Shopsmith Forums

Hello! I’ve just come into ownership of a Shopsmith ER 10. It’s old, and hasn’t been used in decades. I am hoping to fix it up to use mostly as a lathe. The biggest issue I am having is that the way tubes have a fair amount of surface rust. I’ve seen all kinds of advice on here about fixing that, but most involves removing the way tubes. I’m having trouble with that part. I can’t remove the Tie Bar from the “top” of the way tubes. The very ends of the tubes are deformed slightly, so the tie bar can’t slide off. At the other end of the way tubes, the tail stock is in place. I can’t seem to remove it either. The manual mentions a “tail stock knob” that I would assume is meant to hold the tail stock on. There is no tail stock knob though, just the hole it would screw into. No amount of yanking or pounding on the tail stock has made any progress in removing it so far. So I’m unable to remove anything from the way tubes in either direction. I’d greatly appreciate any advice you might have. Thanks.

Penetrating oil(50-50 atf-acetone or Kroil or PB Blaster . . . ) for starters. Wonder how the new citrus based penetrating fluid would work? Any ding high spots need to be relieved with a flat file knocking the high spots down. Remove the set screws and apply penetrating fluid liberally through the holes.

https://www.agweb.com/opinion/penetrati ... st-busters

Pounding(metal to metal) not recommended with cast iron parts.

Soaking with Evaporust MAY help.

As JPG has already suggested getting some lubricant in the parts will help. I would suggest starting with the Tie Bar removal. Clean the rust/debris off the end of the Way Tubes and check for high spots that may need to be filed down. DO NOT use a hammer directly on the metal parts being removed. I have had stubborn parts when disassembling Model 10's like you are experiencing. After cleaning up the exposed parts of the Way Tubes and using lubricants I still needed to convince some parts to come off. For the Tie Bar I have used a block of wood against the outside edges of the Tie Bar and tapped the other end of the block with a hammer. Notice I said tapped. You need to alternate taps between both sides of the Tie Bar to avoid binding it. The Tie Bar is the easiest cast part to break when trying to remove it from the Way Tubes, so use caution and be patient when removing it. Keep the set screws locked for the Way Tubes in the Base/Arm end. You want to get the Tie Bar only off the Way Tubes at this point.

Once the Tie Bar is removed you can work at sliding off the Headstock followed but the Carriage. This will make it easier to remove the Way Tubes from the Base/Arm being able to remove one at a time. With the set screws removed from the Arm you can try rotating the Way Tubes individually to work them loose.

One of the things that cause the Tie Bar and Arm from coming off the Way Tubes is the "Dimple" on the Tubes caused by the set screws.

As for the Tailstock not coming off that is likely rust/oxidation between the Tubes and Tailstock holes. This is where the lubricants will help.

Once everything is cleaned up and reassembled follow the waxing guide PDF below.
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Thank you both! That is super helpful. With penetrating oil and gentle persuasion from a wooden mallet I got the tail stock off. The tie bar is being tricky. The ends of the way tubes have mushroomed out a bit, so I’m grinding a bevel on them with a dremel. I can get the tie bar to slide, but not all the way off yet. Just needs more grinding

I’ve noticed that the locks that hold the headstock and the carriage to the way tubes are really sticky. When I loosen them, the two clamp pieces won’t unclamp. Is there a way to make them slide better beyond just lubrication?

Thanks a ton for all the help!!!

A flat file will be more responsive to only removing the high spots. A grinder will tend to gouge(go deeper than desired).

I agree with JPG using the flat file vs grinding with a Dremel tool. You will have better control with the file.

The locks can get sticky. For the Headstock remove the motor and its mounting plate from the headstock. This will make it easier to work on. First remove the nut from the switch and push the switch back through the hole in the Headstock. Next loosen the set screws in the ends of the Headstock to release the mounting plate posts. Support the motor as you do this. Raise the motor to remove the belt than lower the motor down to the bench. You can now get the motor and mounting plate out of the way to get to the inside of the Headstock.

You can remove the lever and outside wedge of the Headstock lock by unscrewing it. Keep outward pressure on the lever as you remove it. The nut will fall out the back. This will leave the inside wedge and hopefully the outside wedge will come out with the lever. This should make it so the lock is no longer causing the Headstock stay in place. You can carefully push the rear wedge out with a small rod.

Remove the carriage lock in the same way.

Or better yet....I've been a long advocate of the Lansky sharpening system for knives. But....I use those stones for everything and especially when I want to gently remove some metal instead of using a file. The stones come in an assortment from ultra-fine to very coarse......something for every application. No scratches left from a fine stone.

Thhuko: when you get to the point where you're using the machine...that gap in the benchtop over the drawer will drive you crazy with sawdust. Mine had a piece of wood fitted, but it had shrunk over time and I had to caulk it. Now my drawer and contents are sawdust-free. I keep a lot of stuff in there, and it isn't very pleasant to have sawdust in there every time I used the machine.

Kevin