Shopsmith Forums

So I have been collecting many other tools of late and I am now in need of more room to actually work. I have decided to convert my refurbished 54' Mark V into a shorty SPT power device. I want to be able to power the bandsaw and jointer on this shorty. I also have a speed reducer that I would like to employ when using the bandsaw. What lengths do I need to make the way tubes and bench tubes to allow use of the two SPT's along with the speed reducer when powering the bandsaw? I also have the power stand that the bandsaw came with can this be used to power the jointer? Just wondering if the motor/setup on the power stand will spin the jointer at a speed that will allow it to function properly?

wannabewoodworker wrote:So I have been collecting many other tools of late and I am now in need of more room to actually work. I have decided to convert my refurbished 54' Mark V into a shorty SPT power device. I want to be able to power the bandsaw and jointer on this shorty. I also have a speed reducer that I would like to employ when using the bandsaw. What lengths do I need to make the way tubes and bench tubes to allow use of the two SPT's along with the speed reducer when powering the bandsaw? I also have the power stand that the bandsaw came with can this be used to power the jointer? Just wondering if the motor/setup on the power stand will spin the jointer at a speed that will allow it to function properly?

First you have a problem. Both the joiner and bandsaw will need to be on the left side of the Shopsmith unless you convert your motor to a reversible motor. I use reversible motors on a lot of the MINI and SHORTYs I sell and/or convert for customers. The reversible motor adds a lot more capability to any Shopsmith. The 1 1/8 HP AO Smith and GE motors can be converted to reverse operation. To determine the minimum overall tube length needed, I would recommend mounting the joiner on the left side (only side for the joiner), the bandsaw and speed changer on the right side on your regular Shopsmith. Then allowing room to mount and unmount the power coupler on the bandsaw side, measure the amount of space between the joiner hub and the lower accessory hub on the headstock. This is the maximum you can cut from the way and bench tubes. This is how I determined the length of the SHORTY (18" shorter) I began doing years ago which allowed for many combinations of SPTs, accessories, attachments and jigs to be used.

Yes, you can mount the joiner on a Power Stand. The joiner needs around 8320 RPM for effective operation. The following joiner/motor pulley sizes with a 3450 RPM motor wll be close. 1.5"/3.5" or 1.75"/4.25" or 2"/5" . I recommend a belt cover regardless of pulley sizes used. I have a lot of Shopsmith belt covers available if interested

Thanks Bill. I realize i can only realistically use the two SPT's on one side of the shorty. But if I wanted to I could put my Mark VII headstock on the shorty frame and use the reversing feature to make it more functional. Have not really thought that hard about doing that was just thinking about shortening up one of the three SS's to gain some valuable space. Don't know the size of the pulley on the Power Stand but can easily find that out. So I have to decide if i want to run both jointer and bandsaw together at the same time on the shorty and if so then use my Mark VII headstock or just cut the 54' down to run the bandsaw or the jointer on the left side of the headstock taking into account the speed reducer which will significantly limit the amount of shortening I can accomplish I am sure as the speed reducer takes up a lot of real estate.

wannabewoodworker wrote:Thanks Bill. I realize i can only realistically use the two SPT's on one side of the shorty. But if I wanted to I could put my Mark VII headstock on the shorty frame and use the reversing feature to make it more functional. Have not really thought that hard about doing that was just thinking about shortening up one of the three SS's to gain some valuable space. Don't know the size of the pulley on the Power Stand but can easily find that out. So I have to decide if i want to run both jointer and bandsaw together at the same time on the shorty and if so then use my Mark VII headstock or just cut the 54' down to run the bandsaw or the jointer on the left side of the headstock taking into account the speed reducer which will significantly limit the amount of shortening I can accomplish I am sure as the speed reducer takes up a lot of real estate.

A new thought. I never tried to put a Mark VII headstock on the Mark V frame and tubes. The Mark VII tube gear should clear the Mark V way tube. Let us know if this works.

My first few reversible Mark V headstocks I sold used the Mark VII reversible motor with 2 new constructed motor mounts and modifications to fit the Mark V motor pan. I since acquired a few more Mark VII motors to adapt to the Mark V motor pan. I quickly depleted my stock of Mark VII motors at that time so I determined that I could rewire the AO Smith and GE 1 1/8 HP motors (90% success rate) to accomplish the same purpose.

I leave enough room to slide the headstock so I can mount the Power Coupler and operate either SPT at a time. I leave both SPTs mounted so all I have to do is shift the Power Coupler from one side to the other side. I do not recommend operating 2 SPTs at the same time however I did not figure how to accomplish this task to keep both SPTs operating due to the need to insert the power coupler for either SPT.

This what I am currently thinking about. I have thought about it before but didn't follow it through.
I want my bandsaw ready to walk over to and flip the switch. That is my biggest priority for a mini / shorty etc. I also want my belt sander ready to flip on.
I may put a full time disk sander on with the bandsaw. Pulling the coupler on the band saw is quick if need be and the disk can be quickly dropped if I want. Of course I will still have all kinds of flexibility with the other SS's along with 2 shorter ones. I just want those 3 items always ready.
The one with the disk sander will need to be long enough to have room for the carriage and table.

Just really getting started on this project and gathering stuff together. I do still have 2 more caster sets and plenty of everything else.


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Another option that allows you to use all of the Shopsmith functions is to trim 16" off the way and bench tubes. You can rip 18 or 19" and turn about the same length. Also it allows mounting the belt or strip sander as well as the disk sander for a sanding station, and gives a bit of room for quill action for advancing the disk into stock. I shortened a Greenie by the 16" and it works well, although the drill press is a bit squat. I don't have the speed reducer, but I'd expect it would fit as well.