This is my first build I just cut the fret slots, it’s a short scale 25.5 cigar box bass, inlay ideas? I think I might do a copper pipe inlay with sea shells crushed into it but I would love to here your suggestions
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What's On Your Workbench?
- Thread starter HaMMerHeD
- Start date
Check this out, my workbench is involved in this post! 
So ,most of you know that I have a pretty limited space to work in, and more interestingly, I use a ShopSmith for a lot of my work. The one thing I didn't have was a good miter saw station, nor did I have room to build one. I don't even have room for a small cart with flip-up wings either. But, I recently ran across a YouTube video on making a miter saw station out of your ShopSmith, so I jumped on that idea and built this -
A couple things here, because I know the comments will come. The tables are both height adjustable. As you can see, I have the table on the right side adjusted, but not the one on the left side. I still had that part set up as my table saw, which I needed to build this project. So yes, the left table can be adjusted flush with the miter saw and it will be when in use.
The miter saw "base" is just some 1/2" plywood built to "lock into" the ShopSmith way tubes, and I just used simple pocket hole joinery on this one, nothing fancy. Anyways, I now have something I can use for a miter saw station.
So ,most of you know that I have a pretty limited space to work in, and more interestingly, I use a ShopSmith for a lot of my work. The one thing I didn't have was a good miter saw station, nor did I have room to build one. I don't even have room for a small cart with flip-up wings either. But, I recently ran across a YouTube video on making a miter saw station out of your ShopSmith, so I jumped on that idea and built this -
A couple things here, because I know the comments will come. The tables are both height adjustable. As you can see, I have the table on the right side adjusted, but not the one on the left side. I still had that part set up as my table saw, which I needed to build this project. So yes, the left table can be adjusted flush with the miter saw and it will be when in use.
The miter saw "base" is just some 1/2" plywood built to "lock into" the ShopSmith way tubes, and I just used simple pocket hole joinery on this one, nothing fancy. Anyways, I now have something I can use for a miter saw station.
I love doing stuff like this.Check this out, my workbench is involved in this post!
So ,most of you know that I have a pretty limited space to work in, and more interestingly, I use a ShopSmith for a lot of my work. The one thing I didn't have was a good miter saw station, nor did I have room to build one. I don't even have room for a small cart with flip-up wings either. But, I recently ran across a YouTube video on making a miter saw station out of your ShopSmith, so I jumped on that idea and built this -
View attachment 5008591
A couple things here, because I know the comments will come. The tables are both height adjustable. As you can see, I have the table on the right side adjusted, but not the one on the left side. I still had that part set up as my table saw, which I needed to build this project. So yes, the left table can be adjusted flush with the miter saw and it will be when in use.
The miter saw "base" is just some 1/2" plywood built to "lock into" the ShopSmith way tubes, and I just used simple pocket hole joinery on this one, nothing fancy. Anyways, I now have something I can use for a miter saw station.
It's like the worst try not to be satisfied challenge because it's soooooooo satisfying.
I've never heard of this ShopSmith stuff, is it like a big contraption aimed at cramming as much functionality as possible into a small shop space?
Yeah, that's pretty much it. ShopSmiths have been around since the 1950's, here in the US. Probably not many in Europe. They are marketed for the home garage shop occasional woodworker. Approximately 27 machines in one! As good as a real woodworking shop! Uh-huh. It's certainly better than nothing, but each of the machine configurations is light duty and kind of clumsy to work with. You see them for sale all the time on CraigsList.
Yup, @Bruce Johnson is pretty much right! In short, it's a "lathe based woodworking machine". It basically takes a typical wood lathe, then allows you to mount a table saw blade on it with a table to function as a table saw. It also tilts "upright" to become a drill press by using a different tip on the spinning part. They claim you can mount an overhead router tip to it to and use shaper/moulder heads, but honestly I'm not that brave. Then they make "attachments" to mount on it so that you can drive a bandsaw with the same drive motor, or a planer, or a 6" belt sander, or a strip sander, or a jointer, or a myriad of other attachments.
I sort of inherited this one after my wife's grandpa passed away and nobody knew what to do with it, then one of them said "Isn't Tim into woodworking?" and it landed in my garage. Honestly, I'm thankful to have it.
And like Bruce said, they've been manufacturing them since the 50s. And, contrary to popular belief, they are STILL manufacturing new ones today in Dayton, Ohio. (Woodworking Tools -- Shopsmith Woodworking Equipment and Supplies) Mine is the "Mark V" model, because it has 5 machines in 1 - Table Saw, Drill Press, Overhead Router, 12" Disk Sander, Horizontal Boring and Lathe. Then you add the "attachments" to give it more functions. I have my band saw mounted on a dedicated base, because grandpa had it that way. Grandpa also had a scroll saw that was mounted on a dedicated base as well, which I also have now. Since getting it I have also gathered up (for free, because I'm lucky) a 4-1/2" jointer, a 6" belt sander and a jig saw for it. And now I'm using it as a miter saw station too.
