Shopsmith Forums

It does look very clean and appears to be well cared for. I see he found the lower blade guard for it as well!!! By the way, whereabouts do you live? It looks like a desert somewhere in the Southwest...just wondering if you are local to me or not.

RFGuy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:00 pm It does look very clean and appears to be well cared for. I see he found the lower blade guard for it as well!!! By the way, whereabouts do you live? It looks like a desert somewhere in the Southwest...just wondering if you are local to me or not.

Yessir, definitely the desert - I'm in AZ

MatrixClaw wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:05 pm Yessir, definitely the desert - I'm in AZ

I thought that looked like an AZ "cookie cutter" house and yard (no offense). Well, I assume your friend can show you how to use it, etc., but if you need/want any help with it, e.g. how to perform certain functions, maintenance tips, etc. just let me know. I can always pop by for a few hours. It wouldn't be the first time that I helped an AZ neighbor with their Shopsmith.

MatrixClaw,

It does look in good shape. It should serve your needs well. If for some reason it does not you should be able to sell it to someone else and get your money back. Do give it a chance though. From the pictures it is a Mark V 510 made sometime between 1986 and 1991. RCGuy does know the Shopsmith and could be a real help if you need to be shown operations on it. If it comes with the Owner's Manual great but if not check out the summary manual from here on the Shopsmith website at the link below. Although is does not go in to detail as much as the full manual having it will be a great help in using the Shopsmith.

https://www.shopsmith.com/getting_start ... Manual.pdf

A couple other books that are helpful are the Self Study Guide and the book Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone.

RFGuy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:09 pm

MatrixClaw wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 7:05 pm Yessir, definitely the desert - I'm in AZ

I thought that looked like an AZ "cookie cutter" house and yard (no offense). Well, I assume your friend can show you how to use it, etc., but if you need/want any help with it, e.g. how to perform certain functions, maintenance tips, etc. just let me know. I can always pop by for a few hours. It wouldn't be the first time that I helped an AZ neighbor with their Shopsmith.

Ha! Funny thing is, he lives on a county island and none of the houses are the same.

Thanks, I definitely appreciate that. It's certainly going to take some getting used to!

I noticed the fence straddler and featherboard are the model 500 gray type. Wonder if this was upgraded to the 510? When did the toggle switch change to the new style?

MatrixClaw wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:20 pm
Ha! Funny thing is, he lives on a county island and none of the houses are the same.

Thanks, I definitely appreciate that. It's certainly going to take some getting used to!

Yeah, I could only see the front corner of the garage in the pic, but the house looked nice. I was just trying to make a joke since so many houses look similar out here in the Southwest. I sent you a private message on this forum, so click on it up above if you decide to take me up on my offer.

RFGuy wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:57 am

Ed in Tampa wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:47 am Okay 6 inch wide is that wide enough? How long 6 ft? Or should it be longer? How do you joint a 12 inch by 12 ft long board on a 6 inch jointer? My question was how big a jointer is big enough?

Ed,

Kind of a moot point for me since my shop is too small to accommodate it, but ideally I would like an 8" jointer in my shop. IF I ever move, that is my plan to get an 8" jointer. IF I were independently wealthy with a large enough shop then I would love to have a 12" jointer. Most panel glue-ups that I do typically have 6-8" wide boards, so really an 8" jointer should suffice. Finding local stock much wider than this is a challenge in this locale. Sorry if I misunderstood your original comments on this thread. I just don't find my Shopsmith 4" jointer to be that useful in actual practice for the types of projects that I build, or want to build. That was the point I was trying to get across, though for other customers, that make smaller wood projects, the 4" jointer may be all they need.

RFGuy the point I was trying to make is jointer width is never wide enough if the board is wider. It is never long enough if the board is longer. Therefore a “craftsman” is forced to do something different. Be it hand planing, buying different lumber, constructing jigs to use in a planer to handle the wood. Changing construction to compensate for twisted wood. The answer is not buying bigger!

Larry,

The "C" Headstock with the red safety switch came out in 1991. You are correct though, it could be an earlier Mark V the was upgraded to a 510 in 1986 or later. If we knew the serial number we could tell.

Ed in Tampa wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 10:42 am RFGuy the point I was trying to make is jointer width is never wide enough if the board is wider. It is never long enough if the board is longer. Therefore a “craftsman” is forced to do something different. Be it hand planing, buying different lumber, constructing jigs to use in a planer to handle the wood. Changing construction to compensate for twisted wood. The answer is not buying bigger!

Ed,

Yeah, I get your point...now. Sorry I didn't fully comprehend it the first time around. Yeah, it seems like there is no end when it comes to tools sometimes. I mean who wouldn't want a 20" wide planer, 12" jointer, 36" bandsaw, tablesaw with a slider, etc., etc. Tool envy can be very real for some of us. Don't get me wrong, I have gotten very good use out of my Shopsmith 4" jointer over the years and I still use it (for edge jointing). I have also cursed it many, many times for not being big enough. Of the Shopsmith accessories it is probably my least favorite that I own simply because of the capacity limitations. I am much happier with my Mark mounted planer and bandsaw than with my jointer. JMO. After 30+ years (not 100% duty cycle) of predominantly power tool woodworking, I finally have some good quality planes so I do hope to learn how to joint, by hand, in my small wood shop in the future. IF I had a bigger shop I would have just bought a bigger jointer already.