Restoration Project

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Spooner
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Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2019 2:37 pm
Location: Dakota County, Minnesota

Restoration Project

Post by Spooner »

Greetings Group. New to the forum. I'm guessing my story is similar to others. My father had owned a Shopsmith when I was growing up. He passed a few years ago and I have now inherited it. When I was a teen a part had broke in the headstock. Dad... never willing to part with a dollar chose to jerry rig it himself rather that buying the right part from Shopsmith. Needless to say it didn't work as well and eventually he quit using it and it set in the corner of the garage and collected dirt, rust and bird droppings. So basically it's in bad shape... But I remember how cool of a machine it was in it's time. I have always wanted one but never had the money to buy one. He has several attachments too. The Bandsaw, Jointer and Scroll Saw...

It's an old greenie. My grand father had bought it years ago and when he died my dad got it.

So I'm considering restoring it. Are there any threads of restores that others have shared that I could read up on and see if this is even something I am capable of doing? What advice do those of you with experience with this sort of stuff have to say? I'm pretty handy. So I think I could tackle it. But is it a financially wise choice?

I welcome anyone's input and advice.
Hobbyman2
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Location: Ohio

Re: Restoration Project

Post by Hobbyman2 »

First thoughts are,,if you enjoy wood working, and if you have a small work space and if and when you get this machine up and running you will be amazed at its versatility and options, Through out my school days back in the 60's 70's I wanted a shopsmith , I never had a opportunity to get one until a few years ago , since then I have made a few repairs added a newer table, table carriage and fence , went from the MKV to the MKV 510, I have added several attachments,,if your head stock is to far gone you can upgrade ,or find a donor the 510-520 tables are far better for some jobs then the mkv, JMO,,,headstocks can be purchased on several @net craigslist and ebay places,, stripped or as a complete unit , donor machines are available for the most part and some parts are still available from Shopsmith
Hobbyman2 Favorite Quote: "If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton (1885-1945)
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BuckeyeDennis
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Re: Restoration Project

Post by BuckeyeDennis »

Welcome, Spooner!

For inspiration, and lots of how-to details, check out MickyD's mother-of-all-Greenie-restorations thread:
https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/main ... t3078.html

See MickyD's before-and-after photos at this post.

If you're handy, you can definitely do the restoration. As for it being financially wise, you'd probably need to spend a considerable amount of time on the restoration, but not a lot of cash. That's assuming you want to restore it to original condition, rather than upgrading it with big modern 520 tables and such.
Spooner
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Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2019 2:37 pm
Location: Dakota County, Minnesota

Re: Restoration Project

Post by Spooner »

OMG buckeye that is gorgeous. The before pix look just like my dad's right now. LOL... That looks as good as new. Do you know if he shares the paint mixture to match the greenie color? It is exact. Thanks a ton for the links. I'm inspired just by the after pix. Can't wait to start reading.
ricksss96
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Re: Restoration Project

Post by ricksss96 »

Hello and welcome to the forum. My story sounds similar to yours. Have been lurking here for years and finally joined recently to ask lotsa dumb questions. I too have an old Greenie inherited from my father. Little used in recent years but am now recently retired and need to use this machine a lot! Our machines sound like they are in a similar condition. So here’s a few tips I’ve found on this forum that you will probably find useful.

1st issue is lubrication and maintenance. Keeping the headstock lubricated is most important. So here is a link to a thread on this subject complete with pictures, useful links and some discussion on the old Green machines: https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/main ... 21879.html

Depending on the age of your green machine some of the oil holes described therein may not be in your particular machine. Shopsmith modified / upgraded things as they went along.
The pictures are nice and there are many videos out there showing the internals of the headstock. You may want to look at some by Jacob Anderson on ”How things should look" on U-tube [ http://youtu.be/PEII8dwTM9U ] ; there are about 30 videos on the headstock.

Of course there is a Nick Engler video on Rebuilding the Drive Train:
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... rn_Pt3.htm

Both above are good places to start for headstock info.

And here’s a list of all the Sawdust Sessions with more info:
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/Sawdust_Sessions.htm

Of course there is a forum thread on "YouTube Videos featuring Shopsmiths”:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/commu ... 19325.html

And take a look at the stickies at the top of the Maintenance and Repair forum. Lots of good info and documentation there. Have found that everettdavis has put in a ton of work locating and archiving Shopsmith info there - take advantage of it.

Those should keep you busy for an hour or two.
-Rick
Spooner
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Location: Dakota County, Minnesota

Re: Restoration Project

Post by Spooner »

Wow Rick that is quite a list. I appreciated that. I'll have do some serious reading and watching this weekend.

