? Was it easy to unlock the leg after getting this tighter grip? I would have thought that by making a much tighter grip on the telescoping portion that it might make it difficult to adjust again. I don't know how much variation there is in performance of these telescoping legs, but they are inadequate in my opinion and a bad design.

RFGuy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 6:47 pm Thanks David for testing and reporting your findings. I had one leg slip at only 40 lbs which is terrible. How exactly are you using shelf lining material to get a tighter grip? Was it easy to unlock the leg after getting this tighter grip? I would have thought that by making a much tighter grip on the telescoping portion that it might make it difficult to adjust again. I don't know how much variation there is in performance of these telescoping legs, but they are inadequate in my opinion and a bad design.

It is leftovers of a product like this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Con-Tact-Ul ... /100388914 I just use it between my hand and an object to improve my grip, kind of like being 30 years old. Good for pretty much anything where hand tight doesn't mean what it used to...

- David

DLB wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:03 pm It is leftovers of a product like this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Con-Tact-Ul ... /100388914 I just use it between my hand and an object to improve my grip, kind of like being 30 years old. Good for pretty much anything where hand tight doesn't mean what it used to...

- David

Thanks. What about loosening it afterwards? Did this make it harder to unlock?

RFGuy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:12 pm Thanks. What about loosening it afterwards? Did this make it harder to unlock?

Yep, if I use that to tighten it I'll have to use it to loosen it too. I'm only turning it a little bit more, I'd say not more than a few degrees, but it seemed to make a big difference in the holding power of the leg.

- David

DLB wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:24 pm Yep, if I use that to tighten it I'll have to use it to loosen it too. I'm only turning it a little bit more, I'd say not more than a few degrees, but it seemed to make a big difference in the holding power of the leg.

- David

David,

Thanks. I appreciate it. I noticed a difference depending on where I tightened the leg up and down its length as well. One leg was 40lbs in the worst case and I repeatedly tightened it at that height and it always tested around 40lbs, but moving to different heights it changed to 60lbs. Difficult to get an exact reading with a digital LCD scale. When I get a chance I will try to tighten mine with your trick. I was surprised that there are very few products available that are similar to this. I found a telescoping leg for stage platforms and it actually had specs on the website. Each leg was load rated for something like 400lbs for that application. Maybe overkill and expensive anyway. The only other option I found was a company that makes carbon fiber poles and telescoping locks for them. Camera tripods and long reach telescoping poles are the primary application for these. I couldn't find any specs for them, but I may contact the manufacturer. I am thinking a product like this for holding up Shopsmith extension tables should at least support 100lbs so I am very disappointed that the Shopsmith legs are so flimsy (at least mine are). Yes, I know you can gorilla grip them, but I was taught in my career not to do this. I would be interested to see the internal mechanism for how the lock holds on the Shopsmith telescoping legs and I wonder if gorilla gripping them will shorten their usable life.

OK folks do realize the 'swivel' part is NOT designed by SS for any purpose.

They are designed to be swivel joints for aluminum railings.

As for the poles, light weight applications are typical(tripod, golf ball retrievers , paint roller extension etc. . . . as mentioned above.)

Those I have disassembled achieve the gripping by nylon parts with a split taper on one half and a mating tapered socket on the other half. The socket squeezes the split taper to provide the anti sliding force. Like a collet/nut but all nylon(or whatever).