# The ShopSmith I always wanted has been living across the street for 17 years



## Nowthatumentionit (Aug 8, 2020)

My neighbor Mike and his wife decided after 26 years to head back to Texas and that the ShopSmith would not be making the trip. Code for f I wanted it and all the accessories, including the ShopSmith dust collector vac, just cough up $300. Mike bought ShopSmith's 50th anniversary model new in 2003, making 1953 the year the first ShopSmith rolled off the assembly line, and the same year I rolled out of the maternity ward as a newborn.
























Anyway, despite ShopSmith's shape-shifting marvels, the motor setting on this one never left saw speed because as Mike explains it he only used it as a table saw for cutting stock. So the machine never knew its other multiple personalties. All the lathe chisels, drill chuck, brad point bits, 12" sanding disk, etc., still packaged and sitting unused for 17 years.








I'll spend some time lubing, cleaning and polishing it before getting back into some woodturning. Can't wait. Haven't done any since I was a kid. Any pointers on the best way to handle the surface rust on those skews?


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## RepairmanJack (Aug 4, 2013)

What a deal!


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Super deal! You can probably get most of the rust off those tools when you put a bowl blank in, just let the wood rub the rust off. Otherwise I would use electrolysis to remove the rust.

David


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Man did you ever luck out, now it is time to have a ball with your new tool.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Electrolysis is a good suggestion, but my current (pun intended) battery charger is too "smart" to work that way, and I gave away the old one a long time ago. (I should have kept it, darn it.) 

I use 3M ScotchBrite abrasive pads with WD-40 as a solvent, lubricant, and swarf remover. Choose the green ScotchBrite for heavy rust, gray for light rust. If using green, when you're close, switch to gray. It doesn't have to be 3M brand, any similar abrasive pad will do. See if that works before resorting to more drastic measures.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Your question:
I'll spend some time lubing, cleaning and polishing it before getting back into some woodturning. Can't wait. Haven't done any since I was a kid. Any pointers on the best way to handle the surface rust on those skews? 

I have used Evaporust on old tools will great results. O Reillys has it as does Harbor Freight. A tall plastic bottle that will allow the length to be fully submerged will work, just don't tip it over.


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## Nowthatumentionit (Aug 8, 2020)

Thanks. Everyones' suggestions bolster what I had in my bag of tricks. In 1 combination or another, I'll make them work.


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## LilysDad (Dec 21, 2019)

soaking i vinegar will also remove rust.


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## RepairmanJack (Aug 4, 2013)

follow it up with some paste wax or bowling alley wax.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

The ShopSmith itself looks to be in excellent shape. Congrats on a great deal. 

I'd use a wire wheel on the rust on those gouges and then sharpen them. It's only the edge that cuts.


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