Just got my first SS 50th Anniversary 520! Introducing: Choptimus Prime

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MrTemple
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Location: The Wild Wilds of Metchosin, BC, Canada

Just got my first SS 50th Anniversary 520! Introducing: Choptimus Prime

Post by MrTemple »

Our adventure began at 3:30 yesterday morning with a dash to catch the 55 year-old Coho ferry from Victoria, BC to the United States of America.

My wife and I journeyed through the majestic Olympic National Forest, past the village of Forks (which was trying hard to sparkle well past its twilight years), down the mist-cloaked coastal rainforest, quickly in and out of the banjo-echoing village of Humptulips, and all, all, all, all the way down to Hoquiam, WA.

Thereupon, in that deflated whoopee cushion of a town, we were well met by George, Son of George. He bestowed upon us, for some small pieces of silver, Choptimus Prime, a 13 year-old Shopsmith 5-in-1 whiz-bang woodworking wonder-machine, in lovely condition and complete with enough extras as to befuddle mere single-handed shop-tool counting.

On our way back, I drew flattering remarks about the shapeliness of my calves from a very nice man pumping gas in his sweatpants, we toured one of the biggest cedar trees there ever was (Choptimus, as you'd expect of a woodworking transformer, was positively reverent), we rescued Max The Dog, who was Forrest Gumping down the interstate, and returned him to his owner, we collected well over our legal limit in Finnriver cider, we narrowly avoided a 4h ferry wait in the fresh-pulped hamlet of Port Angeles, and finally, after another ferry ride and a chance to meet all kinds of nice Canadian Customs Officials, we settled Choptimus Prime into his new forever home, where he, and his family are settling in nicely.

Overall we had a Very Good Time Indeed.

Pics (Click all to Embiggen):

Looks like a 50th Anniversary 510, upgraded to a 520. Model Number: 555861, Serial: 10-09-01.

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A blue "Oaktron" speaker magnet to hold various tools?

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Barely visible in the back there are the secondary and floating tables.

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I got Choptimus from George Jr., who inherited it from his father, George Sr. This little guy must have seen a number of homes in the past 13 years. But hopefully he'll be in his new home for a good long while.

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Got a mess of blades, dado set, and sanding discs with it, each mounted to their own arbor, for quick changes. Also in there is a pen-turning mandrel and biscuit joiner.

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Jointer is the only piece that has a bit of rust on it. Going to take some WD-40 and steel wool to it. The Belt Sander looks like an old Greenie SPT. Also pictured are the secondary/floating table legs and cross bars.

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Has a conical sanding disc, and sharpening kit, bunch of lathe chisels, miscellaneous bits. Off to the side are the manual and a bunch of guides.

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And a pile o' finger-keepers.

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MrTemple
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Location: The Wild Wilds of Metchosin, BC, Canada

Post by MrTemple »

I'd love if anybody could point me in the right direction as to maintenance and cleaning guides.

I'd like to refurbish this to tip-top condition and then keep it there.

Thanks, guys! Excited to be part of the Shopsmith family!
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dusty
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Post by dusty »

CraigTemple wrote:I'd love if anybody could point me in the right direction as to maintenance and cleaning guides.

I'd like to refurbish this to tip-top condition and then keep it there.

Thanks, guys! Excited to be part of the Shopsmith family!

I would suggest that you become acquainted with the Sawdust Sessions as a starter. Skim through the titles and you will find several that will be applicable to you right now.

I must say, however, that it does not appear as though you have much cleaning to do. That looks like a real nice machine.

Oil it. Lubrication is about all, other than alignment, that this machine ever needs. You do need a can of this--[ATTACH]25948[/ATTACH].

You will also find some good information in the Service Tips.

Congratulations on your find and welcome to the forum.
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"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
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idcook
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Post by idcook »

Welcome Craig and Congratulations.

That baby looks to be in pretty decent condition as it is. With or without the manuals there are plenty of folks here who’re able to help you get it right where you want it.

Enjoy!
danscot
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Post by danscot »

Welcome! That does look like a nice machine so hopefully it will run a good as it looks.

If you want to get into the workings you could do worse than read through the stickies on the "Maintenance & Repair" forum. I found them invaluable when getting my SS up to the mark.

You'll find a particularly useful put-it-back-together series from JPG in there - saved me hours of cursing ;)
MrTemple
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Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 1:37 pm
Location: The Wild Wilds of Metchosin, BC, Canada

Post by MrTemple »

dusty wrote:I would suggest that you become acquainted with the Sawdust Sessions as a starter. Skim through the titles and you will find several that will be applicable to you right now.

I must say, however, that it does not appear as though you have much cleaning to do. That looks like a real nice machine.

Oil it. Lubrication is about all, other than alignment, that this machine ever needs.

You will also find some good information in the Service Tips.

Congratulations on your find and welcome to the forum.
Thanks Dusty!

Those cleaning and maintenance service tips are just what I need.

The Sawdust sessions look great too. I think I found one or two on youtube, but that site looks like the perfectly organized library of them! "Skim through the titles." Ha! I'm going to binge-watch all of them over the next little bit. :)

--

And thanks to the rest of you, I'll be sure to 'drink from the firehose' on these forums too!
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algale
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Post by algale »

Welcome. Nice pick up there and I got a chuckle out of the name you bestowed on your machine.

Watching the Sawdust Sessions is one of the best ways to get to understand the capabilities and proper usage of your machine.

Looking forward to more posts about Choptimus.
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nuhobby
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Post by nuhobby »

A great story, some good entertainment for all!
Chris
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BuckeyeDennis
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Post by BuckeyeDennis »

Very nice machine and goodies. Your travelogue was most entertaining ... I'm looking forward to many future posts from you! :cool:
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moggymatt
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Post by moggymatt »

Welcome, You'll have to tell us how the cross boarder contamination experience went with your "foreign" tool.
Paul B
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