Shop Smith - Just as a drill & lathe?

[john lawson]

I bought a new 3/4 hp baldor 3phase motor off ebay, you can buy one locally for very little if you watch craigslist, sometimes you can get them for free because they are three phase. I bought a single phase to three phase vfd from DealerElectric (I believe it was them) for $84 at the time, a few years ago.

I was a little nervous because I don't know much about electricity, but I was able to wire it with no problem. I keep the the 10er on the middle belt setting and have 0-3600 rpm speed control. I don't remember the exact number now but the low setting is like 0-550 rpm and the top setting is 0-to over 10000rpm.

It's really nice, very quiet and perfect for the lathe or drill press.

[Matt Radtke]

I have a 10er. I bought it used for about $150 and it came with the appropriate speed changer, though it required a bit of work to get it to a useable state. I used it stock for a good 6 months until I got the speed changer working correctly.

I would suggest you buy it for $100 assuming everything is in good shape. Mine has served me very well as just a drill, lathe, horizontal boring machine, and sander.

The best upgrade I have ever done was to bolt on a variable speed DC motor on it. Now in the low speed, high torque position, I have 100-3000RPM.

The advantage to a 10er vs. the newer Mark V's is the 10er is a simpler machine. It's easy to repair. That which cannot be bought can be easily fabricated by a buddy with lathe and mill. I did this with the carriage locks. Took me about an hour to remake them. It also has the more robust, dual bearing spindle by default. Many have used the 10er as a light duty (aluminum and brass) mill.

[Rick Potter]

OK, let me jump in again.

1: It's $100. Buy it, use it, then decide to keep, upgrade, sell or replace it. What do you have to lose???

2: Then, go over that list above where you mention all the improvements you could make to it. Put a dollar figure next to each improvement. Study it. Burn the list.

3: Finally, after using #1 for a while, you will either love it as is, want improvements, or decide you really need a MK V. I repeat..........What do you have to lose? You can always sell it for the $100.

[Allan Speers]

I bought a new 3/4 hp baldor 3phase motor off ebay, you can buy one locally for very little if you watch craigslist, sometimes you can get them for free because they are three phase. I bought a single phase to three phase vfd from DealerElectric (I believe it was them) for $84 at the time, a few years ago.

I was a little nervous because I don't know much about electricity, but I was able to wire it with no problem. I keep the the 10er on the middle belt setting and have 0-3600 rpm speed control. I don't remember the exact number now but the low setting is like 0-550 rpm and the top setting is 0-to over 10000rpm.

It's really nice, very quiet and perfect for the lathe or drill press.

See, that's what I'm talking about ! - or a DC motor, as Matt used. Plus, If I do this, I'd go for 1.5 - 2 HP, just so I can thumb my nose at Mark V owners ! - just kidding, but if I bolt the SM to the floor, I might be able to turn some decent bowls, and for that it could HURT to have a little more torque. This is especially true if you're lowering the speed via a VFD. I'm thinking that a 2 HP, 3-ph motor, running at 40% speed on a VFD, should still give plenty of torque.

The 10ER is considered by many users, who have owned both, superior to the Mark V when used as a DP and lathe, because it has a lot of cast iron. (As John Lawson points out, above.) It also has a dual-bearing spindle, which Mark V's earlier than 1985 do not, and modern top-quality bearings are easy to retrofit.

I do understand the advantages of the Mark V as well, (Thanks, guys ) and so it's a difficult decision. Both machines use proprietary parts, so both would require similar mods to make them more universal. I'm actually leaning hard towards the 10ER, but with the knowledge going in that it will take some $$$$ and time to modify it properly. I think that with the right mods, it can actually be the superior machine, and do the two tasks I need from it extremely well.

I would NEVER consider using a ShopSmith as a tablesaw, jointer, or even jigsaw, but for just drilling and limited lathe work (plus the large disk sander) I'm liking the idea more & more. Dunno if I'd ever use that scrollsaw attachment, but I'll give it a try.

More on this later, as I have to decide this week.

[Charles Lent]

There was a Reeves Drive accessory for the 10ER, but it's not likely that you will ever find one. I don't think many of them were ever sold. The Youtube video posted earlier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IErSBgATkQo covers a jack shaft type of DIY upgrade that could be done to give it more and slower speeds by changing belt/pulley positions much like done on many drill presses. The upgrade looks simple enough to make just from watching the video, if you are mechanically inclined.

Charley

[Allan Speers]

There was a Reeves Drive accessory for the 10ER, but it's not likely that you will ever find one.

Wow, I had to do a lot of digging, Charley, but I found that aftermarket drive. It seems the company that made it is no longer in business, so ......

Well, I prefer the idea of a variable-speed motor, anyway.

[john lawson]

Here is what my 10ER looks like with the Baldor motor and VFD

10ER 003.jpg10ER 002.jpg10ER 004.jpg10ER 005.jpg