Shop Smith....blowing the dust off

[deberly12]

I just got a Shop Smith out of storage. It was my grandfather's. It has definitely not been turned on since he died 15 years ago maybe longer up to 20 years. What should I do before I turn it on. What all should I lubricate.

Second question i am a beginner wood worker. What tools should I use this for and what should be stand alone.

 

[jismay]

I love my ShopSmith, it can be a great tool/tools if you take a little care to get it setup well. That being said, you likely won't find much love here for the ShopSmith or other similar multi-purpose tools.

As far as lubrication goes, the officially recommended product is paste-type furniture wax such as Minwax. Get all the dust cleaned off and then apply the wax liberally to the upper tubes, tables, etc.

As far as uses, other tools. The shopsmith makes an excellent wood lathe, a good drill-press, and a reasonable table-saw/disc sander, etc.
If you have it, the bandsaw is very good as well.
The jointer is good quality, but the 4" size can be limiting for some applications.

If I were buying any additional tools, I'd probably go for a good table-saw, a good cross-cut mitre-saw, and a thickness planer, in addition to the ShopSmith bandsaw and Jointer I already have.

If you haven't already found it, https://www.shopsmith.com/ is still very much in business and they will cheerfully sell any and all spares and parts you might ever need.

 

[Toold_up]

I have two 10 ERs. What model do you have?

Post pictures.

 

[yrly]

Check the gilmer belt for cracking if it’s been sitting a long time.

 

[sberry]

It's a great thing for free. Number 1 next tool I might get is a table saw but a compound mitre saw for sure.

 

[deberly12]

Thanks everyone!

I did pick up some Johnson Wax for exactly that purpose. I was really concerned about the internals though.

I'm guessing the belt you referred to is the variable speed belt inside the head.


I have a harbor freight miter saw. It will do for my purposes. I do desperately need to upgrade my $50 table saw though. (No joke it was 50 at HF). I would love a planer but currently have a Powermatic drum sander. While very slow it kind of takes care of my planing needs for now. I know that normally isn't an early shop tool but it was $100 at a yard sale.

I am very excited about the Jointer in the Shop Smith. I don't have the bandsaw attachment but there is a stand alone Delta bandsaw in from the same source that needs to come out of storage and get a little TLC.


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