Shopsmith Forums

Hello all, new to owning a ShopSmith and new to this forum.

I did a cursory search and did not find what I am looking for. I recently purchased a used 510 that so far seems to have been upgraded to a 520 based on the tables and the fence. Overall in good condition. I have been successful in oiling the shafts in the headstock and removing/cleaning/waxing the quill and quill advance mechanism. Other than a lot of cleaning, and aligning the main table, this is as far as I've gotten with it.

The only use of the tool so far has been to mount the drill chuck and a wire wheel to clean parts.

I have noticed a small noise when running the headstock and I suspect that based on its age it could probably use new bearings all around. I called ShopSmith and they do not sell a "rebuild kit". I could send them the headstock but I was looking for an easier way. I am a bit intimidated by tearing into the headstock.

I live in the Austin TX area and was wondering if anyone had posted a list of contacts for reputable repair businesses one could search by area.

I have been into woodworking for the past two years or so. I had all of the stand alone tools that the Mk V incorporates except the lathe. This is what attracted me to it.

I ran into this machine by happenstance. The owner had inherited it from a relative and he was not into woodworking, and it was just taking up space. I got the Mk V, jointer, bandsaw, dust collector and several attachments. Those include two disk sanders, a conical sander, a biscuit joiner, a grinder and a jointer/planer knife sharpener. It also has the woodturning chisels and numerous misc. parts. I got it all for $500. So far, the only real issue I have noted is one of the eccentric mounting tubes for the BS is missing and one of the BS table knobs is bent. Also the BS fence is not working or I just haven't figured it out yet.

Other than that and minor surface rust on most everything, this unit looks to be in good shape. It did not have a manual or the power coupler, but they have been ordered. It did have a plethora of VHS tapes but I haven't had a VCR in forever...

I'm excited about the jointer's capability to do rabbets, and using the table saw for crosscuts. For ripcuts I will probably stick with my job site saw (from Yellow Brand Tool Co) that I built into a workbench. And of course, woodturning.

Welcome to the club Tfrayne!!! And welcome to the forum. There is a great batch of guys here and they know a everything there is in regards to SS. I have 3 SS's at the moment. One 1990, one 1995 and I just purchased and received my Mark 7. I'm not sure of noise it's making but bearings will probably be the issue. The manual will shed a ton of light on things. It has exploded views of the headstock and names of parts. I have had my hands in both my 1990 and my 1995 headstocks with separate issues. It is very straight forward and easy to work on.

You made a great haul for $500 bucks. Well done. Pictures are always welcome here. hint hint.

I'll do some looking for some links to some videos I know you could use right now along with some channels of some guys that are pretty good and post them here in a little bit.

Kevin

Heres some youtube channels

Doug Reid. He is a SS rep and can get you 10% off SS parts and accessories. He got me a discount on my Mark 7. Great guy. His email address is on his channel and he does reply to your emails.

https://www.youtube.com/user/shopsmithdoug1

Next is My Growth Rings. This guy covers a wide range of SS topics and I like how he explains things. He was recommended to me by Doug Reid.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrToolhunter

Then there is the Shopsmith Channel so why not.

https://www.youtube.com/user/shopsmithvideo

Jacob has some good how to videos for sale as well as his youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsmjNN ... T7n1YwncQQ

Hope these help.

Thanks KCollins. I’m camping out at the mailbox…. As for the YT channels I am subscribed to the first two.

When I removed the quill advance I dropped a washer down into the headstock belly. It took nearly an hour but I was able to fish it out with a flexible grabby thing by putting the unit in the vertical position. Going back together was easy enough and that makes me think you are right about them being easy to work on. I’ll post pics when I figure out how to do that.

If thee had dropped the motor pan you would have retrieved it in about 5 min.

I tried that but it looked like it would also drop the motor and without a manual I wasn't willing to gamble. But I've been down this road before and that's why I have a flexible grabby thing.

Here is a few photos of the Mk V in my shop. I could not figure out how to properly display them so they are kinda sideways...

I'm blessed to have this shop. Its an outbuilding about 50yds from the house. Originally it was a hair dressing salon (previous owner's home business.) As such, it has plumbing. Not a lot of outbuildings have that.

I work from home and use what used to be the salon area as my office. I converted the parking area into this shop over the last two years. Most of my projects so far have been shop related. In addition I built a trellace for the yard and a jewelry box for my wife. Right now I am working on a pair of knicknack shelves for her. I am doing my very first hand cut dovetails.

You got a great deal on this machine! Your bandsaw fence needs to mount the other way, the clamping handles should be on the outfeed side. There is also some adjustment that might be needed.

- David

I think the BS fence has a missing handle which is likely a confusion factor.

Nope it shows up in another pix. ??

BTW those dovetails look good!

Thanks for the info on the BS fence. I assumed the handle would go to the feed side. It will definitely need adjustment as I ran it back and forth trying to put it on backward..