Honestly, I'd say it does a lot of things, but doesn't do any of them on the level of a dedicated machine. Is it a table saw? Yes. Is it as good as a dedicated cabinet saw? Oh God no. Can you get acceptable results out of it? Yeah, sure. And that's the case for every "function". It takes a lot of time to set up each function, so switching between them is a process. But, I'm never in a hurry and I don't mind. And the bigger thing is, I just don't have the space for dedicated machines, so it works well in my space. A lot of people hate on them, and for good reason. But I'm pretty happy with it, and the price was right (zero dollars wins every time for me).
I also have grandpa's ShopSmith dust collection system too, which hooks to every machine and attachment they make.
So, I use it as my table saw, I use it as my drill press, I use the 12" disk sander (a lot, it's really cool), I use the 6" belt sander, I use it as a horizontal boring machine when drilling jack holes in the side of a body (that's super nice actually compared to a hand drill and a forstner or spade bit) and I often just use it as a workbench. Then I use the band saw quite a bit, but since it's on a dedicated base it's kind of a stand-alone machine. My scroll saw has a broken drive belt and I haven't sourced a replacement (even from the mothership) so it's kind of sitting in storage, but I do use the jig saw as a pseudo scroll saw. I have not used the 4-1/2" jointer yet because I have a nice, much higher powered 6" jointer so I haven't had a need yet. But it is there.
Given the current state of them on the used marketplace, honestly I'd say never pay more than $300 for one. There's so many of them that people are trying to just get rid of, anything more than that and you're being taken. If it has several attachments and is in super clean shape, maybe as much as $500. But like I said, I had a guy just give me a free one with the jig saw, belt sander and a pile of shaper/moulder heads. I took all the "extra stuff" and the base machine is in storage until I figure out what to do with it. Mostly I was after the jig saw and belt sander, but I had to take the whole thing.
Here's a picture of one with a band saw on one side and a jig saw on the other, you can see the jointer laying on the floor under it -
I will say, as a drill press it's actually really awesome. I'd put it on par with any drill press out there. Here's a picture of one in drill press mode, you basically just stand the unit up -
I'm probably gonna convert the extra one I have into a dedicated drill press by flipping the head and shortening the legs -
Oh, edit to add: What's funny about the ShopSmith is, as a lathe it's probably the worst lathe you can possibly work on. Which cracks me up, because that's literally the main function of the machine.
@Bruce Johnson You'll be interested to know, there's actually guys out there who have taken their ShopSmith and fabricated an insert for the table to turn it into a pin router. 
I'm still considering it. But again, I'm just not brave enough to attach the router/shaper/moulder heads to it in the upright position, mainly because of the exposed nature of the cutter heads. It just kinda freaks me out man.
I'm still considering it. But again, I'm just not brave enough to attach the router/shaper/moulder heads to it in the upright position, mainly because of the exposed nature of the cutter heads. It just kinda freaks me out man.
Yup, @Bruce Johnson is pretty much right! In short, it's a "lathe based woodworking machine". It basically takes a typical wood lathe, then allows you to mount a table saw blade on it with a table to function as a table saw. It also tilts "upright" to become a drill press by using a different tip on the spinning part. They claim you can mount an overhead router tip to it to and use shaper/moulder heads, but honestly I'm not that brave. Then they make "attachments" to mount on it so that you can drive a bandsaw with the same drive motor, or a planer, or a 6" belt sander, or a strip sander, or a jointer, or a myriad of other attachments.
I sort of inherited this one after my wife's grandpa passed away and nobody knew what to do with it, then one of them said "Isn't Tim into woodworking?" and it landed in my garage. Honestly, I'm thankful to have it.
And like Bruce said, they've been manufacturing them since the 50s. And, contrary to popular belief, they are STILL manufacturing new ones today in Dayton, Ohio. (Woodworking Tools -- Shopsmith Woodworking Equipment and Supplies) Mine is the "Mark V" model, because it has 5 machines in 1 - Table Saw, Drill Press, Overhead Router, 12" Disk Sander, Horizontal Boring and Lathe. Then you add the "attachments" to give it more functions. I have my band saw mounted on a dedicated base, because grandpa had it that way. Grandpa also had a scroll saw that was mounted on a dedicated base as well, which I also have now. Since getting it I have also gathered up (for free, because I'm lucky) a 4-1/2" jointer, a 6" belt sander and a jig saw for it. And now I'm using it as a miter saw station too.
Honestly, I'd say it does a lot of things, but doesn't do any of them on the level of a dedicated machine. Is it a table saw? Yes. Is it as good as a dedicated cabinet saw? Oh God no. Can you get acceptable results out of it? Yeah, sure. And that's the case for every "function". It takes a lot of time to set up each function, so switching between them is a process. But, I'm never in a hurry and I don't mind. And the bigger thing is, I just don't have the space for dedicated machines, so it works well in my space. A lot of people hate on them, and for good reason. But I'm pretty happy with it, and the price was right (zero dollars wins every time for me).
