| Project by Thos. Angle | posted 300 days ago | 1591 views | 2 times favorited | 15 comments |  |
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In 1990 I bought out a fellow who had just about everything ShopSmith put out. That included manuals. This Shopsmith Router Arm was in the deal. I used it as it was some but the table was no good. I gave it to an old friend who was a wood butcher. He has since gotten to where he doesn’t work in the shop as much(age). Last spring, I was at his house and asked if he would sell this machine back to me. He said, “No, but I’ll load it on your truck and you can have it back. I never used it much anyway.”
When I got it home, I removed the table and replaced it with one made from particle board and laminate. I then made the two movable fences. The piece to be mortised is placed between the fences and the fences are brought to just touching the project. I then adjust the two fences so the mortise is in the right place. I set stops and use the router like a drill to bore a series of holes. After the mortise is drilled out, I slide the workpiece back and forth to smooth the edges. with the set up I now have I can go to 1 1/4 inch depth. By using a longer bit and raising the arm I can go deeper. One can either round the top of the tenon or square the mortise with a mortise chisel.
This can also be used as a pin router. I haven’t put the pin system in the new table but it is in the router drawer. These sell for less than a good mortise machine on E-Bay.
-- Thos. Angle
15 comments so far
BarryW
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872 posts in 801 days
posted 300 days ago
Use it and enjoy…and the price was right.
-- /\/\/\ BarryW /\/\/\ Stay so busy you don't have time to die.
Rob Drown
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324 posts in 727 days
posted 300 days ago
Very cool. ebay eh? good Idea. Is the mortise smoother than with a hollow chisel?
-- Sharp tools and thin whispy shavings make woodworking a joy.
Grumpy
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14922 posts in 745 days
posted 300 days ago
Great acquisition Tom.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
John Stegall
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213 posts in 411 days
posted 300 days ago
I had one of those…I sold it before the days of e-bay when SS quit selling them and a contractor needed one. I broke even and like the saying goes, I sure needed the $$$.
I use my Woodrat for doing these now, but I just had to do some on the edge of a 12” board that was 80” long. I was never comfortable so I ripped it apart, cut the mortises and glued it back. I’ll see how it looks once it has been sanded.
-- jstegall
Max
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14436 posts in 1168 days
posted 300 days ago
Looks to me like it does a really nice job. Like the table you built and set up.
-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT
DAN
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6439 posts in 877 days
posted 300 days ago
I’ve been looking for a good deal for one of these. I bought a shopsmith Joint Matic a few years ago. It is a cool tool also. http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/300
-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever
Bob #2
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3040 posts in 916 days
posted 300 days ago
Dandy good solution for a great tool!
I have and old swiss aerosol can capper I was about to scrap but It looks like it could find a new home.
Thanks for the prod Thom.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Thos. Angle
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4013 posts in 857 days
posted 299 days ago
Rob, The edges are very smooth. I just fitted 4 tenons in about 5 minutes.
-- Thos. Angle
motthunter
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2079 posts in 693 days
posted 299 days ago
it’ll work
-- making sawdust....
Karson
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25801 posts in 1295 days
posted 299 days ago
Thos. An old acquantiance returns and becomes a NBFF (New Best Friend Forever).
I’m always a sucker for a happy ending. Great job.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Blake
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2756 posts in 769 days
posted 299 days ago
Very cool. What a great tool to have.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com
Dusty56
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3462 posts in 582 days
posted 299 days ago
Very nice idea ..Thanks : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
TomK
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504 posts in 769 days
posted 299 days ago
Necessity is the mother…........ That’s a great use, Thos.
-- If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it's free! PJ O'Rourke
jockmike2
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7314 posts in 1141 days
posted 299 days ago
Cool idea Thos. I’m glad you can make something from nothing. Handy skill to have. My dad was like that. Mom used to bitch at him, we’d take a load of junk to the junkyard and bring back more than we took. Thats how all eight of us got bikes. lol.
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
Lee A. Jesberger
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3710 posts in 874 days
posted 299 days ago
Hi Thomas;
Sure looks like it works well.
Great idea.
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com