Has anyone considered or done the PowerPro upgrade on the headstock? Hard??? Easy??? Thoughts???

Or how about the Double Tilt Upgrade?
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chapmanruss
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Location: near Portland, Oregon

Re: Restoration Project

Post by chapmanruss »

Let me add my Welcome to the Shopsmith forum.

As Rick suggested check under the Maintenance and Repair section for Shopsmith Large Format Drawings, Illustrations and More by Everett Davis. This will be one of the first three topics. In it you will find a wealth of information on the Shopsmith tools. Some are directly linked there and others are on “My Google Drive” with documents too large to be directly linked. Everett has become the Shopsmith historian by saving and restoring manuals and other documents. On his google drive you can find restored copies of the first three Mark 5 manuals. He has been working on restoring all the early (pre Shopsmith Inc.) Mark 5 manuals along with a mountain of other documents. These cover the early Mark 5's that had the "A" headstock through October 1955. Most of the early changes to the Mark 5 occurred in the headstock.

Do you know when you Mark 5 was made? Knowing this will help in finding the correct parts for your Mark 5. Post the serial number and we can help you with that. Many of us have the different manuals that cover the early Mark 5 years so if you need an exploded diagram from a later manual just ask. As you work on the headstock let me add this word of warning - DO NOT disassemble the clutched Drive Sleeve Assembly if it is not needed. This is on the Mark 5's made after the first year of production using the Gilmer Drive as show in the third manual. The Mark 5's made during the first year did not have a clutch to reduce belt breakage. It is okay to replace the bearings, just don't undue the set screw. The clutch of the Drive Sleeve is very difficult to reassemble and set correctly. If it needs repairing come back for help on doing that. It may seen like a difficult task to restore your Shopsmith but in the end it can be worth it.

Below are before and after pictures of a Greenie I restored a couple of years ago.
picture from the craigslist ad
picture from the craigslist ad
3.jpg (99.93 KiB) Viewed 15327 times
restoration completed
restoration completed
IMG_0220r.jpg (238.59 KiB) Viewed 15327 times
I have done the do it yourself PowerPro Upgrade and added the Double tilt to my 2001 Mark V 520. It wasn't a difficult task. Doing the Double Tilt Upgrade to a Mark 5 "Greenie" requires replacing the original 1-7/8" bench tubes with the later 1-3/4" Bench tubes. In 1960 the Bench Tube size was changed to match the Way Tube size of 1-3/4".
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
Spooner
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Location: Dakota County, Minnesota

Re: Restoration Project

Post by Spooner »

That is a beautiful restore Chapman. You do good work. Where is everyone finding the Greenie paint color? According to the SS website they no longer have the greenie paint. Only the grey. Do you by chance have the paint codes or are they around somewhere in the forum? Speaking of Bench Tubes... the ones on mine are rusted and in bad shape. So I'm replacing them. I'm going to guess they are the old 1 7/8" tubes. So if I'm buying new tubes anyway I need to be sure they are the newer 1 3/4" tubes if I'm doing the double tilt upgrade? The reason I ask is there is a set of Bench Tubes on eBay for $10 opening bid. Auction ends this Sunday. I believe they are off a 510 that he is parting out. But to clarify I need 1 3/4" bench tubes for that upgrade correct? With the idea that I'm going to be upgrading it a Mark 7 equivalent are there any other irregularities with the older greenies that I'll need to accommodate for when purchasing parts? I plan to go with the 520 fence system too.

Here's the deal at this time. I live in Apple Valley Minnesota. My father's farm where my brother now lives is near Des Moines Iowa. My brother promises he's going to get me a bunch of pictures of it, it's serial number and it's condition this weekend. I guess it's buried under a bunch of stuff. Anyway I plan to make room in my garage this fall an hopefully bring it up before the snow flies. Then start do disassemble and determine what all I need for the restore and upgrade. But as I get pictures and information I'll keep you guys posted.

Right now I'm going to do a lot of reading, viewing and asking questions.

Thanks for all the help so far guys.
Spooner
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Posts: 211
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2019 2:37 pm
Location: Dakota County, Minnesota

Re: Restoration Project

Post by Spooner »

Correction... I just searched paint on the SS website and they do have the greenie colors. Where did I hear they only had gray? Anyway. Carry on... LOL...
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dusty
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Re: Restoration Project

Post by dusty »

I would suggest that you call Shopsmith to verify availability. Just Saying
"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
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