PowerPro Headstock DIY Upgrade

[gac5ss]

I was running two Marks, a shorty as pretty much a dedicated 520 table saw and a full size 520 for everything else. Bought a PowerPro and DT at what turned out to be one of the last Lowe's demo's. I love the PowerPro, but suddenly had PowerPro envy and wasn't using my dedicated TS shorty. So I did more upgrades to it. In hindsight, I should have replaced my 520 shorty with a SawStop 3 HP PCS instead, though it's more money. I especially like the low speed capability and the quiet of the PP. I'm underwhelmed by the high-speed aspects though, the PP just gets too hot too fast for my liking. I thought I'd be getting rid of my stand alone shaper and that is not going to happen. So I don't use mine as a router/shaper except horizontal or odd table angles.

- David

Interesting that you would buy the Sawstop now. I have bought into the safety factor, as has my wife. She told me to get it if I wanted it, but that is a lot to spend, just as is the PowerPro. I have owned a Grizzly cabinet saw, a Powermatic 66, a Dewalt hybrid, a Ryobi BT3001, and a Bosch jobsite saw. I will say the one I liked the best was the Dewalt.

I'm glad you brought up the shaper. I am not sure I would like the Shopsmith performance on that feature.

Thanks

[gac5ss]

Never regretted upgrading to PP 10 years ago. In fact I bought a new PP w/headstock Gen 2 when they hit the market and don't regret that either. I have thought about the double tilt over the years (bought my first SS new in 1987) but have never pulled the trigger on it. I just can't see how it would improve my work flow.

Jack

Thanks for your perspective. Have not considered that I might not need the double tilt with the PowerPro.

[edma194]

The end product may not be as important to me as much as the process that I use to make the product. Using the Shopsmith goes hand in hand through the process.

If I'm not getting paid to produce the end product then that's how I live my life. The journey is more important than the destination. In addition to that I've found the land between the beaten paths much more interesting. If a PowerPro makes for a more interesting journey for you then I would say go for it.

[shipwright]

I upgraded my Az 510 to full virtual Mark 7 before I had to sell out there due to health issues. Now back home several years later we are downsizing and I will return to a ShopSmith shop. I have a great 510 already with the SPTs I want but am pondering the PP upgrade. The biggest point arguing in its favour isn’t what it can do. Strangely it is just that it made me smile every time I turned it on.
They just run sooooo sweetly!

[gac5ss]

The end product may not be as important to me as much as the process that I use to make the product. Using the Shopsmith goes hand in hand through the process.

If I'm not getting paid to produce the end product then that's how I live my life. The journey is more important than the destination. In addition to that I've found the land between the beaten paths much more interesting. If a PowerPro makes for a more interesting journey for you then I would say go for it.

From time to time I have found the Gen 1 PowerPro headstock for sale on eBay. I think the low end price was around $1400 for a circa 2015 mfg date. I hesitated due to reliability questions I had after reading of overheating issues, issues with the electronics, etc. Would it be a correct assumption on my part that the upgrade from a Gen 1 to Gen 2 would take care of these issues? That is if I had a problem. Was there any real issues with the PP motors? The 557003 PowerPro Gen 1 to PowerPro Gen 2 Upgrade Was $419.00 - Now $394.00. It seems the risk / reward tilts a little bit in my favor by going this route.

I admit that the variable speed control is my biggest dislike about any Shopsmith I have owned. It is at the low and high end speeds that become difficult to adjust.

[gac5ss]

By the way, what happened to the guy who developed an alternative version of the PowerPro upgrade? Did SS shut him down, or was the price not competitive? One thing I remember about it was the remote control. That is a nice feature to have.

