Shopsmithless in Grass Valley

[Ed Bernard]

Hi all. I have a Shopsmith Mark V that I obtained in 1987 and used two or three times at most. I moved from the Montreal area (relatively humid in summer, dry in winter) to the Sierras in California in 2001 (a little humid in winter, dry in summer) and haven't started it or anything in all that time. Getting back into serious woodworking (more than just banging 2 x 4s together), I wanted to refurbish it. I'm a little uneasy with the idea of not finding parts or just messing up the job. In your opinion (hopefully based on experience with the same or similar equipment), is it worth my while to hire the job out to someone who does professional equipment restoration, or is this something that a woodworking IT person could do? All opinions are gratefully welcomed. Take care.

Ed

[LDosser]

Regardless of what you do, you need this url:

service is Whittier, CA or West Valley, UT.

Go through the web site Thoroughly! They have a lot of information that could help you get your V running again. Look under service tips. Example:

are available:

luck, LD

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: Subject

Battels Hd'we Whittier Blvd Whittier, CA

1-562-698-3714

Maintains an inventory of spare parts for ShopSmith.

Lew

[Phisherman]

There is a clear advantage in doing the job yourself. Find articles on Shopsmith tuneup and do some reading/learning and you will know what to do. I'd have a lot of concern giving it to someone else, except blade sharpening but even that is a good-to-know skill. I know all of my equipment and I too have an IT career. Most of my manuals I use are e-manuals, lots of online help from manufacturers too. Good luck.

[Doug White]

Ed Bernard wrote in news:ced28a93-4785-4bd7-9e1f- [e-mail]:

One of the things about Shopsmiths is that they are "adjustable". They are great machines, and still well supported, but the precision is in how well YOU set them up. Rather than spend a fortune making them rigid & precise, they made them so they could aligned by the user. The setup & tune up instructions are all very clear, and you can even buy refurb kits with everything you are likely to need to overhaul yours. They have made some design improvements over the years, and you can also get upgrade kits.

I would take advantage of the good support & documentation, and do it yourself. As someone else posted, it may not need much, but a new belt for the variable speed drive is probably an excellent idea.

Doug White

[C & E]

Check Yahoo groups for a couple of SS groups. The largest is

A lot of good info!

[Evodawg]

I've had one for 20 years but don't use it much any more unless it's for vertical boring or blum hinge holes. Not much goes wrong with them. Maybe replace the belt, clean and wax the guide rails.

[David Nebenzahl]

On 2/14/2010 11:57 PM Ed Bernard spake thus:

If you're going to live in the *Sierra*, you might want to learn the correct use of it (the word is a plural noun in Spanish).

Very common mistake, by the way.

[mac davis]

I did one years ago.. belt replacement, new speed control unit and a few other "tune up" items..

It was my first try at working on power tools and I found that all parts are available from Shopsmith, as well as detailed instructions with pictures.. If you can use a wrench and screwdriver, you can work on one..

mac

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