Shopsmith Mark V (500) Restoration Project

These are very popular and many a man and woman have made great stuff on them and of course it was your dad’s so I wish you everything well with it make sure you learn to use the lathe on it many a good thing can be made better with a bit of turned wood on it kindest regards Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

I think you have a fine start for some future woodworking projects. I also have a Shopsmith as my main equipment. I purchased it new back in the 70’s and it has served me well and reliably ever since. I recently upgraded it to the 520 version and really like the bigger tables and support system.

At various times in its life; my Shopsmith has generated income, done home improvements, built furniture, built a deck, installed hardwood floors and too many other things to remember. Right now it is building a new home for all of its special purpose tools and accessories. Since it has done so much to improve my life, I thought I would return the favor for a change.

I will be posting this as a project in the very near future.

Good luck with your refurbish and may it have a long life and many heirlooms for future generations.

I’m guessing I’ll primarily be using the saw for lathe work and as a horizontal drill. I have stand alone equipment for the rest of the capabilities. I’m doing the restoration primary for the memories.

-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”

Good luck with it. Having it in the shop would bring back some memories. I am embarking on the same quest with a different tool, a Powermatic 20” band saw.

-- Something that goes unnoticed will never be remembered.

Good luck on the restoration…any equipment should be well-cared for or restored…I’m working on a double brace and bits removing rust…and years of neglect…your Shop Smith will look brand new when you’re done…and it’s still, probably very usable.

-- /\/\/\ BarryW /\/\/\ Stay so busy you don't have time to die.

Not sure if you know but Shopsmith has videos available on how to restore a Shopsmith .free on the web.
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/Sawdust_Sessions.htm

A versatile machine…
Good luck with the restoration work!

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

Hey Dave, this looks very familiar to me! Take a look at my project: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/6320

-- http://newmissionworkshop.com

Your Dad’s venerable work horse deserves your loving restoration.
I’ve had mine since the mid 70s and, except for one 4 month hiatus, it’s been in use at least once a week. Since I retired 3 years ago, the old gal has been working every day.
My twin sons’ Jr. High had 3 of these machines in their woodshop. They were ahead of the game when it came to using those machines, as they had been working with me for a few years before.
they are already squabbling about which one will get it when I’m gone.
Have fun!

-- Gene

I have a Super Shop and i use it as a lathe, disk sander, and horizontal boring machine. I am afraid of the table saw… That is why I have a separate cabinet saw.

-- making sawdust....

looks good! I was fortunate enough to find a used 1996 model year Mark V, so I didn’t have to do nearly the restoration and very little maintenance! I hear these things are a blast to restore though, and frighteningly simple to restore (with a little elbow grease). HAVE FUN!

-- Jace - http://rumplestiltskeins.etsy.com - http://www.lessthanunder.com - http://www.shopsmith.com --

I just finished restoring a couple of this vintage machine. I know a couple of great sources of parts, schematics, and general rebuilding info on that vintage machine. The “greenies” are unique in a couple of ways even though they work pretty much the same as later mark 5’s. If you’re interested, send me an e-mail on this site & I’ll hook you up. -SST

-- Accuracy is not in your power tool, it's in you

Dave, great old machine I don’t have a greenie yet but still looking. I have a 510 I bought new in 95 and a Brownie from 1963 I got about a year ago and working on. As you can see I like the old ER’s and have 6 now and my picture was of my latest rebuild. Love to see what yours look like when you are done and if you have not gotten on the SS forum yet please join us. Thanks for the invite to your site.
Bill
Broken Arrow OK

-- Bill, Broken Arrow OK.

