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Thread: Shop Smith - Just as a drill & lathe?

  1. #1

    Shop Smith - Just as a drill & lathe?

    I'd very much like to add a drill press to my shop. I don't NEED a lathe, and I'm insane to even consider one given how little space I have, but I sure would LIKE to own a lathe.

    Yeah, I know, serious w-workers love to rag on Shop Smith, and I understand the typical reasons. However, I'd ONLY be using it for the above 2 tasks, and I can bring home a model 10ER tomorrow, seemingly complete and running well, for $100.

    I can't buy a decent drill press for $100. Plus, I like the concept of horizontal boring, for many tasks.
    ----------


    So... Can anyone tell me what the limitations are of this machine, for just those two functions?


    1: One that I see is that the vertical drill doesn't quite have the capacity of a floor-standing DP. I believe the SS is limited to about 34" Would you consider this to be a potential problem?


    2: There is a video on Youtube where a 10ER owner actually kludged-on some pulleys, to bring the speed down to where he felt it was good for drilling. Is the stock unit actually way too fast to be a proper DP?


    3: As a lathe, it is probably a little underpowered, Yes? - but then again, for $100?
    Last edited by Allan Speers; 05-30-2015 at 12:07 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Stark County Ohio
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    137
    I have a 1957 SS greenie, and one from the 80's. I have turned things too numerous to remember with them. I've made lil seam ripper handles on it, and I've spun the longest hunk of 4 x 4 Douglas fir I could squeeze in it to turn a lamp post for the end of our driveway. 95% of anything I've turned came out just fine, the other 5% went POW, just like on an expensive lathe. No, you can't turn a bowl as big as a truck tire on it, but you can make lots of neat stuff on it. $100 is a no brainer, even if it serves no other purpose than to get you hooked on turning, and then move up to something else later.

  3. #3
    Thanks, Marion.

    After some research, I'm pretty sure it's the model 10ER, (info added, above.) so no varispeed. Would that make any difference?

    (I actually prefer the 10ER ergonomically, since you can make a modified base that takes up very little room in DP mode.

    See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IErSBgATkQo
    Last edited by Allan Speers; 05-30-2015 at 1:27 AM.

  4. #4
    what is the lowest speed it will spin? if you are going to do modestly large bowls, you will need 300-400 and even less to start rounding the block. $100 for a horizontal borer would be $$ well spent
    Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning, the devil says, "oh crap she's up!"


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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    I would not buy a shopsmith without variable speed. Thats one of its main features. Wait for another - look for at least a MarkV and a 510 would be even better.

    I also like min for the disc sanding feature. You can clamp your work to a index block on teh table and bring the disc to the work and get repeatable sanding. Also the add on 6X48 sander and the bandsaw and even teh scrollsaw (newer big one) are all great accessories.
    Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    Central North Carolina
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    1,830
    I have a 10ER and mostly all I ever use it for is a lathe, but I don't do very much turning, so it has been acceptable for me so far. It will make a fair drill press, if you can get your position locks to hold. My son made replacement lock cams out of brass and now my 10ER works like it should. The old cast aluminum cams didn't hold well enough at all. As a lathe, drill press, or horizontal boring machine it does pretty well. As a table saw it is downright scary. I only did that once.

    Charley

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Somewhere in the Land of Lincoln
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    2,547
    + 1 on what Mike said. I don't know where you are located but they come up relatively often at reasonable prices. They are better machines than some people want you to believe, and they are still fully serviceable and parts are available. It does bug me that people hide there locations. You could at least list a state,

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Upland CA
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    I would hold out for a MK V. Variable speed is really important. About making a base, be aware that the MK V unbolts from the leg system, and you can make a different base for it also.

    You also mentioned the 34" height, if you need bigger with either, that is when you start thinking horizontal boring. You can drill the end of a 16 footer that way.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  9. #9
    Well, you guys made me hesitate, for sure. No one bought it today, so I can still pick it up, but hmmmm.

    Rick, good point about horizontal boring giving more capacity. That's a huge thing.

    This machine does NOT have the optional vari-speed pulley system, which is why I didn't jump on it. Of course, it DOES have 3 speed, just mechanical changing. As far as the correct speed for drilling & lathe work, it seems to me that BOTH of those tasks fall into the same basic speed range, so as long as I don't ask any more out of the machine, I could at worst just change one pulley. - Or get a 3-ph motor & VFD, or get a used DC motor & controller. And finally, there's a company online that still makes complete multi-speed retrofit sheave systems, nicer than the original factory option.

