Shopsmith Forums

My overarm pin router arrived today. It was shipped from Phoenix. The packing job was the best I've ever seen. Even the legs & supports were separately wrapped in brown paper.

Well, despite the best efforts, the table (packed separately) has a new hairline crack along the middle. The crack in not completely through the board. I looked up the price of a replacement table. The part number, 515495, crosses over to 515599. the price? Eye, ye, ye...$289.10

Anyone have any thoughts to a repair or any other ideas? For some reason FedEx Ground and used Shopsmith products delivered to my address often suffer damage. I had a power station that wasn't as well packed and the heavy motor bounced around & took a toll.

Tony

I went looking also. Currently on sale the price is Sale Price $231.28. However this isn't the OPR Table - it is a substitute router table.

Since you are looking for a real OPR table, I suggest you phone Shopsmith and ask if one can be made available and what the price would be. Even $231 seems exorbitant to me too.

Now to your table. you say a hairline crack. I am visualizing a crack on the top surface layer only. (don't know if it is horizontal, vertical or at an angle)The table center is some type of MDF, so a lot would depend on the location of the crack and its extent. I don't know the material of the outer top skin, but is is about 1/16" thick. If the table was bent to cause the crack you'll have to determine if the table is still flat and if the center core has been damaged. The melamine may have been damaged a bit. Hope not!!

If the table is flat and it will fasten to the Mark V main table and wood will move across the crack with no impedance - then you probably are in good shape. When waxed, this is the slickest table I've ever used!

You will probably be making a sliding table and/or fences as Nick showed in the sawdust sessions. This sliding table is the actual surface table used most often in my shop. I cut it from melamine particle board. The actual OPR table is used primarily for pin routing.

I'm sorry to hear about the damaged table, that would be a real bummer. Have you brought this to Fed Ex and the sellers attention?

Hi Tony! Your table is quite different than mine. I see you have the stand alone version of the OPR. Nice photo showing the cracks. Looks like the damage happened with the center plate wasn't in place, and the 'T' track acted to stop any further damage.

If the table is flat (and it looks that way) you probably don't need a fix right away. Maybe someone here can tell you about a sealant for the cracks. You can probably seal then sand it smooth.

Here's what the table that comes with the SPT OPR comes with.

Tony,
You might try a little epoxy in the cracks and a reinforcement plate on the bottom if needed or since you have all of the hardware in that table you could just build a new one. A little TLC and your OPR will last for years.

LDH

PM or email me--jetobeyremoveme@msn.com-take out the anti-spam phrase.Mike T

I agree with LDH. You can probably reinforce the cracks from underneath by adding a plate. The rear would be just to prevent anymore movement. Hopefully reinforcing would even the table in the front. If there is not any catching when going over the crack you should be okay, If not, sand it even and wax the table. I doubt you can get another table from SS. If you didn't get a manual I can send you the part number.

Thanks gentlemen for your responses. I can get a table alone for $175 plus tax plus shipping from Poe Avenue. A member on another user group offered me his for $150. I have filed a claim with FedEx and my plan is simply to repair what I have.

I learned a trick from an old model airplane builder some years ago. He took a 2-part epoxy & mixed it up. Then he added denatured alcohol to the point the epoxy became a liquid. Then he taped off a crack & poured the epoxy to where it slightly overfilled the the crack. It dried & only a light sanding was required.

I learned this trick about 20 years ago. The fortunate part of this problem is that the hairline cracks are on the top surface of the table. Simply applying downward pressure closes the cracks up. A metal plate will provide enough support that should prevent any flex.

As large as this overarm pin router is, I'm surprised there were never any casters made for it. As heavy as it is, although not as heavy as my 12" PRoPlaner, it is hard to move around.

Tony

backhertz wrote:Thanks gentlemen for your responses. I can get a table alone for $175 plus tax plus shipping from Poe Avenue. A member on another user group offered me his for $150. I have filed a claim with FedEx and my plan is simply to repair what I have.

I learned a trick from an old model airplane builder some years ago. He took a 2-part epoxy & mixed it up. Then he added denatured alcohol to the point the epoxy became a liquid. Then he taped off a crack & poured the epoxy to where it slightly overfilled the the crack. It dried & only a light sanding was required.

I learned this trick about 20 years ago. The fortunate part of this problem is that the hairline cracks are on the top surface of the table. Simply applying downward pressure closes the cracks up. A metal plate will provide enough support that should prevent any flex.

As large as this overarm pin router is, I'm surprised there were never any casters made for it. As heavy as it is, although not as heavy as my 12" PRoPlaner, it is hard to move around.

Tony

Tony,
The regular caster set from Shopsmith will fit the old OPR with just a little adjustment. I have them on mine as I have to move mine in and out of a storage room to use it. Next time I have it out I will post a pic for you.

LDH

Hi Tony,

Shopsmith does, or maybe I should say did, make a caster set for the old style free standing OPR. The p/n was 555456 and it also fit the Joint-Matic stand. It was available from Shopsmith at least through May of last year when I bought my set. The p/n does not come up on the Shopsmith web site anymore, but you might want to check with customer service.

The OPR caster set included the two caster assemblies (like the Mk 5's) as well as four steel mounting brackets and hardware. The installation required you to remove the lower side braces from the stand and drill an additional mounting hole in each of the legs to mount the new caster brackets. It was also recommended that the side braces that were removed be shortened and re-installed higher up on the legs. This link should take you to some photos of the installation on my OPR.

http://picasaweb.google.com/PERRYOBEAR/OPRStandCasters

As LDH has mentioned, I am sure there are homemade ways of accomplishing the same thing.

I hope this helps,

Dennis