Shopsmith Forums

[ATTACH][ATTACH]13601[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]So it all started in 1980 when I used my dads buddies brand new Shopsmith and really enjoyed the quality of the Mark V and the accuracy it achieved. I completed some large and small projects with it. When I got my own place I built a basement woodshop and opted to go with separate components. In 2001 I decided to leave the miserable Michigan climate and sold everything I had and bought a home in Cape Coral, Fl. The best thing I ever did, but sacrificed my love of woodworking due to the space limitations. After living here 10 years (I had all but forgotten the Shopsmith) I was surfing Craigslist and stumbled upon a Mark V 500 in rough shape with a bandsaw, scroll saw, jointer, and belt sander. I couldn't quit smiling as I handed 300.00 to the gentleman selling it. I dissasembled it at his storage unit and managed to fit it all in my Mercedes E320 and headed home. This started my project, cause it was ugly and rusty though functional. Armed with my memory from 1980, no manual, and barely being able to remember five minutes ago! I started disassembly and started cleaning rust and repainting. After two weeks of this I started researching some issues I was trying to overcome and stumbled on to Shopsmith forums! What!! Their are more idiots like me? Now I have completed a whole lot of painting and painstaking manual rust removal and I find that these guys on the forum are sharp! They have time saving and labor saving methods tried and proven and I'm an idiot for not looking here first then starting this project! So I'm embarrassed with my once thought "restoration" after seeing some of the super high quality manufacture like restorations I have seen pictures of! But I have a lot better looking machine than I started with and it functions like new. But everyone here has inspired me to do better next time and I can't wait to find my next neglected Shopsmith to do it all over again and again and again........it's been the most enjoyable time I've spent! Thanks to all that helped educate me. Now if I could get my IPad to let me upload pictures I would share.......

Welcome to the forum and please show us some pictures. And keep on sharing with us, we are a good bunch of as you say "idots like you" but happy to be ...
owners of a Shopsmith.

Thanks for the b4 pix!

That is far from 'rough shape'.

You done good for $300!

Just to refresh or whatever, https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=7092&highlight=newowner

Excellent job, Dixie! Couldn't help but notice the rusty table posts and the rust on the axillary spindles in the before shot. Now they look very nice, along with the rest of the machine. Happy to have you here on the forum!

Hokay! Did not realize there were b4 and after attachments! My previous 'comment' assumed the after pix was a b4 pix.

So yes it WAS!;):o

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement! I was a little upset that I cut a few corners like the color I used is close but it's all I could find locally and it's a gloss paint. I was so impressed with the accurate restorations I've seen on the forum I started feeling like I didn't keep it true to Shopsmith standards! I'm working on the scroll saw and belt sander now. I'm getting close to actually being able to use it. I got a couple more good deals yesterday. I found a new in the box jointer and four brand new saw blades and a stack of 12" sanding discs for 125.00 and then at another place I got a brand new bandsaw with fence and the Carter roller bearing upgrade as well as a brand new biscuit joiner for 200.00! I feel like I stole them. Now I can take my time restoring the old style bandsaw I have as well as the other jointer I have. I think I'm an addict! Lol. In the after picture I posted you might notice a little surface rust reforming on the lower tubes. I waxed them with johnson's paste wax but it stilled reappeared. If anyone has advise for me I would be grateful. Thanks again for the nice comments.

Dixiegmcsm wrote:I think I'm an addict! Lol.

That's okay, your in good company here.

Nice job! I sure would not apologize for the job you did, it looks very nice. I think that your statement about functioning like new is way more important to many of us than the " esthetics" . I have a former student who makes a good living restoring cars for folks. He makes big $$ doing it, but when he does one for himself, it is more of a " daily driver" than the purists would like. They look good, but the are probably better than when new, at least to drive around in.

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Thanks for the advise with wd40 right or wrong those lower tubes have been wire wheeled, sanded with 50, 80, 120, and 220 and polished with a power buffer four times because I wasn't happy with them when I was done! Did I hurt the metal by sanding? I have some other metal finish that will be used with bare wood like the belt sander table and my older bandsaw table. Will this process work for them without leaving stains on the wood? Thanks again