Rebuild Status/ Cumulative Hour Meter/Other

[a1gutterman]

..............I saw the biggest Crescent-type wrench I've ever seen for only $19.99. Amazing.....................
A bit (or two) of trivia: Crescent made the ADJUSTABLE WRENCH popular (they are probably the inventor of it; probably held the patent for years; and therefore, they were probably the only company making them for years); and therefore lots of people refer to the adjustable wrench as a "Crescent " wrench. The fact is, every company that makes mechanics hand tools makes an adjustable wrench. Another not-so-well-known fact is that the Crescent tool company makes sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. too. Used to be American made. You can walk into a Costco store and buy a very large and inexpensive (made in China) Crescent tool set today. I don't recall seeing an adjustable wrench in that set. Huh.

[a1gutterman]

..........I had purchased a so-called 1/2" metric impact socket set. The first time I used the 19mm socket, it split in two spots. the 17mm split only in one place. I gave the old sockets to one of the stockers there & he gave me back two heavy duty sockets. I noted the walls are twice as thick. I'm wondering if Harbor Freight is making better quality impact sockets, or the kid gave me the wrong replacements.

Tony
IMHO, Harbor Freight = junk.

[paulmcohen]

I had purchased a so-called 1/2" metric impact socket set. The first time I used the 19mm socket, it split in two spots. the 17mm split only in one place. I gave the old sockets to one of the stockers there & he gave me back two heavy duty sockets. I noted the walls are twice as thick. I'm wondering if Harbor Freight is making better quality impact sockets, or the kid gave me the wrong replacements.

Tony

Most likely what you got was an impact socket, way overkill for hand use but if it came from Harbor Freight I would not use it with an impact wrench. IMHO

[charlese]

Holy Cow Batman! That is a lot of servicing! Well, you can't do it too much, except for maybe oiling the shafts. Don't want too much oil in there.;)

No it's not too much oil in there Robin! I run my Mark V on average of 10 to 15 hours per month. Used this way to figure. Seven days/week in the shop. (yes I'm lucky) Usually 5 hrs per day. 5hrs X 30 days = 150 hours/ month. If I'm running the SS 10% of the time - that's 15 hours.

The last time I serviced it went over a month by several days. By manually sliding the shaft before oiling, it felt pretty good, but after oiling it was better. I could tell, it was ready!

Don't really think one could over oil the motor shaft. It'll just throw any excess off or out. I always put a drop in the hole through the spring and a couple drops on the inner shaft that stick out.

Some months the Mark V is run quite a bit more than 10% - Then cleaning and lube is done and a new date put on the machine. I can also tell when the light months happen (like now when I'm finishing) The monthly maintenance will be performed, but oiling will be lighter.

[backhertz]

Received a bunch of stuff from Poe Ave today. I only received one control sheaves & one quadrant assys. Two of each on back order. I noted the quadrant showed signs of rust pitting, but no orange. The quadrant casting could of been cleaned up a bit prior to adding the addition pieces. I had to file down sharp edges and clean up the hole for the pin which was partially closed.

The three idler shaft assys are nice compared to the ones I'm replacing. I noticed the name FAG stamped on it along with Canada WB07148. I tried Googling it and had no luck.

The control sheave wobbles a little bit when I spin it while holding it. I noted the tiny bearing (635ZZ) spun too fast for what a new bearing loaded with grease typically spins.

I received half of the Fafnir bearings I ordered. I haven't yet tried out the 12-ton press I bought from a college kid who graduates in a couple of days & selling all of his things. Saved me $50 off of Harbor Freight's prices. Craig's List is a fantastic place to purchase almost anything without playing games like are played on Ebay with people who use snipe tools.

I've decide to use hour meters on at least 2 of my 3 headstocks. Using a piece of tape is okay, but I simply want to look at a meter.

I am going to clean up in the inside of the motor pan & belt cover and at least put a coat of primer to prevent the rust from getting worse.

I am enjoying this process. There is more than enough information available to do a complete headstock restoration and then keep on top of things so I won't have to replace all the bearings and other parts because no routine preventive maintenance was completed.

[nuhobby]

backhertz,

I got a few of those same Poe Ave. parts lately. My new control-sheave outer metals did visibly wobble a bit, but upon spinning the guts, the bearing and the machined conical faces of the sheaves are seen to be dead true. Like yourself, I also considered the control-sheave bearing: not knowing the actual desired "viscosity" of a new bearing rotation, at least for sure I saw it was more viscous than the old bearing/sheave I was replacing.

I also had to replace a warped fan sheave. The new one definitely got rid of the warp in the machined conical faces.

All in all, these and other jobs have brought the '81 back to very smooth operation.

Enjoy,

[otherwiseguy]

There is an '81 Shopsmith (I'm assuming, SN 87018, I think) for sale on Craigslist that I'm thinking of purchasing. I haven't owned a SS before, but it comes w/ bandsaw attachment for $350 total. Is there anything I should be aware of as far as differences with newer models, etc.? What would I be giving up?

[paulmcohen]

You can upgrade anything, an '81 unit would have the larger motor and newer belts, most likely it has a 1 bearing quill. I am assuming it is a 500 but could be a 510. There are several recent threads on what to look for and how to negotiate the biggest issues beyond does it work is rust and how much time you are willing to put into it.

Many people here are using manchines from the 1950's, mine was a 500 purchased in 1982 and today is a full 520 with rip scales and looks almost new.