Shopsmith Forums

Anyone know what happened to this thing? Couple of mentions in threads where people used it so it must have been real at one time.

Was just curious about it but went to look it up and there's no price on the Shopsmith product page, and no part number. I found this part number - 556334 - in an old thread but searching on the Shopsmith site returns nothing,

Honestly, I am not surprised. When I helped a fellow forum member get acquainted with their new Mark 7 a year or so ago they had it on it. They got it by mistake thinking it was the lift assist. I only used it briefly, but I can tell you it is a real pain to take the gas shock on and off for use and you can't leave it in position except for drill press mode. It didn't seem to work that well in my opinion.

Ed,

I have seen the page you linked in the past but never considered getting one. I don't find it that difficult to adjust the Carriage/Table once I am in Drill Press position if needed. I setup the Headstock and Carriage/Table position before raising it into Drill Press position. Besides I usually have my Carriage/Table closer to the base end of my Mark than I think the Gas Spring Table Riser would allow. Or at least at the spot it would be fully compressed.

I have one…bought it from Shopsmith something like 4 years ago….does what it’s designed for…but I ended up not using it that often. That said, It’s kinda like 3mm wrench….nothing like it when you need it.

RFGuy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:19 pm I only used it briefly, but I can tell you it is a real pain to take the gas shock on and off for use and you can't leave it in position except for drill press mode. It didn't seem to work that well in my opinion.

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:53 am Besides I usually have my Carriage/Table closer to the base end to my Mark than I think the Gas Spring Table Riser would allow. Or at least at the spot it would be fully compressed.

These and other comments show some drawbacks to it's use. I only went to look at this device to consider all the options available. I'd run into this page several times in the past looking for the Adjustable Stop Collar, the latter being a name I can't ever recall when needed. I never checked the details before, and maybe it's no longer available either. It looks like it uses the same mounting blocks on the way tubes as the lift assist. I think the picture on the product page shows the lift assist cantilever arm mounted on those blocks.

For a short term option I just got the new hydraulic headstock raiser shown below, I can use the same device for raising the table also. One on the issues with changing table height is the weight of the table causing the carriage to jam on the way tubes. This problem is much worse now that I'm using a 510 table because the table is larger and heavier even without adding the weight of a drill press vice and whatever is about to get drilled, routed, shaped, etc. The 510 table makes it easy to add a counterweight using connecting tubes in the rails to hold a floating table on the back side. I have other notions in mind also, but for now looking for simple solutions.

Ed,

Interesting Headstock Raiser. 4 tons might be a little overkill though.

I think that is especially useful for your Power Pro Headstock to adjust the Headstock position up or down above the Table/Carriage in Drill Press Mode. I would have never considered releasing the Headstock Way Tube Lock even on a conventional Headstock let alone a Power Pro Headstock in Drill Press Mode.

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 1:46 pm Ed,

Interesting Headstock Raiser. 4 tons might be a little overkill though.

I think that is especially useful for your Power Pro Headstock to adjust the Headstock position up or down above the Table/Carriage in Drill Press Mode. I would have never considered releasing the Headstock Way Tube Lock even on a conventional Headstock let alone a Power Pro Headstock in Drill Press Mode.

That jack was on clearance at Harbor Freight, it will help for the time being. Because the headstock is so hard to adjust in drill press mode I end up adjusting the table, but I'd rather leave the table at the same height all the time. As someone pointed out to me, I have the heaviest of headstocks because it was sand cast and has the Power Pro in it. So the table raiser isn't really what I was looking for. One day, should I ever find the time and energy I'll figure out how to use the treadmill raiser I have that has a reversible AC motor driving a 3/4" acme screw. I assume I can put a longer screw in it, or even if not connect that device between the carriage and headstock. Then either the table or headstock can be raised or lowered relative to the other by releasing it's lock. The longer screw would allow either one to be positioned at any height with any relative distance between them.

Here is a video I found on YouTube where “Frugal Fixer Spike” uses a hospital bed motor to lift the headstock while in drill press mode. I don’t know if he ever perfected it, but was an interesting idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71pFpkKqnuI

You can pick up one of these motors on Amazon for less then $50. Looks like they come in a variety of sizes.

I made one for my 10ER dedicated drill press, and use it all the time. Not surprisingly Shopsmith didn't make one to fit the 10's, but it wasn't difficult to fabricate my own mounting brackets.
Link to my build post. viewtopic.php?p=184523#p184523