Buying a Shopsmith V

[Charles Musick]

Hello! Sorry to introduce myself by asking a question. I'm sure this topic has been covered before. I'm short on time, I have an opportunity to purchase a Shopsmith V for $275. I understand that in some people's opinion, the table saw is not the best, but I already have a TS.

My primary function for this would be the lathe, and possibly the sander and drill. I've never used a Shopsmith, in fact have never used a lathe. I'm really looking to turn spindles 3 x 34.

I was just wanting any feedback, as far as things that I should look for in this machine. Does this seem like a fair price? I've seen them run up to $1500 before, but I don't know any differences. It makes me wonder if the others are just overly priced... or if I could be overlooking something on the cheaper ones.

Again, I am sorry to make this my first post. I will properly introduce myself later. As you can imagine, I have tons of questions.

[Cary Falk]

Welcome to the Creek,
'
My dad had one when I was a kid. It's strong functions are:lathe, horizontal boring, drill press, and disc sander. The table saw absolutely sucks. The jointer attachment worked fine. I think $275 is one of the more reasonable asking prices I have seen.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have an older SS. They are built like a tank. They are not the greatest at anything, however they do a lot of different things. The lathe is pretty good, if all you want to do is spindles. Anything over 6 inches or so becomes a challenge due to the high slow speed and light weight of the machine. 275 is dirt cheap. If it has the band saw, that is probably the best thing that SS has.

[Rick Potter]

A few things to check. Are the top tubes the motor glides on rusty? The bottom tubes are not as important. Work the variable speed control up and down. Does it come with any extras? Make sure the stuff like the drill chuck, and plastic tool connector are there. A blade adaptor to take 5/8" hole blades is a real handy extra. If it has the jointer, sander, or band saw, that will save a bundle.

If it is in decent shape, and operates correctly, I would suggest that if you use it for nothing but a variable speed drill press, and a horizontal drill (doweling), it is probably worth it. As a spindle lathe it is not bad, the tool rest is the weak spot, but it you don't try hogging the material out, it's fine.


Rick Potter

PS: There is a great website for ShopSmiths, with tutorial videos. Google it.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

If it is green (older) then it will have a Gilmer belt that may need to be replaced. Ask the owner to take the back cover off to inspect. Even if it is the "newer" poly-v belt, it may need to be replaced. If so, check ebay before buying from Shopsmith - they charge about $40 for the Gilmer but a bit cheaper for the poly-v.

If you do need new bearings ebay is definitely the place to get the specialty (Shopsmith only) ones.

[Mike Heidrick]

Look for at least a MarkV or a 510. A plus will be if it has all the tables and miter gauge. Make sure it has the drill press chuck. caster system is also a very handy accessory. As far as quality make sure there is no play in the quill and that the run out is ok at max quill stroke. Chuck up a drill bit and run it.

A great accessory is the Magna 6X48 belt sander too and shopsmith also made an awesome LARGE scroll saw for it. The variable speed on the shopsmaith makes that awesome. I use the crap out of that 6X48 sander - its even on its own shopsmith powertable. I use the shopsmith as a drill press and horiz boring machine all the time and I drill steel and alum on it. I love the moveable angle table it has. If you have the room it is a great machine for $275!

I personally would skip an older ER10.

[Keith Hankins]

Thats pretty good. If it were a M V model 510 it would be better (bigger tables). I used mine for years. It got the job done, and it fit in a real small space. Change overs were a pain, but unless you were wanting to cut 12/4 stock it would do it. I loved the horizontal drilling and the 12" disk for sanding. I sold mine to a guy for 225 after numerous attemps to sell on craigslist. I still wish every now and then, I had just kept it. The lathe is ok nothing fancy, but with the completely variable speed motor not bad. You won't turn any large bowles with it, but it will work. One thing to check. Fully extend the quil and lock it. if that shaft has any lateral play. You need to replace the bearings. You can get that done by them for a resonalbe cost. Ask to open the head and look at the gear transffer mechanism. Simply remove the shopsmith logo and look inside for any signs of abuse. Probably will look pristeen.

[Andrew Joiner]

Look for at least a MarkV or a 510. A plus will be if it has all the tables and miter gauge. Make sure it has the drill press chuck. caster system is also a very handy accessory. As far as quality make sure there is no play in the quill and that the run out is ok at max quill stroke. Chuck up a drill bit and run it.

A great accessory is the Magna 6X48 belt sander too and shopsmith also made an awesome LARGE scroll saw for it. The variable speed on the shopsmaith makes that awesome. I use the crap out of that 6X48 sander - its even on its own shopsmith powertable. I use the shopsmith as a drill press and horiz boring machine all the time and I drill steel and alum on it. I love the moveable angle table it has. If you have the room it is a great machine for $275!

I personally would skip an older ER10.