[rcsaylor]

I have the Gen 2 Power Pro Headstock, Double Tilt, & Lift Assist on order. I was thinking of purchasing the Power Pro Gen 1 or new Mark 7, when they came out with Gen 2 my decision was made. Going to pick up the Friday of the 75th anniversary celebration. This saves me some on shipping. I now have the 520 50th anniversary model and an older 510 and most SPT. I started with 520, bandsaw, and jointer that I purchased used. Picked up the 510 because it was being sold with belt sander and other SPT (wanted the belt sander). Made it into a shorty. I was going to sell the 520 and purchase a complete new Mark 7. I decide against this for a few reasons. I save some money by upgrading my 520, my 520 is in good condition and came with all normally included items and then some. If I ever have any issues with new Power Pro I have a back up head stock and I like the 520 75th anniversary cover. I'm in my late 50s, so it should last my life time of wood working. May in the future make a mini out of it. This is my logic for purchasing now. I enjoy wood working, tinkering, and yes I have been bitten by the Shopsmith bug.

[RFGuy]

I admit that the variable speed control is my biggest dislike about any Shopsmith I have owned. It is at the low and high end speeds that become difficult to adjust.

Yeah, but this is an easy repair. The speed control quadrant (aka pork chop), #504221 and/or worm gear, #504216, might need to be replaced. They also need regular cleaning (of sawdust) and lubrication. A properly cleaned, lubricated and not worn out speed control quadrant is a joy to adjust the speed on a Mark V headstock. I know because I let mine go for too many years before rebuilding mine...and I bought my Mark V directly from the factory initially.

[gac5ss]

I admit that the variable speed control is my biggest dislike about any Shopsmith I have owned. It is at the low and high end speeds that become difficult to adjust.

Yeah, but this is an easy repair. The speed control quadrant (aka pork chop), #504221 and/or worm gear, #504216, might need to be replaced. They also need regular cleaning (of sawdust) and lubrication. A properly cleaned, lubricated and not worn out speed control quadrant is a joy to adjust the speed on a Mark V headstock. I know because I let mine go for too many years before rebuilding mine...and I bought my Mark V directly from the factory initially.

I can't disagree with your solution. My headstock with the earlier toggle switch has detents on the ring which hang up on the little tension spring that prevents the ring from rattling. The headstock with the red switch doesn't have this problem.

[gac5ss]

By the way, what happened to the guy who developed an alternative version of the PowerPro upgrade? Did SS shut him down, or was the price not competitive? One thing I remember about it was the remote control. That is a nice feature to have.

I went back and found a thread on this. I copied this from RF Guy:

Quote:

Re: Powerpro Competitor
Post by RFGuy » 01 Jan 2019 05:44

I agree that we don't know how many Shopsmith units are in service, how many have the PowerPro, how many have been returned for warranty service, etc. There have been some anecdotal reports of overheating and RFI/EMI concerns and these could be outliers. A DVR motor employs a switching power supply and it appears there is insufficient line filtering and shielding based on my engineering expertise and the symptoms that I have read about, but I admit that I may not have all of the facts. Even if the overheating is an early production unit issue and/or an outlier, for me the bottomline is adding electronics to any machinery will shorten the life of that machine due to failure of said electronics.

Has anyone gotten more useful life out of a dishwasher, washing machine, etc. with an LCD panel? In the consumer market, most electronics are only designed with a 3-5 year lifetime with respect to parametric performance. It may be functional for 20-30 years, but it likely will only meet all specifications for 3-5 years. Is this a concern for the PowerPro? Maybe not, but I am not ready to roll the dice on this kind of product without knowing when the electronics fail in 5, 10 or 15 years that I can get an exact replacement or that an aftermarket community has sprung up to support replacement parts.

This is one potential for this new dvrplus, i.e. as replacements should Shopsmith cease business. Maybe I am holding this product to a very high standard, but remember this is what Shopsmith's image/reputation has been: A product that has been around for many, many decades and will be around for many more so that when you have a problem down the road you can get it fixed and/or buy the newest accessory they create for it.

UnQuote

The Quoted part of RF Guy's post caught my attention. I believe he is correct on life expectations. We as a consumer should not expect the PowerPro to age like the mechanical headstocks. Adding electronics has surely improved usability and performance, but at the same time has shortened life expectancy. Any purchaser of this technology should not expect 20 years or more of peak performance from a PowerPro. Life expectancy would include the number of hours used, not necessarily the age in years. The same would apply to any Shopsmith with the mechanical controls.