Here’s where I get to the”help wanted” part.

I’ve noted that a number of LJocks have made cradles, (nice work guys, by the way) some appear to be from scratch, some from plans, and some from plans with partial kits that include spindles & hardware. One of the common kits seems to be one of those off sized ones where you have to then buy the mattress & bedding from them. (I’m not necessarily opposed to that, but I’d rather have choices)

While I’m not opposed to designing & building from scratch, I’d like to find a set of plans for an 18”x36” glider cradle to use as a starting point. The other size plans are okay, but I’d love to not screw with changing all the dimensions from the get-go. I’d prefer to make my own glider parts as I have bearings & shoulder bolts, etc, but would like to know from anyone who’s done this, the length of glider arms, clearances, travel, etc, so as to avoid the old trial-by-error thing. I’d appreciate any help you might be able to provide. Also, I’m not opposed to paying for plans from a site. I’m tired of chasing those “free woodworking plans” links. -SST

He did, however, have a workbench he had built some 50 years ago that he was selling for $75. While the lower part was simply 4×4 legs, oak frame and a shelf, the top was 1 1/2” solid oak with breadboard ends & glued & screwed together with 3/8” threaded rod through the full width. The dimensions are 60” x 23”. And what I really wanted were the vises. One a vintage Wilton, and the other a quick release Abernathy tool Co. vise.

If you read my bench # 1 blog, you may remember that I like both storage & weight in a bench. Well, this one’s got both. The storage comes from 5 old oak face pine drawers I got free from a woodworker friend who needed space. I built a plywood cabinet to house the drawers. I used 7 ply, 3/4” plywood. I get them free from a local builder of camper trailers. They are door cutouts that he discards. (I love material cost lists that contain only a couple of screws & finishing materials)

I wanted to keep a vintage look to the bench, and luckily the drawers were close to the tone of the top, so with a little of stain work, I was able to get the look I wanted. The sides of the enclosure are peg board & the back is oak face plywood. I faced the legs, which were not hardwood, with 1/8” resawn oak.

I cut down the height of 2 drawers to fit & had to get creative with the 5th drawer, as I wanted to utilize all the available space. I made a vertical drawer to house some of my lathe chisels.

So now I’ve got more storage, enough benchtop area, and enough weight (I can’t even slide the bench around, I estimate that with the top, vises, and all the tools in the drawers, it weighs in at 250, 300 lbs) to keep me happy for a while. Now, it’s time to put ‘em to use. -SST

What I considered to be the bad news, (not really bad, just not to my liking) was that, while well constructed, I didn’t find it heavy enough to feel solid for hand tool work, and with only trestle style legs & shelf, it had limited storage. I looked at the Sjobergs’ cabinet inserts & felt they were either to expensive for one model or too cheaply built for the other, and then this amazing idea came to me…I’m a woodworker, why don’t I build one???

This would accomplish 2 goals: first, more storage, and second, more weight.
With a lot of wood laying around, and a couple of birch face cabinet doors from my old summer cottage kitchen, the whole project cost me virtually nothing but time in the shop, which, as we all know, doesn’t count against our total time on this earth. I cut up a door to make the drawer fronts to match.

The piece at the back of the bench did not connect to the top, so I topped off the cabinet at the top of that piece which still left open storage & the ability to blow out sawdust that fell through the dog holes.

The result is a great work space, some needed storage space, and enough extra weight (especially when filled with shop junk) to satisfy my bench needs…
sort of… Stay tuned for the bench # 2 story. (One of anything just never seems like enough) -SST

Here goes. I’ve been going through in my head exactly how I should approach this, and since it’s been an ever-changing thing, I’m going to keep the format somewhat free flowing & just let it evolve as it will.

I’m approaching this not with the purpose of trying to convince separate tool guys to get rid of their stuff & go Shopsmith, but rather to show those with Shopsmiths some ideas they may not have thought of, and show any separate toolies, who might tune in why also having a Smith in the shop may make sense.

