Shopsmith Forums

When properly assembled, how much Way Tube and Bench Tube should be exposed.

I was having problem with the Lift Assist and now I have the whole darn thing in parts. Not just the lift assist but the whole darn base unit.

It turns out that the Lift Assist had shifted on the tubes and was twisting the whole works out of square. I disassembled so that I could put it all back together right from scratch.

IMHO Whatever is exposed after the following.
http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... assembling

The one above measures 48 3/8".

SDSSmith wrote:I start at 48-1/4" of exposed bench tube.

I went for 48" because that seemed to be right and ended up closer to the 48 1/4" mark. The clearance required for the tie bar to clear was the dictating factor.

Thanks for the clarification.

Actually, the machine won't let you go to far off track. The problem is, when one does not know, one can be forced to undo a lot of assembling to make it right. This would have made a good silent video. Silent for a reason.

dusty wrote:I went for 48" because that seemed to be right and ended up closer to the 48 1/4" mark. The clearance required for the tie bar to clear was the dictating factor.

Thanks for the clarification.

Actually, the machine won't let you go to far off track. The problem is, when one does not know, one can be forced to undo a lot of assembling to make it right. This would have made a good silent video. Silent for a reason.

As you say, the tie bar must clear. Beyond that I was always more concerned with the end being absolutely square with the tubes than what the exposed length measured.


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robinson46176 wrote:As you say, the tie bar must clear. Beyond that I was always more concerned with the end being absolutely square with the tubes than what the exposed length measured.


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Squaring the ends with the tubes is a very important factor and one that I am having some difficulties with. The ends, when secured to the tubes with the clamps, tend to position themselves. In my case, not square to the tubes.

Dusty I use a piece of 1/4 inch plywood cut the size I want the clear space to be. I usually assemble the base upside down and just barely snug the bolts on the tube lock bars. I then stand it upright and lay the plywood down and square with it while reaching under and tightening the bolts. A couple of large spring clamps work great to hold the plywood in place.

That is a great idea, Mark. If I had to do more than one or two of these, there would certainly be a couple templates that I would make to achieve repeatability.

I firmly believe that the ability to achieve/maintain accurate settings is established at this point of the assembly process. It sort of surprises me that this detail is not included in the maintenance manual.

When Shopsmith ships new, this part of the assembly is already completed. I now think I know why. Wish I had made that trip for the factory tour.