Shopsmith Forums

Hello everybody,

This is probably not the right place, but I wanted to do a introduction here before I get to some of the issues I have with the rebuild of my Dad's Mark V. I apologize, in advance, for the very long posting. (You can skip down to the bottom where the numbered issues if you don't care to read my family history!) It certainly wasn't my initial intention to go on-and-on but I always seem to wax nostalgic when I talk about my dad's Shopsmith Mark V...

I began following your forum a few weeks ago but just joined today. I had decided to get my dad's 1982 Mark V 500 back into operation after rarely using it the last six or seven years or so. My dad was a lifelong woodworker and all-around handyman but unfortunately, as a career Soldier, he never really had the space to have a dedicated workshop in our government quarters. I remember how excited he was when he saw his first demonstration of the Mark V at the Cross Creek Mall in Fayettville, NC sometime between '78 & '81. He was like a kid in a candy store! However, our quarters at Ft. Bragg still didn't have space required a Shopsmith Mark V. So when we moved to Ft. Sam Houston, we were assigned quarters that had a huge basement (first time we ever saw that in government quarters!)

My dad purchased the machine new on August 22, 1982 from the San Antonio Store and he brought home his new "toy" from the store in his '78 Ford F100. Me, my brothers and my dad (well mostly dad) set it up in the basement. First thing he built was a massive L-shaped work bench as I recall. (It's probably still there as it would have to been cut up to get it out!) He started in on projects that he had been collecting plans for years and years. (I can remember him tearing out plans of woodworking magazines (a lot of which I still have!) at least as far back to our second tour in Germany from '75-78) While getting familiar with his new Mark V, he made mostly toys for my little brother (who he also collected this tour in Germany!) Dad was having the time of his life with his Shopsmith Mark V. However, tragically, he died suddenly of a heart attack in November of 1983 at the age of 45 while still on active duty with the U.S. Army. To this day, it still saddens me to think how he wasn't able to enjoy woodworking with his new Mark V for very long at all although it did bring a great amount of happiness making things for his family during that brief time.

His death was a great blow to our family and we eventually moved to Louisiana to be closer to relatives and the Shopsmith lived at my mom's house, with a couple of periods in storage units until 1995, as I recall, when I took it home to my place. It continued to work for me a number of years but began to run low on power. The saw would bog down while attempting even the smallest cut. I ended up replacing the belts, or maybe it was just one belt - I don't remember. Anyway, I don't think I knew what I was doing and I didn't want to fiddle with it too much as I still considered it dad's machine! It sat idle again or a year while I was deployed to Iraq with my National Guard unit in 2004. I used it off-and-on again for another ten years before it ended up in the corner doing duty as a "catch-all" for everything. I could still use the disk sander or drill press but the table saw was a "no-go".

"The straw that broke the camel's back" came a couple of weeks ago when my wife asked me to rip a piece of red oak for a display stand for her classroom, I was forced to use a circular saw to get the job done. I was upset with myself that I had let my dad's Shopsmith fall into such a state of disrepair in the span of four decades that I couldn't even probably rip a small board! I decided, then and there, to tear into the Mark V to see what I could do to get it running...

And that's what brought me here.

In fact, I'm now retired and so could no longer claim that I didn't have the time to work on it anymore! So, I initially went through the machine to see if I could learn what needed to be done to get it up and running. I ended up watching hours of tear-downs and restoration videos and gave myself the knowledge to disassemble the Mark V and the confidence, hopefully, to reassemble it correctly! I also discovered this forum in the process and read all I could about the subject. I very quickly decided I was going to completely disassemble the Mark V and restore some cosmetic issues as I addressed the more important mechanical problems. I did find several mechanical issues as I disassembled the component pieces that I wanted to share with the experts on this forum and get some feedback on any thing I might have missed.

Mechanical Issues:

1. Control Sheave seized on shaft - disassembled, cleaned & lubricated
2. Speed Control Worm Gear Bent? (Speed Control Handle would not sit squarely of the Speed Dial) - ordered new worm gear
3. Motor Sheave seized on shaft - disassembled, cleaned & lubricated
4. Motor Fan Sheave contacting Motor Fan Plate - Fan-Sheave-to-Motor spacer worn, set screw loose - ordered new spacer
5. Quill Bumper Ring damaged - ordered new part
6. Drive Sleeve Bearings worn - ordered new bearings
7. Headrest Lock Spring broken - ordered new spring

Key components that I determined were still in a serviceable condition were:
1. Quill bearing
2. Idler Shaft Bearing
3. Drive & Ring Assembly - I went ahead and ordered a new (updated) version to replace the original one
4. Control Sheave Bearing

Motor:
The motor starts and runs fine. It develops 3591 RPM (fan sheave removed). It seems okay to me but I don't know. It does makes a occasional and slight "ringing" type noise when running. Turning the shaft by hand the bearings seeming pretty smooth but, again, I'm not sure. Given its age, I looking for a local shop here in Baton Rouge where I can have it looked at.

