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Previously, I told you how I found a ShopSmith and got it home. Now the fun really begins! Digging in to the refurb to see what’s good, what’s not so good, and what’s missing. Boy, I hope the missing and the not so good don’t end up costing a lot of money to fix – it will kind-of defeat the purpose of getting the machine so inexpensively. It will be a great companion for my grandfather’s radial arm saw.

The Outside

The outside is in pretty good shape. I went over it with a brush to knock off dust, and then some mineral spirits for the table tops to clean off any gunk. I took some steel wool to the tables, too, then waxed them to keep the rust at bay.

Using the lower end of the table supports to prop up the way tubes, I pulled off the headstock and set it on my workbench. I’ll come back to that in a minute; let me finish with the frame first.

Once the headstock was off, I could pull off the carriage and go to town on the bench tubes, way tubes, and the legs. I took an air compressor and a brush to knock the dust off the legs, then turned my attention to the bench tubes.

The bench tubes and way tubes had just a little bit of rust on them. Not a big deal to clean up. The casters are the original 1-inch diameter ones, I think. They aren’t a problem in my shop, but the caster upgrade would be nice one of these days.

Missing/broken Exterior Parts

Here’s where it gets a little dicey. I knew the table height wheel was broken when I got it. Good news is that’s the only broken exterior part. Most things are included, but there are a couple of notable exceptions. First, the 12-inch sanding disk is missing; second, the miter gauge handle, and third – the support arm for the lathe tool rest. I got the tool rest, just no way to attach it to the carriage. Two orders at ShopSmith and a couple of hundred dollars and I’ll be in business. I have a couple of couplers for accessories, but those won’t come in handy until much later.

The Headstock

As I expected, the headstock needs a thorough cleaning. There’s sawdust inside, and the parts don’t turn as freely as they should. I noticed some slippage with the speed control, and found the reason when I was taking things apart. Half a dozen teeth or so are missing from the speed control handle – man, I dodged a bullet there. The speed adjustment problems could have been FAR worse. Since I had to add the speed control handle to the order, I ordered new drive belts – two poly-V belts and two drive belts. I know I only need one of each, but I always like to keep a spare around in case something goes wrong. That way I can get back up and running quickly and order a new backup.

The quill doesn’t advance and retract as well as I’d like. A little wax and TLC should take care of that.

All in all, with a little elbow grease and a small investment, I’ll have this beautiful machine up and running in short order. After the parts arrive, I can have a great shop tool for less than 1/3 of what it would have cost me brand-new.

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