Almost all of us could use another power tool, right? To my way of thinking, It might as well be a Shopsmith.

Now, I’m not advocating you go out & spend up for a new machine. (you certainly can if you want to) I couldn’t afford to do that. My newest machine is 25 years old (a 510). I just paid $300 for it & it came with a bandsaw & about $300 worth of high end lathe tools. Probably my best find so far, but I’ve paid anywhere from $75 -200 for older Mark 5’s. My point is; you don’t have to spend thousands, or even many hundreds. They’re out there. (I hope to get to tips on buying a used machine in the future.)

Sorry, rambling, again. A Mk 5 or 10er takes up a space roughly 72” x 24” in the shop, so it can easily sit in a corner as an extra tool, and I’m going to ask that you remember that as I mention a tool or reason for it to sit in the corner of your shop, keep in the back of your mind the fact that beyond a particular thing I mention, there’s at least a half dozen other purposes it can fill out of that same space. Just consider it bonus stuff. (The stuff of future blogs)

Okay, Here’s the first one. I’m not going in the order of what I think is important, just in the order of what I think of first, or maybe of what I just used it for. I’ll start out with the dedicated dado saw.

This is a pic of one of my 10er’s that I keep set up with a stacked dado blade set in it. (and yes, I know the blade slot is too big, I used this table insert for the picture because the zero clearance one I used for the project was tossed out…time to make a new one) This particular set up is to make box joints. It’s set at 3/8” width. The neat thing about a Smith is that you can get as many blade arbors as you want. I have a second arbor with another dado set at 3/4” for other dado/shelf work. It takes about one minute to swap. No re-stacking the blades or messing with widths.

Here’s a couple of pics of the box joint jig.

Here’s my first try at a box using box joints. (seemed like the right joint to use) The dado was also used to cut rabbets in the bottom of the box. The lid edges were done with an overhead shaper…Shopsmith, but more on that some other time. Remember what I said about the bonus stuff from the tool in the corner.

I suppose a question might come up as to just how often one would use a dado set up, so why have a dedicated one? I actually didn’t start out with the idea of having it this way. I set it up for a project and, since I have 4 active Smiths in my shop, I left it that way upon its completion. What I found was that I used it fairly often, so I made up another arbor/blade set in the other size I’d used, and find that it saves me time & effort to keep it that way.

Well, that’s it for the first reason. Not very exciting by itself, but I hope you’ll find it to be useful. I hope that as I do more of these, and you take the info collectively, you’ll see why I feel the way I do. Looking at just the one use, or each individual chapter of this blog, might not be very convincing. Hopefully, you’ll be patient with me & let this unfold. I was truly delighted with the response to the introduction.
I hope you stay. -SST
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First of all, and because my title might seem a little like bait, I don’t intend this to become a debate about the Shopsmith vs separate tools, or an argument over which way is best, nor am I trying to convert guys (& gals) to “my way” of seeing the world.

Rather, I’m simply going to talk about why I really do believe that everyone’s shop would be better with a Shopsmith in it. That doesn’t necessarily mean dump your separate tools in favor of a Shopsmith, but I will try to make a case for supplementing your other tools with a Smith. (also, from now on, I’ll just say “Smith”...quicker to type. I just believe that it works better in some configurations than some of the separate tools out there.

I’m not going to make this a daily thing. Even I don’t like to read my stuff that much, but I’ll try to come up with some useful stuff from time to time. I’d like to have “non-Smithers” drop by and I’d love for all the Shopsmith users to find their way here. If the discussions (assuming someone actually does show up) drift into other Smith areas like troubleshooting , maintenance, or repair issues, that’s fine. I would encourage anyone with any creative jigs or special setups to chime in. Don’t wait to be asked.