    So really, I don't think spindle speed is a factor at all.

    Better-than-stock spindle bearings are also available, and these early machines used two bearings, unlike the early Mark V's, so no worries about runout unless the spindle itself isn't true.

    Regarding the lathe, OK, it's a little light, and a little underpowered, but I just want to turn chair legs & such. If I ever get into bowls, I could get a larger motor, because unlike the later models), the 10ER uses a separate induction motor. I know the tool rest banjo is not well regarded, but I could always get their new banjo (very highly regarded) for $200.

    For more weight, I figure I could build little shelves into the legs, and add some cinderblocks. That's not the same as a big hunk of cast iron, but it surely would help.
    --------------

    So... does it still sound like a bad way to spend $100? I'm so on the fence, my butt hurts.
    Last edited by Allan Speers; 05-31-2015 at 2:33 PM.

  10. #10
    More info, because I really need more input:

    This machine does have the (often missing) sanding disk, which would come in handy, and it also has the scroll saw attachment.

    I don't think I'd use the scroll saw attachment, but I bet I could sell it for close to what the whole machine would cost me. Hence, a drill and lathe for almost free.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Central North Carolina
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    1,830
    If you are buying the model 10ER be careful. It was made by a company called Magnum Tool. The present Shop Smith company bought the rights from them and then redesigned the whole tool. You can get spare parts for most Shop Smiths, but you won't find any parts for the 10ER, except from a machine shop (or you can buy a second one to get spare parts).
    That's why I had my son make me the the wedges out of brass that lock the assemblies to the pipes. The present Shop Smith company will send you a manual and parts list for it though.

    Charley

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
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    SE PA, Central Bucks County
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    Quote Originally Posted by Allan Speers View Post
    Thanks, Marion.

    After some research, I'm pretty sure it's the model 10ER, (info added, above.) so no varispeed. Would that make any difference?

    (I actually prefer the 10ER ergonomically, since you can make a modified base that takes up very little room in DP mode.

    See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IErSBgATkQo
    i also have a greenie from the 50's and I only use it for a drill press (at times), lathe and belt/disc sander (seldom); I've never used it as a saw. I would not buy an 10ER. There are so many used Mark V units for sale privately on CL, sometimes guys give them away. The variable speed motor is worth waiting for.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
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    868
    Hi,

    Add my vote to the "buy a Mark V" side. I have three of them. The nicest one cost $200 and came with a good condition band saw. The second one I bought is a greenie that had the drill chuck and sanding disk, for $100. The last one one came with TWO bandsaws and some accessories for $225. So they are out there if you watch and wait.

    The Mark V is an excellent drill press for wood working. With the fence attached to the table you can move the table in and out with respect to the drill bit for precise positioning.

    It it is also an excellent disk sander. Horizontal boring is a great feature.

    hold out for the Mark 5. Much better than the older ER model.

    PS The reason I have three of them is because I'm renovating a house I bought next-door, and I have two of them over there… Eventually I may turn one into a mini dedicated for drill press/ disk sanding.
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Birmingham, AL
    Posts
    335
    I have owned own a Shopsmith 10ER for over 30 years, and it is a great machine. Don't buy into the need for a Mark V or a 510. The 10ER has more steel and iron than the newer ones and for drill press or lathe it is excellent. They are right about parts not being available, except on ebay, where they are fairly plentiful.

    I put a VFD on mine for less than $100 so I have variable speed on mine. I have a lot of expensive woodworking tools. If I could have only one it would be the 10ER

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    Lubbock Texas
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    931
    Quote Originally Posted by john lawson View Post
    I have owned own a Shopsmith 10ER for over 30 years, and it is a great machine. Don't buy into the need for a Mark V or a 510. The 10ER has more steel and iron than the newer ones and for drill press or lathe it is excellent. They are right about parts not being available, except on ebay, where they are fairly plentiful.

    I put a VFD on mine for less than $100 so I have variable speed on mine. I have a lot of expensive woodworking tools. If I could have only one it would be the 10ER
    Vairable speed for $100? How can I do that? What motor is required for this?
    No PHD, but I have a DD 214

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