I've been looking for a Shopsmith 10ER for a lathe/drill press/horizontal boring. My understanding is the mark v didn't have a"double bearing quill" and the 10ER does. I'm thinking the double bearing quill will give me a drill press with low run-out, a quill lock, and positive depth stop.

[Dominic Carpenter]

I owned a Mark V for about 20 years (just sold it for $800 with quite a few extras). Disc sanding and drill press worked well. As others have posted, does a lot of things, none of them with the type of accuracy required for high end projects. A word of caution on the lathe. Although the lathe is one of this machines stronger features, I absolutely hated the Allen screws that held the tool rest in place. The screws often did not hold well and repositioning the rest is a pain in the butt. The newer models have fixed this problem and it may be worth upgrading to the new tool rest system if you can get a good machine for that price. I would also recommend a live center over the standard dead center they are shipped with. I had the mobility kit and highly recommend that option as well. Great machines, the have a reputation of lasting forever with good basic maintenance.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

I've been looking for a Shopsmith 10ER for a lathe/drill press/horizontal boring. My understanding is the mark v didn't have a"double bearing quill" and the 10ER does. I'm thinking the double bearing quill will give me a drill press with low run-out, a quill lock, and positive depth stop.

The first Mark V's did not have a double quill bearing (green w/ Gilmer belt) but the later models do. I believe this came into effect around the late 50's/early 60's. However, you can add a second bearing the the earlier quills by either getting a machine shop to do it or buying one from Skip at MKC Tools - http://www.mkctools.com/

[Andrew Joiner]

Thanks Cyrus. Good info.

[Dave Lehnert]

[QUOTE does a lot of things, none of them with the type of accuracy required for high end projects. [/QUOTE]

As a woodworker who has built many high end projects on a Shopsmith I am not sure how you conclude it is not possible.

A lot of good info over at the shopsmith forum.

www (dot) shopsmith (dot) net/forums/

[Dominic Carpenter]

I admit, my comment regarding the Mark V's ability to produce high end pieces may have been overstated. I produced several commissioned pieces with the Shopsmith as my primary machine when I was starting out. Final product is largely the result of the craftsman. However, with that said, the machine's design makes it inherently difficult to maintain tolerances. I will say that the need for changeover, taught me to be very efficient with regard to milling and workflow. Maybe more importantly, it taught me the importance of hand tools.

[David Dockstader]

In the ShopSmith Academy, there are 24 videos put out by Nick Engler. #21 talks about what to look for when buying a used ShopSmith. Here is the link:

http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Archives/SS121/SS121_Shopsmith_Reborn_Pt1.htm

Full disclosure: I own 2 ShopSmiths, no table saw, and make furniture, turnings, and just about everything else with them. They are as dead-on accurate as I could ever use, for I believe accuracy, like everything else in woodworking, is dependent upon the skills and abilities of the craftsman.

[Bill Space]

[QUOTE=My primary function for this would be the lathe, and possibly the sander and drill. I've never used a Shopsmith, in fact have never used a lathe. I[/QUOTE]

I have used my Shopsmith as a lathe (actually the first one, which I gave to my son-in-law) but for me I find the drill press and disc sander functions most used. I would buy it for $275. Myself, the reason I gave my old "greenie" to the SIL was I had the really good fortune to get a newer MarkV off Craig's list, which was in great shape and included a bandsaw, for $200 (gloat I suppose) a few years ago. I would have been happy to pay $200 for the machine alone. I think the price of $275 is good for a newer model Mark 5. If it is green perhaps not.

If you get the serial number you can find the approximate manufacture date somewhere, perhaps at the Shopsmith web site (I don't remember where, but I did find out when mine was made). I am pretty sure it was at the Shopsmith site.

I have a bunch of single purpose tools, but there is no way I will give up the Shopsmith.

If it is gray in color and in pretty good shape, I bet you will be happy with your purchase.

Bill

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'm going to go against the consensus, I would skip it. I had one for years, and hated it once I learned how much better any of it's functions could be done by other machines. IMHO, they are just not worth the floor space. If you want one for sentimentality or just to try, have fun, but as a real tool, I'd recommend just buying something else.

[Michael Mayo]

I'm going to go against the consensus, I would skip it. I had one for years, and hated it once I learned how much better any of it's functions could be done by other machines. IMHO, they are just not worth the floor space. If you want one for sentimentality or just to try, have fun, but as a real tool, I'd recommend just buying something else.

I will echo Steve's comments. I have 3 Shopsmith's. 1-Mark VII $300 1960's vintage and 2-Mark V's. One is a 1954 Greenie $99 and the other is a newer 1984 model $85. The Greenie cost me $99 and was in horrible condition but I completely tore it down and blasted all of the parts and repainted everything silver and black. I also rebuilt the headstock with all new bearings. The belts were all fine and last a very long time. All three headstocks were actually rebuilt with new bearings etc. and cleaned, adjusted and lubed. I thought I would really enjoy using them but once I really started woodworking they became a real pain in the butt as changing over from one function to another is very time consuming and then you have to adjust things which is really just annoying. I also have a DC3300 dust collector $30, a bandsaw on a power stand, a jointer, and a jig/scroll saw. The bandsaw is pretty good and useful. The jointer worked great but had limited capacity at 4". The jigsaw I have only played with and the dust collector works but just doesn't have the air flow to really be of much use.