I know there are several good Smith forums on the web, but I figure it never hurts to add more info.
Oh, and by the way, I don’t work for Shopsmith, but I have been using them for 50 years.
I have restored and rebuilt many, both 10er’s and Mark 5’s. And besides putzing with them, I actually build things with them.
Speaking of putzing, here’s a couple of variants. A shorty 510, and a “double header”.

So there. It’s begun. Now I’ve just got to figure out what to write about next. -SST

This machine dates to 1962 by the serial # and while it’s 48 years old, is basically the same as the most recent units. It was in the back corner of a barn covered with dirt, grime & some rust. I wish I had taken my camera to get a pic that way, but the pile of parts will have to suffice as a before pic.

Thankfully most of the parts were there, but it was non-running. Most machines that have sat are reluctant to start up & shouldn’t be anyway. There’s something about 1/2 century old congealed grease in the bearings that just screams “don’t mess with me”, so I don’t. I don’t worry about that because almost all that these machines need to run like new are new bearings in the motor & headstock and a good clean & lube. New paint helps but is not necessary unless you want to impress your friends. (so this one got painted)

So, after the paint, (I stayed with the original colors even though going gray would make it look like a newer machine) new bearings throughout, and a re-grind on the jointer blades (with the help of another Shopsmith & simple jig) the finished product looks like this. By the way, I used Rust-oleum hammered finish that was almost a dead on match. They also have a color that is right on for the old “Greenies”.

There you go…just another day in the life of…Shopsmithtom

As many of you know, he passed away last September at age 88. It was a sad event for those who know of him. I had a phone conversation with him (as it turned out) not long before he died. It was one of those things you always remember. (see my earlier blog describing it, if you’re interested)

I read his 3 main books that were published in the late 70’s awhile back and they had been packed away, but the conversation with him led me to search them out to re-read, & to my dismay, could only find one. I bought a copy of the others, and, wouldn’t you know it, when I was cleaning out my basement last week, I located the original books.

As a result, I have an extra copy of “The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking”, hardbound, publish date 1977, and a soft bound (all I could find) copy of “The Impractical Cabinetmaker”, re-published in 1999 (the ones I recently bought) available if anyone’s interested. I paid $18 for the hardbound and $8 for the soft, plus some shipping.
I don’t really want to screw around on Ebay, so if anyone’s interested you can PM me. I checked Amazon & the soft cover is now more, and the hardbound is not available at all.

Now, mind you, I’m not a plane collector. But I do have a lot of hand planes in my shop & actually use them, but, truth be told, I probably don’t actually need all that I have & certainly don’t need more, but who can resist just one more tool, right???

I figured I would fix ‘er up & add it to the tools I keep at my summer place, where I don’t as yet have a #5 size plane. My home shop planes are pretty much all Stanley or Bedrock planes, but this Sargent was nice enough to add to my “up north” tools, so I did the electrolytic rust removal on all those parts that needed it, stripped off the Japanning (I really can’t figure out where that term came from, it’s just an enamel paint finish, from what I can tell by it’s reaction to the stripper), repainted (Japanned…yeah, right) with a catalyzed enamel, checked for square & flatness, (it was) sharpened the blade, and put it back together.

A test run showed some sweet, see-thru shavings accompanied by the unmistakable sound made by a well tuned plane. If I don’t count the time it bubbled in the electrolyte bath when I did other stuff, I probably have about 1 1/2 hours in it. I guess that’s why I’m always puzzled why anyone would spend a ton of money for a new plane when there are so many of these old beauties to be had really cheap…but, that’s just me. -SST

Now, while I have continued to deny being a collector of planes, (I’ll admit to collecting shopsmiths…not a real efficient use of space, I’ll admit) I probably am kind of a plane collector. Not a total nut job with hundreds that I’ll never use, but a group of about 20 of different sizes & uses, most…ok, many…ok, some of which I use, and I do intend to use more.