I’ve been a SS owner for – oh, I don’t know – maybe 27 years or so. Although I now have a shop full of other stand-alone machines, I started with the SS in an eighty square foot room! Hardly enough room to swing a cat (so to speak).
I still use it often. It stands, most of the time, set up as a sanding station with a 6×48 belt sander, a little drum sander and a 16” flat disc sander, all ready at the flick of the switch.
I also think it’s the best drill press I have ever used for woodworking. The lathe setup also gets used from time to time. The band saw attachment is on its own powered base now.
No matter what other tools I will own, I’ll keep the ol’ MK5 goin’!

d

-- If a man says something in the forest and there's no woman to hear it, is he still wrong?

Dittos. I too have a shop full of machines but the Shopsmith is really a great addition. In fact, I have 2 Greenies now that I have rebuilt the headstocks on. I just finished de-rusting and polishing the bench tubes and polishing the aluminum parts on one. Need to finish the painting and I’ll post some pictures.

-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”

The free standing commercial and hobbiest shops can be well served by finding space for a Shopsmith. As a sanding station it offers variable speed for the 12” disk and the 6”x48” belt sander. The conical disk is unique to Shopsmith, and can joint plywood edges and even sharpen planer and jointer knives. Set up for horizontal drilling it can drill a hole or mill a mortise on the end of a long board. Although sometimes criticized as a saw, the variable speed makes it possible to saw sensitive woods like cherry without burning. I’ve just ordered the overarm pin router attachment. It too can be used either horizontally or vertically. This is a unique tool that would be handy in any shop.

I have just finished refurbing a Shopsmith 510 which will be a gift for my nephew.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Looks like you have a great project going! There’s a certain charm to using a beautiful piece of old equipment. I restored my 1955 greenie recently and have been using it more than my stand alone equipment. Enjoy your project and please post some pics when you’re done.

-- Chuck, chuckvosburgh.com

it should be a great tool when done

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Just wanted to put in some updated thoughts.
Since my last post on this thread I replaced the ShopSmith band saw, which had so much mileage on it I felt it was beyond repair, and replaced it with a Grizzley G0555.
That doesn’t take anything away from my respect for the ShopSmith. It still gets used almost everyday I work in the shop. I take care of it, giving it periodic maintainance as required and giving it some wax and elbow grease from time to time.
I’ve done something that will make some old SS guys cringe. I took out the original little bat switch. The hole in the headstock is closed with a dowel. Down on the lower case next to the motor I attached an electric switch box and a 15A toggle switch operates the motor. This arrangement helps when I want to remove the motor case from the headstock.
So, my old SS isn’t in exactly mint condition!

Best regards,

d

-- If a man says something in the forest and there's no woman to hear it, is he still wrong?

I now have 3 shopsmiths ( 2 greenie’s and 1 grey ). I have done a update to a 510 on one. I’m converting 1 to a “shorty” which will be used for a sanding / grinding station and 1 will be modified to easily transport when working on projects off site. I have converted all to 2 bearing quills and the greenies to 1-1/8 hp motors.

-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”

Dave: Beautiful job! Having converted to two bearing quills, do you recommend that modification? I’d love to hear what you think :)

-- Chuck, chuckvosburgh.com

Allow me to chime in here. My ShopSmith is 27 years old, plus. It did not have the two bearing quill at first. Replacing the old one with the two bearing quill made a big difference.

Not that you could notice that it ran faster or with more power delivered to the tool. I’m sure it did, but the most immediate improvement I noticed was the smooth sound. It just ran quieter and felt better.

That kind of confidence is worth the time and money spent!

d

-- If a man says something in the forest and there's no woman to hear it, is he still wrong?

I’d recommend it only if you do feel you need a little less slop for drilling, routing or do a lot of lathe work. In order to change out to a 2 bearing quill you have to switch out the gilmar drive to the newer polyv drive. I felt that the change to the polyv drive was worth it because the only repair part for the gilmar drive available from Shopsmith is the drive belt. If you have a problem with the gilmar clutch (you’ll know this when you start eating the belts), you will have to rebuild it, which for the average bear, is not easy. I purchased all the parts for the conversion from ebay (do a search on Shopsmith). I took my time and pick up the parts for about $125.

-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”