Shopsmith Forums

Hello all!

After putting my shopsmith search on hold for a few years, I had one unexpectedly fall into my lap at a great deal a couple weeks back. Naturally, it needs a little work, but does run and hopefully just needs a little TLC. I’ve looked through some of the amazing restoration threads, and while that is something I would love to work towards eventually, right now I would like to just get it running smoothly and rust free. I also want to be especially careful about preventing rust, as I live in a humid area.

Anyways, I have what will likely end up being a barrage of questions that I hope will get a few answers from those much more experienced than I.

1. There seems to be a near cult-like following for Johnson’s Paste Wax, do I put it literally on everything? This leads to…

2. I think I’ve got how I’m going to remove rust, paint, and oxidation on aluminum, will the paste wax protect against rust and oxidation? Or at least until I can get some surfaces painted?

3. Is oxidation on aluminum superficial? To be specific, is it destructive like rust, or mostly just visual?

4. I’ve seen a few recommendations for rust oleum hammered paint, am I correct in assuming any spray paint designed for metal paint will work? (Provided a primer is used first)

5. This last one is a bit embarrassing, but I broke the quill feed lever during transport, and was wondering what the best way to get another was? I’m guessing eBay, but you never know.

That’s it for now I guess, I’ll post a few pics of mine in case you’d like to see.

Thanks for reading,
Filliad

my question is what are you going to start on first ? JMO once cleaned and polished paste wax everything that slides , or your wood sill slide on or rub against . post pictures and questions as you go there is a wealth of knowledge here that will keep you working safe .

Filliad,

First off Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum. As you have already found out there is lots of information and help to be found here. To start lets go through your questions and beginning comments. A little TLC and maintenance is a good start. Do you have an Owner's Manual with it? You will find that very helpful. A PDF summary manual is available at the link below.

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

A couple things to note - You have a Mark 5 or V with the original table system AKA Model 500. Mark 5 and Mark V is whether it was made before or after early 1980. The difference between the Mark V Models is the Table System and it related parts. Knowing the age of your Shopsmith can also be helpful. The Serial Number can help identify that. Now lets answer your numbered questions.

1. Johnson's Paste Wax original formula is a good protectant for metal parts and provides lubrication. I don't know if I would call a cult-like following as similar furniture/floor paste waxes will work too. Shopsmith over the years has recommended Johnson's Paste Wax but also more recently others like Minwax which they currently supply in their Help Kit. As Hobbyman2 said

once cleaned and polished paste wax everything that slides , or your wood sill slide on or rub against

which is pretty much true. As I said it lubricates and protects the bare metal parts.

2. The Paste Wax will help protect bare metal.

3. Oxidation on aluminum is more superficial than rust but still not something you want to have and removal is generally easier than rust. On the tables it will impede materials sliding across them. Again paste wax will help materials slide better across the tables.

4. The Hammered Finished Paint was used on the early Mark 5's painted in the Greenie (1954-1960) and Goldie (1960-1963) paint colors. After that time all Mark 5/V's have been painted in Shopsmith Gray. Older Mark 5/V's manufactured prior to 10/01/01 use one formula of gray paint while newer Mark V's manufactured after 10/01/01 use another formula. While the color didn't change, the paint type did. This required a change in the touch-up paint Shopsmith sells for proper adhesion. This is another case where it helps to know when your Mark V and accessories were made provided you are going to use the Shopsmith Gray Touch-up Paint. By the way your Mark V was made prior to the change in the paint formula.

5. Things happen. If it is just the Quill Feed Lever (part number 513017) and/or the Quill Feed Hub (part number 5041739) a new one can be purchased from Shopsmith here on this website or you can look for a used one. See the link below for the parts diagram drawing. The lever is the shaft with the handle on the end (reference # 135) and the Hub (reference # 134) is the part the handle screws into and goes on the end of the Pinion Shaft.

https://www.shopsmith.com/service/heads ... iagram.htm

It look like you have some work ahead but you will end up with some nice tools to use. The Bandsaw on its own power stand is a nice addition and will be ready to use anytime after some cleaning and maintenance. Since it has it's own stand you can use it without having to mount it on the Mark V. There is an online PDF manual available for the Bandsaw at the link below. It is for the newer one with the aluminum table but maintenance and use are primarily the same other than differences in the table.

https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/manuals/845539.pdf

Thanks for the responses!

To answer Hobbyman, I hadn’t really thought about what to start first, but it is an important question to answer. I guess priority one is going over the headstock and tubes, as those are rather important. Then probably the table saw as that’s what I have been missing the most.

I don’t have the owners manual, but have grabbed an online version. I did look up the serial number when I got it, and if I did it right it should’ve been made in June 1978.

I was joking a bit about the cult like following of Johnson’s paste wax, I had just found it humorous how often it seems to be specifically mentioned. Regardless, thanks for the info about it, I’ll be sure to use it often.

Thanks for letting me know about the different paints, I don’t know if I’ll be sticking with the traditional colors though, as gray isn’t the most exciting paint scheme.

Thanks for the part number, it is just the lever but I was having trouble finding just that part without the whole assembly.

The bandsaw is a nice addition I agree, but the rubber on the wheels is shot so I’ll have to get that replaced before it’s usable, but it shouldn’t be too bad I think.

Thanks again for all the help!

-Filliad

The reason for reference to "Johnson's ORIGINAL paste wax" is that it is slippery and typical floor waxes today contain an anti-slip additive.

The other thing that hasn’t been said about Johnson’s Paste Wax is that it doesn’t collect dust and gum things up like oil does. The old instructions for at least some of these machines says to use oil, and most of us who are new to ShopSmith are experienced with just oiling metal parts that rub together, so the idea of using this wax as a lubricant is actually a wonderful discovery.

The oxidation on aluminum is similar to the oxidation on steel, we just call the latter rust. It can be just as destructive to aluminum, especially in wet, salty environments where it will turn aluminum to white powder. If you live near the sea coast you may need to do more to protect your aluminum than if you live inland, especially if you get ocean mist where you’re at.

Oh wow, thanks for the clarification on the wax, that makes a lot of sense now. I’ll be sure to make sure I get the right kind now.

I do live near the coast so it’s always humid, but not so much that it’s salty. I’ll still be sure to keep everything protected though, I’m well familiar with rust damage.

Filliad wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:55 am I do live near the coast so it’s always humid, but not so much that it’s salty. I’ll still be sure to keep everything protected though, I’m well familiar with rust damage.

It isn't just salty environments. I live in the desert with a fairly dry shop, far from any ocean. I am the original owner of my 520 for over 2 decades. A few of the aluminum surfaces have started corroding despite it being very dry here and no salt air. Granted it took a loooong time for the corrosion to start given my environment, but still worth protecting them no matter where you live.

Another thing I forgot about aluminum oxidation, it is more susceptible to the corrosion between dissimilar metals, and especially when salt water is added. On navy ships we often used stainless steel, but it rusted pretty quickly too, for exposed metal on the topside decks we used monel. Anything aluminum, especially with steel nuts and bolts, would need to be perfectly cleaned of all white powder and well protected with either lots of grease or paint, but even then we would have to frequently return to clean it up again. It was a constant battle, and if you didn’t keep up on the preventive maintenance it would all just turn to white dust. In those environments aluminum oxidation is quicker and more destructive than what we see with steel.