Create a review for a woodworking tool that you are familiar with (Shopsmith brand or Non-Shopsmith) or just post your opinion on a specific tool. Head to head comparisons welcome too.
timster68 wrote:I just ordered the parts from both places to give this a try as well. Should be exciting when everything gets here.
Gets here is the right word, I ordered everything on the 17th, everything except the bearings arrived by the 20th. The bearing shipped via USPS on 4/21 and I have been able to track them going everywhere but here. They sat in parts of Ohio until 4/28, now they are sitting somewhere in Portland for the last two days. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be reporting they are installed:rolleyes:
Paul Cohen
Beaverton, OR
A 1982 500 Shopsmith brand upgraded to a Mark 7 PowerPro, Jointer, Bandsaw (with Kreg fence), Strip Sander, Ring Master and lots of accessories all purchased new
12" Sliding Compound Mitre Saw, 1200 CFM DC
My stuff traveled slightly different. The bulk of the McMaster stuff arrived fairly quickly with one exception - one of the 3 bearing sleeves didn't ship with this shipment. For some reason it had to ship separately from some place else. When that piece arrived it was the wrong thing (go figure). THen the bearings arrived. But after a call with McMaster the new sleeve(hopefully) will be here by the end of this week.
Everything arrive today and is perfect, if anyone is interest I have lots of spare parts including one complete set of everything if someone wants to pay cost plus shipping just send me a private message. I purchased most stuff in bulk (100) because is was actually cheaper then purchasing the 2 or 3 I needed. When I went to install them the auto-track assembly I have looks exactly the same as what I just assembled but I was told it is not exactly the same. I guess at some point Shopsmith made some change on newer saws.
The upper and lower backup bearing are an improvement, but I do have issues where they don't exactly align.
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Paul Cohen
Beaverton, OR
A 1982 500 Shopsmith brand upgraded to a Mark 7 PowerPro, Jointer, Bandsaw (with Kreg fence), Strip Sander, Ring Master and lots of accessories all purchased new
12" Sliding Compound Mitre Saw, 1200 CFM DC
With a lot of encouragement from LDH, I got everything aligned. It turns out I don't think my Bandsaw was ever aligned correctly. I have been relying on the Carter Bearing to keep everything aligned. My old bearings have grooves ground into them, I guess they needed replacing anyway.
The saw is very quite now as a side unexpected benefit.
Paul Cohen
Beaverton, OR
A 1982 500 Shopsmith brand upgraded to a Mark 7 PowerPro, Jointer, Bandsaw (with Kreg fence), Strip Sander, Ring Master and lots of accessories all purchased new
12" Sliding Compound Mitre Saw, 1200 CFM DC
paulmcohen wrote:Everything arrive today and is perfect, if anyone is interest I have lots of spare parts including one complete set of everything if someone wants to pay cost plus shipping just send me a private message. I purchased most stuff in bulk (100) because is was actually cheaper then purchasing the 2 or 3 I needed. When I went to install them the auto-track assembly I have looks exactly the same as what I just assembled but I was told it is not exactly the same. I guess at some point Shopsmith made some change on newer saws.
The upper and lower backup bearing are an improvement, but I do have issues where they don't exactly align.
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Are those the Carter's under the new bearings? I only have cool blocks right now. Havn't done the upgrade yet due to my foot, but hopefully will soon. What kind of Carter replaces the cool blocks?
I finally got to install the new bearings last night. It took several hours but everything seems good although I haven't turned it on yet.
One thing I haven't figured out yet is how to remove the upper/lower guide block assembly since the carter guides should be here any day.
So how do I remove this things? I removed the thumbscrew that adjusts the guide forward/backward but still couldn't figure out how the guide arm comes out.
timster68 wrote:So how do I remove this things? I removed the thumbscrew that adjusts the guide forward/backward but still couldn't figure out how the guide arm comes out.
-Tim
Pull hard, but be careful not to get your fingers caught.
Paul Cohen
Beaverton, OR
A 1982 500 Shopsmith brand upgraded to a Mark 7 PowerPro, Jointer, Bandsaw (with Kreg fence), Strip Sander, Ring Master and lots of accessories all purchased new
12" Sliding Compound Mitre Saw, 1200 CFM DC
I just finished doing the full bearing upgrade (autotrack, upper guide, and lower guide) according to the plans and parts list posted in this thread. The used Shopsmith bandsaw I had bought was apparently of a relatively recent vintage (larger aluminum table, and single ball bearings on the upper and lower guides) but the existing bearings were somewhat worn and not well centered behind the blade, so I decided they could stand replacement.
I wasn't able to find Bearing Bargains on eBay - as far as I can tell they no longer have a presence there. I looked around for bearings of the correct type, and eventually ended up buying a set from eBay seller "mrososcomllc". The ones I bought appeared under the title
They have serviceable shields (pop out a small snap-ring and then remove the shields for cleaning and re-greasing). I ordered four pairs (to have some spares and to take advantage of a rebate)... under $10 postpaid for the lot.
I got the rest of the parts from McMaster-Carr... decided to spring for stainless-steel cap screws (92186A546) and hex nuts (91845A029) rather than the suggested Grade 5 type.
Everything went together nicely - the lengthiest part of the job was filing a notch into the upper guide block to provide clearance for the upper bearing. The bronze sleeves were a tight fit into the ball bearing assemblies, but pressed in easily enough on my bench vise. After a bit of adjustment, everything seems to line up correctly - the blade is in the notch where the bearings meet. A few simple test cuts on some plywood worked out fine... the blade seems to be running true and there are no unexpected noise from the new bearings.
Thanks to all for the information posted in this thread - I think this is a very worthwhile upgrade.
ldh wrote:Not long ago I did a upgrade on my SS bandsaw with the addition of the Kreg fence and the Carter Guide Bearings. Both were an improvement over the standard fence and steel guides, then I looked at the Auto-Trak and Back-Up bearings and decided to try and improve on the set-up. I have greatly reduced the blade wander with the addition of the extra bearings. I have posted the pics to see if there is any interest in this subject.
ldh
I am interested in the guide roller bearings to purchase, both the upper side bearings to guide the blade and the track roller bearings.