Ok, back to the point of all this. Why I like old planes. First, I like ‘em because they’re old. But it’s not the age. Lots of old stuff is just old junk. Old wood planes are a part of American history. Some of mine were used to build things in the 1800’s…the 1800’s. They make me feel good just using them & feeling that. For me, a big part of woodworking is the “feeling” part of it. Sure, I like seeing my completed work, but I’ve really come to love the process. It’s like taking a trip by train. It’s not just the destination…it’s also the journey.

Second, I don’t buy rare or pristine planes. I get (collect) ones that I can restore & that I’m likely to use so the prices range from reasonable to downright cheap.

Here’s my most recent purchase, a Stanley #18 block plane. It was $15.50 plus $5 to deliver it.
(before)

I used the electrolysis method for the rust, a bit of wire wheeling & lapped & sharpened it. It took about an hour in total and the end result is:

It just seems to me that, for about $20 and some elbow grease, this beats the heck out the new low priced planes (& new Stanleys) and makes a shaving that even the expensive planes can’t improve on.

I know that I’ll never convince everyone that this is the way to go…not really trying, why would I want more buying competition on ebay, I just wanted to write down a bunch of my thoughts on the subject.

So I did. -SST

That said, I thought talk a bit about a couple of of the best hand planes out there for a relatively small amount of $$$.

I’m referring to Keen-Kutters “K” series (Not the KK series, they are not the same)

The K series (the one pictured is a K4) is actually the same as an early Stanley Bedrock plane with the round sides instead of flat top sides. That means that it has the bedrock type frog setup which has been copied by the high end planes. The early bedrock frogs, like regular Stanleys, required that you remove the blade to adjust the frog, but it’s really no big deal as when you move the bedrock frog on either early or later models, you change the blade setting & need to re-adjust anyway.

My point is that these great planes are out there at bargain prices. I paid $31.00 on ebay for this one. Now, since I really am NOT a collector, I look for ones that need some TLC. I don’t mind if I have to repaint them & they’re not original. This one had rust on the bed (upper side & looked bad, but was only cosmetic) and a broken rear tote. I used the electrolytic rust removal method on it (google it if you haven’t seen it…it’s really cool) & repaired the tote. Lots of old planes need a tote repair, but hey, we’re woodworkers, aren’t we? That should be no big deal. The repair is virtually invisible, & I used a catalyzed black enamel on the bed.

This is one of the reasons that I don’t feel the need to spend a couple hundred dollars for a plane when for $31.00 plus a little shipping, materials, & a little fun/putzing, I’ve got a great plane.

I’ve got a K-5 (Stanley #5 size) as well that didn’t need anything except a cleanup that cost around $35.00. With deals like this, I could become a collector…

I stumbled across your craigslist posting for the Router table.
A few weeks ago I had a rough time and was forced to sell some of my things on craigslist to pay the bills. One person came over to buy my mitre saw and router and gave me twice what I was asking for. When I asked him why, he explained that he wanted to help me out as long as when I got the chance I helped someone else out too.

I can’t buy your stuff the way he did me, but a few days ago I did stumble across these Home Depot gift cards. I’m passing on the link, but if it works for you, I’d like you to do the same thing I did and pass it on to someone else.

I received another offering more than my price because his”brother” needed the item, but would I click the link to see a photo of it to confirm that it was the right one.

While there’s always a chance that these might be legit, they are most likely fraud at the least & dangerous at worst. Here’s why. The links can be anything from irritating spyware to viruses to RATs (random access trojans) that may be able to track your keystrokes. (Very useful in getting your account #s and passwords…and your complete identity as well.

I work in the identity theft field. No, I don’t steal them, I’m involved in their protection & restoration. It’s way more than credit card fraud. It’s criminal, Social Security, medical, driver’s license, and financial ID theft. If you saw some of the stats I’ve seen, you wouldn’t be sleeping well at night.

