Shopsmith Forums

I have a bunch of shop smith catalogs from late 70s, some that were from Magna American, some actual type writer letters from Shop Smith.

This particular one makes me wonder if these things were related to the head I have and if the parts were changed out.

Easy enough to tell. Remove the belt cover and examine the drive sleeve pulley / idler pulley. A gander at the drive belt will also reveal.

JPG wrote: ↑Mon Jun 27, 2022 10:29 pm Easy enough to tell. Remove the belt cover and examine the drive sleeve pulley / idler pulley. A gander at the drive belt will also reveal.

Not being familiar with old verses new, I would not be sure what I am looking at. However, I watched a video today that indicates how to tell if the quil is a single or dual bearing so that is a good start. This thing is just so cool, I am fighting off the urge to just play with it and focus on what I have, need, and clean up and maint.

Thanks

A Gilmer(old/original) belt is 'cogged' like a timing belt. The Poly-V(new version) is like a serpentine fan belt(multiple grooves along the length).

JPG wrote: ↑Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:19 pm A Gilmer(old/original) belt is 'cogged' like a timing belt. The Poly-V(new version) is like a serpentine fan belt(multiple grooves along the length).

That I can check tomorrow, thanks for that.

BTW thee does not look very 'old'.

When I first started working in Information Technology in 2000 I was older than many I worked with. There was a young lady from India who had walked in a room we were working in and asked the other young employees "who is daoldguy" as it sounded with her accent, hence the nic name started. Having grey hair starting at 17 helped it along.

You must have been "over 30'".

JPG wrote: ↑Tue Jun 28, 2022 10:06 am You must have been "over 30'".

Then Yes.... Just a hair over

I see my drive link that goes to the Jointer is an early version steel with the rubber in-between. I know there is a retro kit for 44 bucks that is nylon, worth the upgrade?

Although I cannot see the if it has the mounting posts your Jointer looks pretty complete. Judging by the Cutter Guard and it being the original version I would say the Jointer is about the same age as your Mark 5. Clean it up, make sure the bearings turn smoothly and freely than sharpen the knives and you will have a very nice working Jointer.

The original owner did a great job keeping the documentation and can be a valuable reference. The page you showed was the company letting owners of early (Greenies) Mark 5's know that some parts were no longer available but upgrades would keep their Shopsmith Mark 5 running. In this case upgrading from the Gilmer Drive to the Poly V Drive. Changes and upgrades even continue today. Shopsmith has discontinued making replacement parts for most of the original aka 500 Table System but any older Mark 5/V can be upgraded to the current Table System. One of the great things about the Shopsmith Mark 5 and what the engineers have done over the years was to make improvements to the Mark 5/V still work in even the first Greenies made.

Your Shopsmith collection includes both old and newer parts. The Lathe Steady Rest being one of those newer items. I did spot an interesting Item which is circled in the copy of your picture below. It is the original power coupler used to connect the Jointer and Jig Saw to the Mark 5 Headstock for power. It does not use the Metal Hubs like all other Power Couplers made since the introduction of the Belt Sander in 1955. Instead it uses a set screw in each end to lock on to the 5/8" drive shaft of the Headstock and the 1/2" drive shaft of the Jointer or Jig Saw. Because the Belt Sander and the Bandsaw which followed both have a 5/8" drive shaft the Power Coupler was redesigned to use Hubs to work between the different SPT's. If you want to use other SPT's like the Belt Sander or Bandsaw you will want to change to the newer Power Coupler setup with Hubs. Depending on the condition of the rubber in the old coupler it could break at any time during use. Remember it is at least 67 years old.

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