Potential Tool Gloat

[Aaron Berk]

Alright here goes, my neighbor comes over this am and says a guy up at the Church is selling a tool of some sort of combo tool that has a table saw and sander and some other "stuff", says the guy wants $50 for it. My neighbor doesn't work wood and had no clue what the tool was but for $50 I figured it was worth a look and probably worth the price. So I rode up to the Church their building and took a look at what turned out to be an ole Shopsmith. It's in pretty sad shape, been sitting on a Georgia back porch for the last 5 yrs, but the motor comes alive and the speed dial does its job. I handed over 50 bucks and took the project home. As grace would have it, I've got a set of brand new way tubes that I was saving to turn into guides for a sliding table on my table saw, looks like they'll go on the shopsmith now. If I can't resurrect this beast I know I can part it out for way more than $50. It came with a TON of goodies too. Included in the package was: Bandsaw, scrollsaw, jointer, tablesaw, lathe parts with chisels, drum sanding gear and parts, router fence and bits, 2 manuals, dado blade, 3 throat plates, 4 new bandsaw blades, and the list goes on. Not sure where this project will take me, any one know some good Shopsmith sites?
So heres the pix for proof, my first potential SMC gloat:D
Pic one is at the Church, pic 2 is in my driveway

[Bill Houghton]

http://www.ssug.org/index.php

http://www.owwm.com/MfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=747 lists several - also, Old Woodworking Machines itself has useful information on whatever brand of old stationary woodworking machine you find.

Shopsmith itself seems still to be active - http://www.shopsmith.com/index.htm - and has a links page: http://www.shopsmith.com/links.htm.

[Aaron Berk]

http://www.ssug.org/index.php

http://www.owwm.com/MfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=747 lists several - also, Old Woodworking Machines itself has useful information on whatever brand of old stationary woodworking machine you find.

Shopsmith itself seems still to be active - http://www.shopsmith.com/index.htm - and has a links page: http://www.shopsmith.com/links.htm.

Thanks Bill, you da man:)
I'm probably going to auction off the parts and keep only what I need for a lathe and horizontal boring.

Any body know if these hold up for novice intermittent lathe work?

[Dave Lehnert]

Any body know if these hold up for novice intermittent lathe work?

Considering that unit is from the 1960's I think it will hold up just fine.

One note. Oil the headstock before you do damage to the speed control.
Here is a video on your goldie.
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Archives/SS122/SS122_Shopsmith_Reborn_Pt2.htm

http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Archives/SS122/SS122_Common_files/Blackboard_images/Inspection_and_Cleaning.pdf

Here are some great videos to get the shopsmith back into shape.
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/Sawdust_Sessions.htm

The also have a great forum. Guys on there are experts at rebuilding them.
http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/

This tool rest upgrade is worth the price. It goes on sale from time to time.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/l_univlathetoolrest.htm
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/images/NewLatheToolRest.jpg

I have owned my Shopsmith since 1989 and it is like new. They are built like a tank.

[Aaron Berk]

I've been brushing up on these videos available through the site and I've gotta hand it to Nick Engler. He really knows his stuff about these machines.
Thanks for pointing this stuff out to me. I'm on my way restoring what's necessary in order to make my SS M-V Mdl500 a quality drill press, horizontal borer, lathe and sanding center. Don't know if I'll restore all the other attachments yet.
Thanks again.
Aaron

[Jerome Hanby]

Don't have the Scroll saw, but the Shopsmith Bandsaw works well. With Timberwolf blades, mine has almost no drift. The Smith itself is also a pretty cool platform for building your own tools. Engler has a pretty nice drum sander project that can be mounted on and powered from the Shopsmith. They also make a pretty sweet sanding station, disc, conical disk belt, and thin strip sanders are all available.

I like the jointer too, it doesn't take up much space and it works well. The 4" width is a little limiting. I've been toying with building some extensions for the jointer table to help with longer stock.

[Bill White]

I would say the YOU STOLE IT!!!
Bill

[Dennis Lopeman]

I concur! That was a steal for sure!!!

I bought all my stuff new. Just that Bandsaw is worth it!! Why don't I have neighbors like that?!?!?! :p

[Chip Lindley]

ShopSmiths are kinda like the old Erector Sets! You put 'em together and take 'em apart....and they are very Amusing for a while!.......