I don’t want to get preachy, but since lots of us use craigslist, please be very careful. -SST

I’m just finally finishing up my son’s Christmas present project (yes, I know it’s a bit late…turned out to be much more involved than I anticipated & no, the lateness was not caused by the change over time between tools on the shopsmith) and got to looking back on all that was involved.

First, let me describe my setup so you can get a picture of what my shop is like. (I’m intending to actually post updated pics of my shop as soon as I can get it cleaned up)
I now have 2-1952 vintage Shopsmith 10er’s, one set up as a dedicated dado saw (VERY handy not to have to change to a dado blade & back). The second is set up in disk sander mode & also used as the lathe.
I have a 1983 fullsize Smith used mostly to run the bandsaw & scrollsaw and for horizontal boring, drill press mode, and as a shaper & drum sander.
I have a 1957 “shortie” (tubes cut down to 34” to save space) that is dedicated as a tablesaw & jointer.

Now I know that somebody might be thinking, where’s the logic in having lots of Shopsmiths…where’s the space savings of a combination tool, you may just as well have separate tools. OK, I get that…but there’s a couple of things to consider, here. First, I’m “Shopsmithtom”, remember??? That ought to tell you that I’m an admitted Shopsmith junkie. That said (and I don’t expect a lot of you to understand, just remember, it’s my world & I’m the only one who has to live in it), there’s a real logical reason to have several Shopsmiths.

In my basement shop which is roughly 15’ x 18’, along with 2 workbenches, I have;
1) dado tablesaw
2) tablesaw
3) lathe
4) 12” disk sander
5) horizontal borer
6) drill press
7) drum sander
8) bandsaw
9) scroll saw
10) shaper
11) jointer
12) overhead plunge router
13) mortising machine
All these tools are on mobile bases (very handy in a small shop)
With 4 units, the change over time that people who have never done it seem to feel is oppressive, but actually averaging 15- 60 seconds per tool, is minimized because there are 4 tools set up at any given time.

OK, the description of my shop has gone on long enough. It’s time to get back to my original point.
Just finishing up a substantial project (that I’ll post as soon as the finish is dry & rubbed out) I looked back on all the things I did including mortise & tenon & dado joinery & realized that I lack for nothing in my little shop.
I’ve done every process necessary to be able to build virtually any piece of furniture.
Even (and this is the thing that actually got me writing about all this stuff again) the much maligned Shopsmith tablesaw was up to the task. My (underpowered at 3/4hp, so they say) machine ripped 1 3/4” oak just fine, the table extensions provided adequate support for my work, and in all this time I never had to make a miter cut which seems to be an issue with non smithers. How many do we really make, after all. I never had to actually tilt the table.

My point, if anyone is still awake, I think everyone should have separate power tools…separate Shopsmiths

In reflecting a bit on the books of his that I have read and enjoyed for their approach to wood & woodworking, I thought about a conversation I had with him a number of months ago, and how that few minutes had more of an impact than all the books.

Here’s what happened. After reading an article in a back issue of “Fine Woodworking” mag, featuring Mr. Krenov, I went on line to see what other things I might learn about his works. I ended up on a site that appeared to be his site & noted a “contact Mr Krenov” link. It had a telephone number. I figured that it would be the number to a recording, or to some type of comercial link, but it wasn’t.

I called the number and a woman (who sounded somewhat elderly) answered with simply “hello”. I was a bit surprised at this because it sounded like I had reached his home which I wouldn’t have expected, & asked if I might speak with Mr. Krenov. She said, “hold on, I’ll get him”. After a moment, Mr Krenov said hello. I was blown away.

Of course I spent the first few minutes telling him how much I liked his works…both in wood & in print, and then we simply chatted…almost like we had known each other for years. It was amazing. He struck me as a man with a gentle spirit who was very much at peace in his world. He mentioned that his loss of sight kept him from doing what he loved, but he didn’t sound sad in saying it.