Way/Support Tubes:
Small areas of rust/pitting - plan to sand/polish to remove/minimize roughness

Exterior Condition Paint:
Steel components - several areas of scratches and surface rust - sanded, primed and awaiting paint - ordered factory paint
Cast Aluminum components - Single Tilt Base and Headrest have blistered paint - sanded, primed and awaiting paint
Aluminum Controls - surface oxidization - polish with aluminum cleaner
Aluminum Tables - Badly oxidized - Sand, Polish OR Replace with 510 or 520 tables?

Well, I think that about covers it.

Please let me know if there are other issues that you think that need to be addressed while its all torn down and easy to get at. My parts from Shopsmith should be here in a couple of days. I plan to paint over the weekend and hopefully start reassembly late next week (before I forget how it goes back together or start misplacing parts!) I'll have to wait on final assembly until I can find someone to look at the motor. I did get an estimate for the motor work from Mr. Hopp at Shopsmith RepairI/Woodworking Academy. He is very responsive and seems great but I was hoping to find someone here in Baton Rouge to avoid all the shipping costs.

Well, again, sorry for the super long post. I look forward to and appreciate any help or advice you might offer.

VonZipper,

Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum.

Don't be sorry about the long introduction. We all have a Shopsmith story to tell. It's one of the things that brings us together.

Sounds like you are well on your way to getting your father's Mark V back into great shape. The main concern I see from you is the motor. Since you are taking care if the Fan Sheave issues you may have solved any current motor problem. I have found the motors used in the Shopsmith tools to be very durable and last for decades. Among the many Shopsmith tools I have restored are 2 Shopsmith Model 10E tools from the original ones made with their original A. O. Smith Motors that still work great. They did need a bit of a clean out of dust and debris. The 1957 Mark 5 my wife's uncle gave me recently had a lot of dust come out when I ran the motor but did run fine. The 1982 Mark V I restored several years ago didn't have any problem with the motor. I have yet to have a bad motor in all my restorations. I mention all this to show how dependable the motors used in the Shopsmith tools are. That is not to say they don't ever have problems but try cleaning out all dust and debris from the motor and see how it works before spending money to fix a problem that may not exist.

Poor Table Saw performance may not be the motor but could be a dull saw blade. Worn belts or the upper belt slipping because the tension is too loose is another possibility. The blade stalling with the motor still turning would be an indicator of slippage.

Continue to ask questions here as needed and keep us up to date on your progress.

Below is that 1982 Mark V I restored.

_ .
See we all have a story to tell.

Good luck on the project. Please post as many pictures as possible.

AllenH wrote: Fri Aug 16, 2024 10:37 am Good luck on the project. Please post as many pictures as possible.

+1

chapmanruss, thanks for the encouragement and advice. I appreciate it!

Man, that's a great looking restoration you did on your Mark V! The aluminum parts look great! Did you do any restoration on the way tubes and tables. If so, what did you do? Same with the paint? Did you use the factory rattle cans? What about your caution label for the speed control handle? Was that intact? All the working on the decal are completely gone on mine. I've seen that on pictures of quite a few Mark V's from that era? Do you know if anyone reproduces those labels?

The motor housing and motor didn't seem to have a lot of dust but I did blow out what was there. I did locate a electric motor shop nearby who said they would be glad to look at it for me to evaluate the bearings if I elected to do that. He said he'd only charge me $30 or $40 to swap out the bearings on it if it need it.

I agree with you that the saw bogging down is most likely from the Poly V belt being too loose. I didn't know how to re-tension properly until I saw how it was done on YouTube!


AllenH & JPH,

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow. I'm pretty bad at that: I get going at it and don't think to take pictures as I go. I should have done some before shots but I didn't think to. I've only snapped a few pictures of the internal mechanisms where I thought I might have trouble remember what sequence it goes together.

As far a progress since my first post, I have it completely stripped down and have mostly been working on sanding and priming the cast aluminum and steel parts. My order from Shopsmith didn't arrive yesterday like I thought it was so I won't be able to try the factory spray paint until it does. Pretty much all the parts are ready for paint. I'll just have rewipe everything down and tape off some the remaining openings to begin painting. I have left a couple of aluminum parts in the original paint just in case I don't like the look of the factory touch-up paint. I have heard others here saying the touch-up paint is too glossy. If it is and I can't tone it down, I plan to take the parts in original paint to a paint shop to try a better match. We'll see...

