Shopsmith ER

[Andrew Joiner]

I'm looking at buying an old Shopsmith er . I plan on using it as a spare drill press and a lathe. I'll test run it and be sure all parts are there.

Anything to watch out for?

The tubes are hollow so is it useless as lathe?

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&expIds=17259,24543,26637,27404,27509&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=shopsmith+er&cp=12&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=833&bih=454

[Kyle Iwamoto]

The speed control is a Reeves drive. It must be running or moving to change speeds. If you turn that dial when not running, you will break that little speed adjusting clip. DAMHIKT. They are built like tanks, so if it runs and you can change speeds, you'll be okay.

It is a 16" lathe, so it's plenty big for turning lots of things. But the low speed of 700 makes it very exciting to use on blanks greater than about 8". Since it's relatively light in weight, anything that is not well balanced makes it exciting. Once roughed out, it's relatively good. The stock tool rest configuration really sucks. If it has the upgraded tool rest system, it may be okay. I don't have the good rest system. I also have a Jet mini, and I like that better. Only the bigger stuff that does not fit goes on the SS. If I can rough it out and then go to the mini, I do that. Aftermarket products, like a chuck and drive centers are limited in choice. I got a 1X8" adapter, so my Jet parts fit on the SS. The way the SS has the drive components (tapered slot and allen screw) allows for much slop, so you never get a solid drive. Something always vibrates, because of the play.

Hope that helps.

[Ben Hatcher]

I turned the base of the table in my avatar on a shopsmith with a speed reducer. Don't forget about the horizontal boring feature.

[Andrew Joiner]

Yes, Ben I like the idea of the horizontal boring feature.

Kyle , The speed control is a Reeves drive on an ER? It looks like step pulleys.

[Dave Lehnert]

Yes, Ben I like the idea of the horizontal boring feature.

Kyle , The speed control is a Reeves drive on an ER? It looks like step pulleys.

The 10ER is a step pulley drive made in the 1950's. The Mark V is a reeves drive unit made since the 1960's.
The 10er was sold with an optional speed control. If it has one, they are worth more than the unit is. You can see one in this pic. it is the extra set of pulley in between the rails.

You can get a lot of good info at the Shopsmith forum.

http://mkctools.com/mvc-005s.jpg

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Kyle , The speed control is a Reeves drive on an ER? It looks like step pulleys.

Oh, sorry. I was assuming that the ER was the same as the "current" 35 year old design. Boy, that is old. And that is way cool. I'd get it just for the coolness factor... Forget what I said.... None of it applies, except for they be made like tanks.

[Jay Allen]

Mine is lacking the speed control unit. IIRC it was made in the late 40's. My great uncle bought is new and it has been in the family ever since. I got quite a bit of use out of the lathe as a kid, but not much else. I keep it for nostalgic value but have single-purpose tools that do everything it can w/o the set-up issues.

[Rick Potter]

I would suggest you find a good Mark V, rather than the ER. You can find them at pretty reasonable prices. They also have a lot of accessories available. If you get one with the belt sander attachment, it will be very handy.

Rick Potter

[Charles Lent]

I have a 10ER that I use mostly as a lathe. It does this task reasonably well, but in my opinion, the 10ER's design is significantly lacking for any of it's other capabilities, except maybe for use as a horizontal boring machine.

The most significant problem with it is the original locks that hold the head, spindle, tail piece, etc. Tilting the 10ER up to use it as a drill press always resulted in the head sliding slowly down the rails no matter how tight I tried to lock it. The other locks (all the same design) were equally unreliable. I finally replaced the pot metal piece in each of these with new ones that I turned from brass on a metal lathe. I'm not much of a metal worker, but I chose brass because of it's soft and sticky property when pressed against steel without any lubrication, and it seems to have been a good choice. Now I can lock all of the parts in place without the need to beat on the lock handles to get them to hold. In my opinion, these locks are the most design deficient parts of the 10ER, but they can be fixed if you can make replacement parts for it.

Using the 10ER as a table saw is likely the most dangerous application for it and I will never use it for that again.

Charley

[Richard Wagner]

Please don't maintain that conclusion until you have turned on the Mark V. You just might be surprised.