I remember back in those days, there were many of us who where writing what our "ideal" Shopsmith would be and I honestly believe Shopsmith did it. The DVR motor no lubrication requirement. The should be a mandatory dust as the almost new looking 510 I converted, I first blew out with compressed air before bringing in the house. I should of removed the covers and then blew it out.
This is this very fine saw dust that mixes with the oil and makes it a little difficult to remove. But that I believe is also function of not enough power on a dust collection system(s) which should be powered by a 1000 CFM 5 HP motor at the least in order to remove all that invisible dust. But- we're not professional cabinet makers- although I bet many of you have created works of art that might belong in a museum one day. It's amazing what a master wood turner can create. I've met a one and his are projects are in his living room with blue ribbons from State Fair shows. Floyd Knapp in Winter Haven Florida was his name. He left our world for the next, 4-5 years ago. But in a tiny "shack" he built oak bedroom furniture, wood turnings up the gazoo and he had only started in his 70s.
But in my subject line above, it seems like anything, costs must be too high when there are cheaper alternatives. The Power Pro motor is not a AC motor or a DC motor per se. But it is a perfect marriage between two companies who made all Mark V's ever made compatible with this upgrade. That would be like taking an old PC from 1985 with an 8088 CPU and modifying it to run Win 7 or Apple's Lion operating systems.
What I don't know. I don't know how long these belts will last as they are far more tensioned than the old Mark V belts which might last 40 or more years. I think a recommended change interval or at least inspection interval is required as well as other periodic maintenance intervals established. But that still is not going to make people who never cleaned out their headstocks before motivated to clean/inspect them on a more regular basis.
I would like to see an alignment DVD on the MArk 7. I had some fun doing my double tilt mod because I simply brought the pieces of the Mark 510 in from the car & thought it would be easier to change out the tilt assemblies. That was one method not mentioned in the instructions. They had people turning their Shopsmiths upside down and this & that. I didn't do any of that. I simply unscrewed the old tilt assembly & screwed in the new one- not being sure if I had it right & I used the old screws. That's what not reading instructions can result in. So I changed all the screws out with #3 Phillips supplied screws. You have to be careful in keeping the large knurled screws tightened or the way tube assy might pop out of the base. That happened a couple times to me. But I learn fast and still have all my fingers- but not all my hair...