I came away from that conversation with a reinforced feeling of why I enjoy some of the more philosophical aspects of woodworking. Oh, I still like to just play with tools and make sawdust, but every now & then I think back on that conversation and I just feel good.

I am saddened by his passing, and glad I had an opportunity to have that conversation. -SST

By the way, the large trunk you see in the first pic at left is a hemlock.
Here’s the sawyer at work. He only lives about 5 minutes from my place, so paying for travel time was really not an issue. He only charges $45 / hour (this is northwoods Wisconsin, guys & gals) and I wasn’t sure how much time it would take. I was pleasantly surprised to find that (with me kicking the logs onto the carriage & then grabbing the sawed boards off the saw)...remember…Northwoods, here, they’ll let you help, we finished the logs in about an hour & a half. My bill was $ 65. We figure I ended up with about 200 bd ft.

I sealed the ends & it’s racked & stickered in a neighbor’s pole bldg. I only problem now is having the patience to let it dry. It went in at the end of August, so I’m hoping be late next summer I’ll be able to get started on something. It’s a lot more exciting than I thought…that is, not buying lumber, but rather getting it off the land & cutting & handling yourself. But now the wait…oh, the wait.

I did, however, trade some carving basswood for a non running Shopsmith. Since I already have 2-10er’s (if you’re not a Shopsmith guy, you can check my previous tool review of a 10er for reference) and an old “greenie” mark 5 shorty in the shop (cut down tubes) that I use mostly for running the jointer & bandsaw, I really didn’t feel I needed another in my fairly small shop.

My first thought was to simply upgrade from the greenie to the newer, 1983 model to run the peripheral tools, but the 1958 greenie runs every bit as well as the 1983, so it seemed a shame to relegate it to parts storage, so I decided that if one headstock is good, then two would be better. The result saves space, but still satisfies the “Tim, the toolman Taylor” in me.

I mounted the headstocks opposing each other so that I have a left side power coupling at each end of the machine. (The right side couplings still work for the table saw & disc sander) That way the bandsaw & jointer can stay hooked up if I choose. This is the way it will get the most use. I give up the lathe & drill press functions, but one of my other machines will handle them.

By the way, if you wonder why Shopsmith owners get less woodworking done than separate tool guys, it’s not because of the change over time…it’s because, instead of woodworking, they spend too much time playing with their tools. (yeah, I know, but I just couldn’t resist) -SST

But as it has grown, I’ve begun to wonder if all growth is good growth. (I want to be very careful, here, so as not to come across as critical of the site in any way, because I don’t mean it that way, I’m really just wondering about it)

Here’s what got me thinking about this. I used to be able to watch the projects and various comments as they were posted with some regularity, but as the membership has grown, just because of the sheer numbers, I don’t have time to keep up. Obviously, I have some things that I have an interest in, and some things that I can pass on, and finding my way through all the things here seems to take more time than I have to spend.

For example: since I’m kind of a Shopsmith nut, I feel kind of a connection for other “smithys” on the site, as we may have the same issues with our tools (don’t even go there). Or, there are pen turners, or bowl turners or pros (those who actually make a living doing that which we love) & there are newbies wanting to learn the basics, and serious guys who can teach those basics and so much more.

What I’m wondering about is, would it be helpful, or useful, or beneficial (or whatever, pick your favorite adjective) to have not just forums, but maybe subgroups or perhaps call them workshops, like ” the bowl turners workshop”, or “the Professors workshop” for the guys who can teach us all a thing or two, or the “hand tool workshop” for those who live in the land of hand cut dovetails, or even the”Shopsmith shop” (you know I had to throw that in.)

Would something like this make it easier for those with specific interests to gravitate to those areas, under the big Lumberjocks umbrella as we get more and more members?

I think (and LJ’s has done this) that as a site grows, it needs to continue to adapt to that growth this is simply a “toss out” question to all as to whether something like this would add to our experience here, or detract from it? -SST