I did also purchase a used pair of retractable casters from e-bay. That should help from chipping up the bottom while moving the Shopsmith on the concrete floor and inviting more rust to set in which isn't too hard with the humidity here in south Louisiana!

I also bought a spare drive sleeve assembly (Poly-V) with new bearings already installed for $35 on ebay. It already arrived it's a slightly different version of the poly-V drive assembly. It is exactly the same length and fits in the headstock okay. However, the diameter on the Poly-V section (where the set screw is threaded) are different. The original one is 1-5/8" in diameter and the newer one is 1-59/64"I at the same point. I didn't notice the difference when I bought it but it looks to me like they're interchangeable to me. Maybe somebody can confirm that for me? My original drive sleeve assembly is the one on top. The "new" one is on the bottom.

Lastly today, I did the Bill Mayo Speed Control Quadrant modification, replacing the rolled pin attachment with 10-32 screw and lock-nut. I guess the mod is supposed to prevent the arms from spreading over time with the roll pin. I played hell getting the roll pin out. I ended using my motorcycle chain breaking tool to push out the rolled pin: Worked like a charm... once I thought of it! I'll try my hand at posting some pictures of it.

Here's a picture of all parts laid out. SLooks like I still do have a little more prep and priming to do before the paint gets here. Hope it won't be too long so I can start to piece it back together! Sorry the sideways images: the forum software kept flipping my pictures on their side no matter what I did. Also, I apologize for the dark pictures: sun was setting and a storm was rolling in as I took these.

To avoid the 'flipping', ALWAYS take pix in 'LANDSCAPE'' orientation. The forum software ignores orientation in the meta data of the pix.

I am guessing the od measured at the v-groove location is the same on both. That is the only od that matters.

The motor shop needs to be aware that the two bearings have a different inner race id.

JPG wrote: Sat Aug 17, 2024 10:13 pm To avoid the 'flipping', ALWAYS take pix in 'LANDSCAPE'' orientation. The forum software ignores orientation in the meta data of the pix.

I am guessing the od measured at the v-groove location is the same on both. That is the only od that matters.

The motor shop needs to be aware that the two bearings have a different inner race id.

Okay, thanks for the help with the pictures. I'll do that next time.

Yes, I measure the OD for both of them at 1-29/32".

Interesting information about the different size id on the motor bearings. Glad I didn't buy a set yet. All the motor bearings I've seen up for sale are for a set of two identical sized bearings. Thanks again!

VonZipper,

It looks like you are well on your way in this restoration. You asked me

Did you do any restoration on the way tubes and tables. If so, what did you do? Same with the paint? Did you use the factory rattle cans? What about your caution label for the speed control handle? Was that intact? All the working on the decal are completely gone on mine. I've seen that on pictures of quite a few Mark V's from that era? Do you know if anyone reproduces those labels?

That restoration I did on the Mark V was over 7 years ago so memory on all that was done is a bit fuzzy. Below is a picture of that Mark V from when I picked it up.

_ .
As you can see from the picture above the Way and Bench Tubes were in good shape. I believe I only had to clean a bit and wax them.

The Main Table was in poor condition as seen below and was replaced.

_ .
The paint I used on it was the Shopsmith gray touch up paint. Three cans of it. You may have noticed when buying the paint there are two formulas of gray paint, one for before 10-01-2001 and one for after. Use the correct formula for best adhesion.

The Caution Label for the Speed Control Warning is a replica I made and have used on other earlier Mark 5's I have restored. It is printed on clear matte finish label stock and in this case it was placed over the silver backing part of the label which was still there. It is below and prints on a standard size 8-1/2" x 11" sheet. There are different page number referenced on the labels of page 2, 4 or 6. This is to correspond to the differences of the warning page of the Owner's Guides.

_

Oh, Wow! That's great! You really made it look new! I wonder what the zip tie on the support tube was for? I had the same zip tie on mine. I cut it off thinking it was something that I or Dad had put on there...

Thanks so much for the caution decal template! I was planning to go to a print shop and try to have them match the pictures I found. But, you've done all the work for me already! All I've got to do is reference my manual to see which version to use! My lable is in the same condition - that is, the silver background of the label is still attached but the wording is completely wiped out. They must have went cheap with the ink in that era. I see a lot of pictures of that particular label in the same condition. Thanks, again!