Shopsmith Forums

Good day,
This will be my first post. I look forward to learning from all of you.

I have been wanting a Shopsmith for several years now. I've found a used Mark 5 locally that appears to be reasonably priced. It comes with the bandsaw and dust vacuum attachments. The present owner says that it has been setting in his garage unused for several years now. I live along the Florida Gulf Coast where it is very humid and the picture I've seen of the Mark 5 discloses that it is in serious need of cleaning and a little TLC. The one issue that immediately concerns me is that the tubes or rails that the headstock ride on appear to be very rusty. If this is just surface rust a little Naval Jelly, steel wool, and elbow grease will resolve this. However, I'm concerned that there might be pitting or other issues that will effect operation.

I assume these rails are available from Shopsmith but how difficult are they to change? Or they prohibitively expensive?

Or there other issues I need be cognizant of prior to buying a Shopsmith that is, at minimum, going to require disassembly and cleaning?

I appreciate your responses!

Here is a picture. It has a bandsaw attachment and the vacuum.



Anyone want to venture a guess as to model? Or give an estimate of what it is worth?

Thanks again!

There are several posters who rebuild SS; until they post, you can check this link for parts/prices. http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/part ... tslist.htm
If you have to replace both sets of tubes it's about $100. The SS is not difficult to work on, except for the speed change system, and that's mostly because there isn't a lot of space to get your hands inside the housing.
The good news is that you don't normally have to do anything to a SS. I've had mine since 1978, have moved four times, and hardly used it for about 10 years. Check alignment, clean and lube: ready to go!

Hey!

The Shopsmith is one of the most user frendly tools to work on. A few on here will be better to answer your queston. Bill Mayo is a good source on this forum. You may have to wait till the beginning of the week to get a good response to your question. This weekend is the Owners weekend at the Shopsmith Factory. A lot of Shopsmith owners that post on here is there in Dayton. Myself included. I just happen to live close enough to make the trip in an hour.

You may want to check out saw dust session #21 and #22. Also Clean and LUBE it BEFORE you even think of turning it on. Don't turn the speed dial unless it's running or your turning it over by hand.

Hi,
I live in central Florida and redoing my 1981 SS with the same rust problem.DO NOT use naval jell or any product like that it turns the metal black so that it can be painted . I used wd-40, steel wool and emery cloth. It did leave some pits but that is just cosmetic. I than waxed and buffed the tubes a couple of times. My head stock and carriage moves on the tubes with no effort. I than put a wire wheel on my bench grinder, and took all the knobs off and gave them a good buffing. Being that you are new to Shopsmith, you may not know that your SS needs to be connected to a 20amp line , a line of it's own if possible.
PS: on the painted surfaces I used a green scotch brite and 409, worked great.
You said that it has set for a few years,plus the fact that the belts may be original, I would suggest that you put new on now. The serial # will give you the the year made and model.

the model 510 in the picture does not look too bad to me. believe me i've cleaned up worse with very little cash output. the lower tubes look pretty good however the upper tubes are more important to be in good shape as the headstock needs to slide on them. you might use potatoes to clean them with little effort. see http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/Tips_Ar ... emoval.htm it really works. you could get new ones from shopsmith or search for used ones. but i really think you could salvage the ones on it. as to the value it would be whatever the area will support. it varies greatly in different areas, would depend on what you want to do with it and what accessaries come with it. the serial number would let you check on the shopsmith site as to it's age. hard to tell in the pics but it could be an old greenie model 500 that was upgraded to a model 510. still could be a good deal though. the model 510 was introduced in 1985, the greenies in the 50's and early 60's, but all parts are still available.

During my lunch hour today I went to look at the used ShopSmith I discussed in the OP.

The BAD:

1. The Way Tubes are incredibly rust. To the point that I could flake rust off with my thumbnail. I may make it useable by cleaning but to make it right I'll need to replace them.
   The Miter Bar was also incrediably rusty although not as bad. I've got much of it cleaned already using steel wool, my Dremel tool, and my buffing wheel.
   The Lathe center stock for both the head and tail end are apparently missing
   The Drill chuck is also missing although the seller seems to think he might know where it is.
   The whole tool is dirty and will require much cleaning.
   The bandsaw table is also rusty and perhaps beyond repair.

The GOOD:

1. The SS has a serial number of 006XXX which means it is a 510.
   I spun the drive with my hand and it appeared to be fairly smooth and spun freely.
   The head traveled freely on the Way Tubes and didn't seem to bind despite the rust.
   Except for the Lathe parts and the Drill chuck everything else seemed to be there.
   There were 5 SS 10" saw blades included, two of which had never been out of the original packaging.
   The vacuum appears to be in excellent condition.
   Other than the table; the bandsaw also appears to be in good shape although badly in need of some cleaning and alignment.
   I spent $400 for it which, I think, is a pretty good price and allows me to buy a few parts without bending the budget too badly.

I picked up most of the accessories, vacuum, and manual today. I'll get the ShopSmith and bandsaw Saturday .

Thanks for all of the informative replies thus far.

kaba,
Congratulations, the price seems good, with a little bit more money for parts and some cleaning and rebuilding on your part you will have a great machine that will give you good service for years.