Shopsmith Forums

Does anybody have & use a SS Deputy? Is the Deputy just a made up term for a pared down bench top mounted Shopsmith? If you use one, how do you use it? Photos would be great. I have a second older Mk V that I am considering turning into a Deputy because I don’t have the extra shop square footage for a second full size unit. Is your Deputy a second unit or your only unit?
Thanks for any replies.

The Shop Deputy is not a made up term. It was 'Made Up' by SS. It is a kit of parts to use your left over head stock and base castings after upgrading your machine to a Power Pro head stock and double tilt.

https://shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/shop_deputy.htm

IIWM, I would turn your extra machine into a shorty. A little more versatile but does take up some floor space although not as much as a full size machine. The above link shows some of what you can do with a deputy.

Having said that a deputy is a great choice if you really don't have space for a shorty.

I believe that "users" introduced the "shorty" which is just a Mark whose Way and Bench tubes have to shortened.

I believe that Shopsmith saw the market and thus the 'Deputy".

I consider the Deputy to be just that: a reassembled group of Shopsmith parts on a bench top. To get to a "Deputy" the only discarded parts are the two legs and a section of the tubes. The tubes work great as rollers under a heavy sheet of MDF.

There is also the "mini." Way tube length is approximately the same as a deputy but built on a SS base. I built one to use mostly as an improvement to a Power Station, although the footprint is a little bigger. I use mine a lot, usually has an SPT and sanding disc on it. While there is a lot of variation in shop made versions, the primary difference between a shorty (aka Mark 4) and mini (Deputy) length is whether or not it is long enough for a main table.

A stand alone drill press is another option for an extra machine. It has a smaller footprint than the others. There are numerous threads on all of these options.

- David

I give up, what’s an SPT?

We know them now as SPT which stands for Special Purpose Tool. They have also been known as Single Purpose Tool and originally Add-a-Tool. They are the Jointer, Jig Saw, Bandsaw, Belt Sander, Scroll Saw, etc.

Thank you all for the info! I’m thinking I want to set the deputy up as a stand alone 18” horizontal drum sander (like those show on YouTube) on one end and the disc sander on the other end adjacent to a rigid table end.