Shopsmith Forums

I have owned my ss for years, but never used the lathe before. yesterday, I set up the lathe and when I put in the tool rest, it would not sit still. I tightened the wheel that raises and lowers it as much as I could, but I could still raise and lower it without too much pressure. and the whole thing would move about a half inch from the vibration if I just turned on the motor. I had trouble getting the table out to set this up but I figured it was just because it had been in there for so long. Could I have pulled something out besides the table that I shouldn't have? Has anybody else ever had this issue? Please feel free to email me any suggestions. nikelsndimes@aol.com. thanks

Hi;Welcome to the forum.
When you said that you had trouble lifting the table out to install the tool rest it sounds like that there may be debris in the rack and pinion setup and they are not engaging properly but that is only a guess.
Is the motion that you refer to, up and down, in and out, or side to side?
More info would be a great help. Pictures also reveal a lot.
Bill V

I don't have a lot of experience but from what I have read it seems like you might need to clean and adjust the table height lock mechanism. I would just pull it all apart and inspect it. When it goes back together you'll need to adjust the lock tension which is a nut on the back side of the carriage.

Sounds like stitch has your answer. Take apart the table elevating pinions and rod and clean the rod and and the pinions. Sounds like, from continued use in one position, the pinions have gotten dirty. If the back pinion will not close past the much used position, the near one will not clamp down on the lathe rest tube.

Normally after lathe use, I have to fully open the pinions in order to re-insert the table. This is because the far pinion moves past it's table holding position in order to allow the near pinion to clamp on the tool rest tube.

thanks for the replys. it turned out that when I took the table out, I dropped a lock washer. Once I replaced that, the tool rest stayed put and I spent the day turning. If I knew how to add a picture, I would show you some of the rolling pins I made today. they are all beautiful works of art of course.

Try this link of how to posti pics.

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=114

I think I might be experiencing a different type of wiggle. It seems like no matter how hard I try to tighten the table lock I can't fully eliminate the post (the one with the rack on it) from being able to turn. Granted, it is pretty tight at first, but it seems to move especially if the turning piece starts "pushing" back. I'm at the point where I am seriously considering the universal tool rest since its on sale.

Is this something others experience? Can I ever get a rock solid tool rest with the stock stuff?