The other thing is that they really do take up a lot of floor space and that is precious in a smaller shop. I have disassembled the 54 and the Mark VII and stored them. I keep the 84 Mark V setup for lathe work only. If you are gearing up to do some serious woodworking you would be much better off skipping the Shopsmith and just buying dedicated tooling. That is what I have been doing and now have a 15" planer, 8" jointer, 18" bandsaw, OSS, drill press, bench mortiser, DIY router table and several routers, etc. I could easily get along without having any of the Shopsmith's and lathough they are cool they really are not very easy or convenient to use in my opinion and there are those that will vehemently disagree but that is my opinion. By the way that is not a bad price for a fully functioning Mark V that is relatively newer but it will need to come with all of the basic accessories or else you will be looking at significant additional expense to get it fully outfitted.

[Gus Dundon]

I don't own one but that's a pretty good deal! Get up there and get it.

[Mike Heidrick]

Michael you have a small table for sale for the end of a Mark V?

[Bill Space]

HI again!

I forgot to mention several other things I have found useful. I have used the Shopsmith tables as supports for working on larger items and when feeding large sheets of plywood onto my table saw. Of course, I have casters on the Shopsmith, so I can position it easily. The height of the tables are easily adjusted. I don't mean that I move the Shopsmith in this case, just that I position it and raise the table I am going to use for support to the right height, and slide the material over it.

The horizontal boring capability is hard to match with any other tool I have in my shop, except a hand drill, which I cannot easily(if at all) hold perfectly for a correctly bored hole. Try drilling a perfect hole in the end of an 8' piece of something...beside the Shopsmith I do not have a tool in the shop that will do it easily and repeatably.

I never used the SM table saw until after I gave the greenie to my SIL. I have used it there as there was nothing better, but I don't really like it. It scares me...

Horizontal boring function, drill press, disc sander (use the quill stop and sand multiple pieces to the exact same length) are the features I like most, and which are most useful to me. Lathe is an added bonus that I don't use currently, but it is there if I want to.

I think if in good shape and relatively new for $275 I would buy one if I did not already have one. If it were gone I would miss it...not every day, but probably more than I realize as I write this.

I know size is relative, but I don't see the SM as taking up much space, unless your shop is real small. What is the footprint, maybe 2' x 6' ?

Bill

After thought: I do have dedicated machines (table saw, three bandsaws, two radial arms saws, jointer, planer and tablesaw. No lathe. As mentioned in other posts above, multi-purpose tools often come up short when compared to a shop full of single purpose tools. For me, the Shopsmith enhances my shop, but does not (and will not ever) serve as a replacement for the individual tools that I go to first.

But a LOT of people have produced great results with a Shopsmith alone. It all depends on where you are at and what you want to do. If you do buy it you will get good value for your money, I am sure of that. It will not compete with a shop full of dedicated tools, but will compete pretty well with a shop full of dedicated tools that were purchased for a total cost of $275.

[Ronald Blue]

I have two 510's and while they have some drawbacks they also have some good features. There is a speed reducer if you want to get into turning large items. I find the biggest drawback to be having to setback up for an operation if you make a mistake. Definitely look it over good. You can go to the Shopsmith site and determine it's age with the serial number. Later models the manufacture date is the serial number.

[Michael Mayo]

Michael you have a small table for sale for the end of a Mark V?

Mike,
I sent you a PM about the table question.

[Mike Heidrick]

Thank you Michael! - Lets work something out for sure.

[Charles Musick]

I would like to thank everyone for their input. I had my wife print this out for me and took it as a guide. Problem was, the guy also had two other lathes for sale. Both were, older pulley system, deltas. I understood the guy knew his stuff, cause when asked about the wide plank flooring, he was laying, he remarked it was from the tree out front. He wasn't kidding. Come to find out he actually worked for a few local lumber companies, and turned for them. He was a super nice guy, he actually offered to teach me how to turn. I finally decided to go with the SS, mainly because of the extra features, and the 1 1/8 hp variable speed motor. I wish the SS had the Scroll saw attachment, and the the jointer. It came with the drill, saw, drum sander, lathe. I will post pics later. I am now looking for the scroll saw, jointer. I am really glad for the responses, it actually made me remember to ask for the chuck. When we went to get the chuck the guy gave me a couple of chisels as well.

There is also PDF on buying a shopsmith from shopsmith academy.

[Ronald Blue]

I don't know where you are located but there is currently one on eBay that ends tomorrow. I have one and it is pretty good. I don't use it much but don't want to part with it. Good luck