Ed & Charlese
Thanks for the feedback. These are some good ideas and I will probably use them but I'm still thinking serious about lowering my Shopsmith by building a platform and taking off the SS Legs.
I do have to take a look at repurposing the miter bar that is on my miter pro.
I have home made extensions for the miter gauge. Two or three actually, different lengths depending on what I am cutting and left or right of the blade.
Ed Reible has set me off on a jig building assignment. I'm planning on a couple cut off sleds to be used with a miter gauge.
So much to do, so little time. I feared that I would be bored to death when I retired. Boy, was that a pipe dream.
Cut with Shopsmith 520 not as good as 500
Moderators: HopefulSSer, admin
From my part your welcome! But - about the lowering - don't stubbornly follow that thought. You may find the SS to be just the height you need!dusty wrote:Ed & Charlese
Thanks for the feedback. ... but I'm still thinking serious about lowering my Shopsmith by building a platform and taking off the SS Legs...
I do have to take a look at re purposing the miter bar that is on my miter pro.
So much to do, so little time. I feared that I would be bored to death when I retired. Boy, was that a pipe dream.
When you re-purpose your aluminum extension, all you have to do is cut through the sticky sandpaper to open the new holes. The extension will work on either side of the miter gauge.
I fully agree there is not enough time during retirement! Also, as my older brother told me - Aging ain't for sissies!
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
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Ed in Tampa
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Dustydusty wrote:Ed & Charlese
Thanks for the feedback. These are some good ideas and I will probably use them but I'm still thinking serious about lowering my Shopsmith by building a platform and taking off the SS Legs.
I do have to take a look at repurposing the miter bar that is on my miter pro.
I have home made extensions for the miter gauge. Two or three actually, different lengths depending on what I am cutting and left or right of the blade.
Ed Reible has set me off on a jig building assignment. I'm planning on a couple cut off sleds to be used with a miter gauge.
So much to do, so little time. I feared that I would be bored to death when I retired. Boy, was that a pipe dream.
And for my part your welcome.
When you think about lowering your SS consider this. The cabinet you build should have about the same general foot print your SS now has. If you examine the legs you will see the SS legs slope outside the actual machine footprint. They extend beyond the SS at both ends and front and back. I believe this is important to the stability of the SS.
If you build a cabinet you may have to consider foot inference, plus main table uprights need clearance. Even an open stand it would still be hard to engineer something that wouldn't intrude where you stand, wouldn't interfere with the main table support tubes and have the stability and rigidity of the present SS legs.
Now that we have completely highjacked MWebbs thread asking about cut quality I think any further discussion on removing the SS legs should be in another thread and let this one get back to cut quality.
Ed
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woodburner
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Hi All,
Just would like to point out that the Shopsmith 10ER didn't come with legs. It was a bench top unit where you needed to build your own stand.
If you want to lower your present Shopsmith, look for the plans to make a 10ER stand. It might work as is, or with a little modification, you can make it work for a Mark V.
Just thought I'd pass on this bit of information.
Just would like to point out that the Shopsmith 10ER didn't come with legs. It was a bench top unit where you needed to build your own stand.
If you want to lower your present Shopsmith, look for the plans to make a 10ER stand. It might work as is, or with a little modification, you can make it work for a Mark V.
Just thought I'd pass on this bit of information.
Sawdust & Shavings,
Woodburner:o
Woodburner:o
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edflorence
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Hi all...
I thought I would chime in on this thread about the table saw mode with some observations based on my own experience. First, with respect to aligning the blade with the lay-out lines, I have for a long time used both Method #1 and Method # 3 mentioned in Charlese's post. For Method # 3, I usually lay a strip of masking tape on the table and then with the straight edge mark it for both edges of the blade, effectively drawing the kerf on the tape. I extend these lines out to the front of the table. This is very helpful especially when using the Miter Pro jig.
