Old Shopsmith Tablesaw

[retcaptb]

I have found a posting for a Shopsmith Tablesaw on Craigslist. Here is the posting: sacramento.craigslist.org/tls/1536283060.html
Does anyone know anything about this equipment? I am going to look at it in person tomorrow. Any info is welcome. Thank You.

Jim B.
Grass Valley, Ca

[Gene Howe]

Jim,
The folks I know that have one all say it's a very well built piece of equipment.
I don't know if a fence would be easy to locate, though. Shopsmith quit making them several (30?) years ago.
The price is right, though!
Gene

[wlhayesmfs]

If I could get there tonight I would be picking it up if it were me. You can get several fences to fit this machine, it has a sliding bed like a reversible radial arm saw were the bed moves and not the blade.
There is a whole group devoted to this saw also.
I have missed several in this area that are going for around $300 to $400 with a good fence and no broken parts.
Just my 2 cents. Hope it looks as good in person as it did on craigs list.
Thanks

[------------------------]

Here is one I found. It's only another 1 1/2 hour drive south



Shopsmith table saw - $125 (saratoga)

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Date: 2009-11-12, 10:26AM PST
Reply to: [em


This is a Mark VII which is a later version of the Mark V, identical replacement parts. Has built in dust collector. With usual accessories plus a jig saw and 4" shaper.

[cincinnati]

That was a cool saw that never caught on. The blade under the table slides like a radial arm saw or use like a standard table saw. The fence will be hard to find. Not many saws were ever manufactured. For $75 It would be worth that to part out on e-bay if nothing else.

Here is a link 3/4 down the page with some info.

http://shopsmith-tool-hunter.blogspot.com/

[recurvearcher]

Jim,
I purchased a SS2000 about six months ago and couldn't be happier. From what I can see in the ad photo, it looks to be the Deluxe Model. It would have come with one cast aluminum extension table and an Excalibur fence. For $75 I would jump at it. The extension alone is almost worth that. I believe Shopsmith sold off all there remaining parts stock about two years ago. So it is a bit of an orphan. Check http://www.ssug.org/ they have a section of the forum dedicated to the SS2K. Enjoy your new saw!!

[Ed in Tampa]

My only experience with the saw was as an observer. What I observed was that since the blade was able to move forward and backward like a Radial Arm Saw it also had a small amount of side to side movement.

All the talk on the forums is adjustment and alignment using dial indicators and such and adjusting to .001 tolerance on their Mark V and shooting for no more than .005 out of parallel to the mitre guage slot.

If my memory serves me correctly the Saw we are talking about had that much or more movement in the blade side to side when it was locked down tight. Also since the blade arbor support was mounted on rails if I remember correctly the there was some heel (tilted off 90 Degrees) movement in blade.

Opinion, if Shopsmith had built this saw with a conventional fixed blade and manufactured and sold it for $100-$200 less than they did they would have taken the market by storm.

The name, the aluminum table, sthe uper fence and the large initial table size made it something everyone checked out. The nonessential and glitzy feature of the sliding blade and price made everyone walk away.

[lnrmiller]

I purchased one several months ago for $350 and love it. Had some initial problems, turned out to be the start relay. There are no direct replacement parts available for it, ended up using a solid state relay which works beautifully. The guard from my 520 fits the table as do the saw arbors. I've made zero clearance inserts from thin plywood though they have to be planed down a little to fit. My only complaint is that the slots on the table are farther apart than on my MKV so my jigs don't fit. Yes, there is a little play if you use the sliding blade but I keep it locked and haven't had any noticeable issues with tolerances. You will need to pay attention to the motor though. It is an open design and saw dust builds up quickly and will cause overheating. A regular shot with compressed air takes care of the problem. It will never replace my MKV but is a terrific compliment to it.

[retcaptb]

Thanks for all of the above replies. I am going to gamble a little and get it tonight. If for nothing else to part out for existing owners of the machine. I will go through it throughly and see how it goes. For the fun of another Shopsmith along with all of my others.

Jim B.
Grass Valley, Ca

[retcaptb]

Well I took the plunge tonight. I purchased this Sawsmith 2000. It had not been used much. It had the origional documents. It's build date was 081993. I looked it over for problems. The only two things were 1.) a broken angle adjustment lever lock. It is made from a bake-lite material. I will either have a machine shop make a aluminum one or check with Shopsmith Customer Service tomorrow. I checked online parts and it lists that Shopsmith has the part in stock. We will see. 2.) The Excalibur Fence and rails were missing. After asking the owners about it, I found that they had mounted it onto a Jet tablesaw. When asked about selling it, the owner said he would trade for a Bessimyre? fence to replace it. I now have to look into that if I want the origional fence system. Overall great shape and happy to have it. Thanks again for all of the replys on this machine.

Jim B.
Grass Valley, Ca.