Shopsmith Forums

Maintenance on a Mark V is a bit overwhelming for me; other than opening up the machine and checking every so often for wear and tear and cleaning/oiling. Sawing is what I mostly do. Would running the machine for say twenty to thirty hours between cleanings enough? Too much?

Here's the maintenance and lube section from the 1962 manual. It says to oil about every 10 hours of run time but that's just a couple of drops in two places.

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[quote="original54"]Maintenance on a Mark V is a bit overwhelming for me]

10 hours is still the standard for oiling, but most of us now use trubine oil that comes with an extension tube to ease getting oil into the right places.

It is also good to use a bit more than two drops. Also on the motor shaft, I've found it best to put the machine in drill press position and put oil on the shaft itself as well as in that little hole. This way oil can seep between the shaft and the outside tube.

I am big time guilty of over cleaning and over oiling my Mark V headstocks. The only problem that I see in doing this is that I have to clean excess oil from the inside of the headstock now and then. It gets slung onto the casting and if not wiped off collects sawdust.

Click herefor a handy subset of the manual from Shopsmith.

I keep a printed copy posted on the wall as a reminder...

Hi
Shopsmith used to recommend two times per year for oiling the sheaves. I do mine on New Years and July 4th. The dates are 6 months apart.
Bill V

wa2crk wrote:Hi
Shopsmith used to recommend two times per year for oiling the sheaves. I do mine on New Years and July 4th. The dates are 6 months apart.
Bill V

If I did that twice a year thing, would have had 100 hours on it each time. I think the hourly use instruction is more practical, as use of these machines varies widely among users. There's also humidity and heat to consider.

ddvann79 wrote:Here's the maintenance and lube section from the 1962 manual. It says to oil about every 10 hours of run time but that's just a couple of drops in two places.

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Thank you for your help. Original 54

charlese wrote:If I did that twice a year thing, would have had 100 hours on it each time. I think the hourly use instruction is more practical, as use of these machines varies widely among users. There's also humidity and heat to consider.

Thank you for our help - hours would seem more practical.

dusty wrote:I am big time guilty of over cleaning and over oiling my Mark V headstocks. The only problem that I see in doing this is that I have to clean excess oil from the inside of the headstock now and then. It gets slung onto the casting and if not wiped off collects sawdust.

...and I seem to be 'undercleaning' and that will change. Thank you for your help.