Another trick I use to get my cuts right on the line is to place the layout line on the front of the workpiece. Then, with the machine OFF, I walk around to the back side and pull the miter gage or sled forward until the workpiece just touches the blade. Then I place the cutoff line against the tip of a tooth that is set towards the work and clamp the work in place on the gage or sled. This ensures the cut will be right on. If you need the finished cut to be particularly smooth, I have found the best way is to make the cut in two passes. The first time leave about a kerf width beyond the line and then take that material off with the final cut, using a slower feed rate.
As far as the table height, I am only 5-4 and have never had a problem with the table height and I would recommend that anyone contemplating lowering their SS think carefully before doing so. I think that often users feel the table needs to be low so that they can apply some downward pressure on the work as it passes through the blade.. My thinking is that when the fence and featherboards are doing their jobs there is no need for the operator to apply downward force, and in fact the less force used the safer. The operator should only need to control the rate of feed and let the fence and featherboards take care of the rest.
Ed
Idaho Panhandle
MkV 500, bs, dc3300, jointer
I thought I would chime in on this thread about the table saw mode with some observations based on my own experience. First, with respect to aligning the blade with the lay-out lines, I have for a long time used both Method #1 and Method # 3 mentioned in Charlese's post. For Method # 3, I usually lay a strip of masking tape on the table and then with the straight edge mark it for both edges of the blade, effectively drawing the kerf on the tape. I extend these lines out to the front of the table. This is very helpful especially when using the Miter Pro jig.
Another trick I use to get my cuts right on the line is to place the layout line on the front of the workpiece. Then, with the machine OFF, I walk around to the back side and pull the miter gage or sled forward until the workpiece just touches the blade. Then I place the cutoff line against the tip of a tooth that is set towards the work and clamp the work in place on the gage or sled. This ensures the cut will be right on. If you need the finished cut to be particularly smooth, I have found the best way is to make the cut in two passes. The first time leave about a kerf width beyond the line and then take that material off with the final cut, using a slower feed rate.
As far as the table height, I am only 5-4 and have never had a problem with the table height and I would recommend that anyone contemplating lowering their SS think carefully before doing so. I think that often users feel the table needs to be low so that they can apply some downward pressure on the work as it passes through the blade.. My thinking is that when the fence and featherboards are doing their jobs there is no need for the operator to apply downward force, and in fact the less force used the safer. The operator should only need to control the rate of feed and let the fence and featherboards take care of the rest.
Ed
Idaho Panhandle
MkV 500, bs, dc3300, jointer
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dusty
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Cut with Shopsmith 520 not as good as 500
mwebb;
Have you solved your "cut quality" problem.
As stated earlier in this thread, a dull blade and/or alignment sounds like the likely causes. But the reason we all participate in these forums is to gather information from the experiences of others.
I'm anxious to hear what actually solved your problem.
Have you solved your "cut quality" problem.
As stated earlier in this thread, a dull blade and/or alignment sounds like the likely causes. But the reason we all participate in these forums is to gather information from the experiences of others.
I'm anxious to hear what actually solved your problem.
rough cuts
No one in this post mentioned the fact that a faster saw speed and slower feed speed can also assist in cleaner cuts. Did the new fence make you slow your speed down? I'll bet its a less than perfect saw blade, but I just waned to mention the speed thing.
True, but too slow a feed rate can burn the wood. I'm sure you know that, but the newbie's may not.dshipp wrote:No one in this post mentioned the fact that a faster saw speed and slower feed speed can also assist in cleaner cuts. Did the new fence make you slow your speed down? I'll bet its a less than perfect saw blade, but I just waned to mention the speed thing.
Lining up the cut
I read several ideas for lining up a cut and thought I would add one more.
What about putting a sacrificial board on the face of the miter gauge, cutting a small notch in it and then aligning the mark on your workpiece with the notch in the board?
What about putting a sacrificial board on the face of the miter gauge, cutting a small notch in it and then aligning the mark on your workpiece with the notch in the board?