Shopsmith Forums

Yesterday I bought my first Shopsmith Mark 5 model 500 from a very, very nice man who was not at all greedy. To me, the thing is an absolute beauty! It came with the original manual, lots of accessory table inserts, a dado kit, several blades, a few baggies of miscellaneous screws and gizmos, etc. I'm pretty sure it is all there. It also included the 4" jointer with a very rusted table, and the shaper/ router kit which includes many little bits (cutters) and additional pieces. Frankly, I can't believe all the extra stuff that it came with and that the original owner had kept in such good shape. He had all the paperwork together in a binder. I was very impressed.

Based on the chart on the history page, mine was built between August and September of 1985. So, hopefully I have a relatively decent set of mechanical components. Aside from the surface of the jointer table, there was not a speck of rust on this unit. The tubes look shiny. The whole system looks almost new.

There is a big downside though. The motor sounds like a coffee grinder and it only goes from about 25% to 75% of the speed range. He says he has pretty much never oiled it except for one part he could find to oil, and he hasn't used it at all in about 10 years.

So, here are the fixes I need to make:

1. Figure out what is wrong with and fix the headstock. This is the biggie and the others pale in comparison.

2. Clean the rust off of the jointer table and fence, I think.

3. Buy a replacement clamp for one end of the shaper fence. He over-tightened it and it broke.

4. Get a new drill chuck, or fix the one he bent by accidentally dropping the headstock on to the table when he raised it without locking it in place on the tubes first.

5. Get a new insert or fix the one he bent by dropping the headstock on it in a poorly executed switch to vertical drill mode. (see #4)

6. Figure out how to repair trigger action miter guide for table saw. The bottom of the handle is flipping in the air, but it looks like it is supposed to be hinged as a pivot for the clamp.

7. Replace the missing screws holding the tube assembly to the gray end "legs" and build or buy a caster system.

That's it. This all seems doable if I can get past the first one without losing my shirt. If anybody has any advice, I would sure be grateful for it. One of the only reasons I spent the money and time to drive out and pick it up even with the motor problem was that I knew there were extremely helpful and knowledgeable people on this forum who would probably be able to help me get this back in fine shape.

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DT aka Agent Orange is a POS
Liar Liar his wonky comb over is on fire

1) Remove the belt cover.(slide it on the way tubes out of the way.)

2) Remove the drive belt. Now here we have a problem. It needs to be set to high speed to get the belt off. The question is, does the speed control go all the way to high speed(the knob etc.), but the machine does not keep increasing actual speed all the way. This is possible if the floating sheave on the motor shaft is sticking and not sliding all the way in(this would be a good sign[all it requires is probably some lubrication]).


I will stop here until verification arrives(no sense going off on a path not relevant to the current problem).

I will definitely be doing some research on this. I just brought the manual in tonight for some night reading. I watched him run the motor and it seemed that the speed control dial would physically get stuck and stop. I did not ask him to force it and I have not tried anything since that. I thought it was pretty decent of him to show me the problem he was aware of, although I was a bit discouraged about it at the time. However, I remembered a story about somebody with a 30 year old machine having some motor problem and calling in and getting the part to fix it, so I figured anything was possible. He did say that he had been using it like that and had just gotten used to not having the full speed range.

I will start watching those lessons. Thanks for the tip.

avispex wrote:I will definitely be doing some research on this. I just brought the manual in tonight for some night reading. I watched him run the motor and it seemed that the speed control dial would physically get stuck and stop. I did not ask him to force it and I have not tried anything since that. I thought it was pretty decent of him to show me the problem he was aware of, although I was a bit discouraged about it at the time. However, I remembered a story about somebody with a 30 year old machine having some motor problem and calling in and getting the part to fix it, so I figured anything was possible. He did say that he had been using it like that and had just gotten used to not having the full speed range.

I will start watching those lessons. Thanks for the tip.

FWIW they are a bit noisey, but I am not sure how that relates to your coffee grinder description.

I think it is time to pop open the access hole and take some pix!

First order of business is why limited range BOTH extremes??? Maybe lack of lubrication of the control sheave, or speed control. Unfortunately the first step to remove the speed control is to put it in high speed position(again!!!). But this time the floating sheave need not cooperate!:)

Well, I have come up with a few extra questions as I plan and prepare my repairs.

1. How can I tell if I have a 505 or a 500? I am not sure what the differences are between them.

2. Do all Shopsmiths use the exact same drill chuck or do I need one from the same approximate year and model that I have?

3. Will the clear table saw upper blade guard for the 510 model work on a 500 table system, or does it need the 510 table?

4. Is there a trick to getting the dust port off the back of the headstock? In the Sawdust Sessions video, Nick said there was a small screw at the bottom, but I did not see any there. Admittedly, I had pretty poor lighting so I will check again in the morning.

Thanks!

avispex wrote:Well, I have come up with a few extra questions as I plan and prepare my repairs.

1. How can I tell if I have a 505 or a 500? I am not sure what the differences are between them.

2. Do all Shopsmiths use the exact same drill chuck or do I need one from the same approximate year and model that I have?

3. Will the clear table saw upper blade guard for the 510 model work on a 500 table system, or does it need the 510 table?

4. Is there a trick to getting the dust port off the back of the headstock? In the Sawdust Sessions video, Nick said there was a small screw at the bottom, but I did not see any there. Admittedly, I had pretty poor lighting so I will check again in the morning.

Thanks!

1) Measure the table 500 = 14 x 18 3/8, 505 = 17 1/2 x 22

2) Any ss drill chuck will work with any ss(they all require a 5/8" mount).

3) no/yes

4) Unless you have a very recent model, the access hole cover does not have a screw. Try pulling it straight out. If you can get it to move enough to see a retaining spring at the top and the bottom, also pull up while pulling out(it is not easy to get out). If it does not seem to move, it will not have a hole under it anyway.

FWIW, a pix of your machine would help us help you!

avispex: You have not included your location in your profile. There might possibly be a forum member in your area who could assist you "first hand".

I will try to get some pics up today and I also updated my profile. That is bad news about the table saw guard, but perhaps the one I have is not that bad. Since I haven't used it yet, who knows? I defitely liked the clear ones better but performace wise, I might be fine with what I have.