Shopsmith Forums

Is there a time limit?

I had a couple of paragraphs in after logging in and it all disappeared when I hit the submit. Here is what I'm working on....the boxes and papers are in good shape. Everything has been shmorshed in the box for many years. It all looks to be here. More pictures (if this post) when I haul this stuff to the barn with the rest.

Hi,

This is my second post on this site, a final test run with a picture since I found more papers. I'll seal these in a large ziplock. I also happen to have that DeWalt radial arm too. It was a package deal. A restoration short of cosmetics might be in order if there are no crazy major issues with the system. It won't be my first time around vintage classic restorations, but most of those are astronomy gear. I have done some recent wood working machines. My wood shop days go back about 35 years when I started and eventually owned an architectural wood staircase company. This is retirement.
The rest of the Shop Smith is still in the barn so pictures after the barn trip.

Let me know if this needs to be redirected to another location.

Your creating this thread is fine.

Question is, where is it going?

There are many here that are interested.

If you require help/explanations . . . Just ask.

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you for the welcome.
This is going from these pictures to a functional unit if there are no detrimental issues. Practicality will be based on good horse sense once I get it opened up. The main motor housing is frozen. It humms when powered but doesn't run. A basic inspection should cover that. I believe it can be functionally restored. Should it be impractical, I'll have one hey day of a local parts supply for crazy cheap or free.

We do a lot of restoration strings in the vintage telescope world. I don't know if the full monty is done here or if this string is more based on individual issues. This unit could replace a lot of stuff in the shop since I'm only retired hobby now. I also enjoy the restoration work and a LOT of my material world is classic vintage - like me.

Are there a lot of owners that keep old original boxes and other side items not directly related to shop work? Accessory collections? Multiple complete unit collections? I'm not yet sure how chronic some here might be. Telescope guys can go off the scale. Some of my own scope restorations are a bit on the anal side.

The answers to essentially all those ? is yep.

You have the beginnings for a great restoration project. Since the motor only hums when powered on I would recommend narrowing down why. To start remove the belt from the motor and try running it again. This will tell you if it is a motor issue or something in the drive system. If it still just hums it is a motor issue and if not probably bearings need to be replaced in either the Idler Shaft Assembly, Drive Sleeve Assembly or the Quill Assembly or even all of them.

Since you enjoy restoring old things, I believe you will enjoy working on your Shopsmith. We can help you through that when questions arise.

The motor may 'hum' because the start switch contacts are not closing due to sawdust between the contacts.