I also have grandpa's ShopSmith dust collection system too, which hooks to every machine and attachment they make.
So, I use it as my table saw, I use it as my drill press, I use the 12" disk sander (a lot, it's really cool), I use the 6" belt sander, I use it as a horizontal boring machine when drilling jack holes in the side of a body (that's super nice actually compared to a hand drill and a forstner or spade bit) and I often just use it as a workbench. Then I use the band saw quite a bit, but since it's on a dedicated base it's kind of a stand-alone machine. My scroll saw has a broken drive belt and I haven't sourced a replacement (even from the mothership) so it's kind of sitting in storage, but I do use the jig saw as a pseudo scroll saw. I have not used the 4-1/2" jointer yet because I have a nice, much higher powered 6" jointer so I haven't had a need yet. But it is there.
Given the current state of them on the used marketplace, honestly I'd say never pay more than $300 for one. There's so many of them that people are trying to just get rid of, anything more than that and you're being taken. If it has several attachments and is in super clean shape, maybe as much as $500. But like I said, I had a guy just give me a free one with the jig saw, belt sander and a pile of shaper/moulder heads. I took all the "extra stuff" and the base machine is in storage until I figure out what to do with it. Mostly I was after the jig saw and belt sander, but I had to take the whole thing.
Here's a picture of one with a band saw on one side and a jig saw on the other, you can see the jointer laying on the floor under it -
View attachment 5008883
I will say, as a drill press it's actually really awesome. I'd put it on par with any drill press out there. Here's a picture of one in drill press mode, you basically just stand the unit up -
View attachment 5008887
I'm probably gonna convert the extra one I have into a dedicated drill press by flipping the head and shortening the legs -
View attachment 5008884
Oh, edit to add: What's funny about the ShopSmith is, as a lathe it's probably the worst lathe you can possibly work on. Which cracks me up, because that's literally the main function of the machine.
All the New Yankee Workshop episodes are being posted on YouTube and I’ve been watching through them. Norm used a ShopSmith in the first season, as a drill press mostly if I remember right. Heck watching the first episode I said out loud, “Holy crap! Norm’s using a corded drill!” Times have changed. I think that started in 1989 or 90.
Yeah, I mean, my goofy little miter saw setup isn't earth shattering. But my hope is that it'll inspire someone to figure out ways to make what you have work better. I don't have a lot of room, I'm stuffed in about 140 square feet. Maybe there's others out there like me who don't have a lot of room. You just have to think differently. I used to get upset when I'd see some crazy big shop with expensive tools and I'd think "Man that must be nice". But the reality is, there's probably someone out there looking at my workspace going "Man, that must be nice." You just have to change your perspective. Also, don't write off old machines because if they still work then they were built to last and can still be used.
Some of my machines are a lot older than I am. A couple of them are from the ’30s.Also, don't write off old machines because if they still work then they were built to last and can still be used.
Hell, I’m no @Bruce Johnson but I do like me some old machines!
I went to a guitar swap/show yesterday. I took a chance on a 2002 Squier P neck. Decals removed. They wanted $30 for it, I offered $20. Nope..I started to walk and they let me have it for $20.
It has a little bow to it and the truss rod might be near max. I completely loosened the truss rod and currently have it clamped to my bench with gentle heat from a heating pad.
It also had a slight crack in the fretboard near the nut. I fixed that already.
Pictures later. Hoping for the best.
I don’t have any plans at the moment for it.
It has a little bow to it and the truss rod might be near max. I completely loosened the truss rod and currently have it clamped to my bench with gentle heat from a heating pad.
It also had a slight crack in the fretboard near the nut. I fixed that already.
Pictures later. Hoping for the best.
I don’t have any plans at the moment for it.
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I got most of the bow out of it, I gave it another heat treatment today and cleaned up/oiled
the fretboard a bit.
I think I found another j body today. In a very unfinished state, no contouring yet. No pu routes. Walnut no less.
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- Apr 18, 2008
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- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Made a few spool clamps.
Also some Super Soaker repairs. Possibly the first time I've ever made the smallest screw extractor actually work.
Also some Super Soaker repairs. Possibly the first time I've ever made the smallest screw extractor actually work.
After the third heat treatment. The neck is far better than when I started.
I filed some of the sprouting fret ends.
I got some schaller machine heads from a friend…they’re newish.
The g string tuner hangs off the bass about 1/8”…for the price I paid…I’ll grind off the tiny bit of the corner when the new bass is in assembly.
I had to make a very minor width adjustment to the neck. I took…maybe 1/64” off the width…it’s a tight fit now.
I also put a truss rod washer in it before even putting it back together.
I just have to make playing adjustments now….after setting a bit under tension.
The neck turned out pretty good considering what I paid for it…and the encono bass it came from.
This is just what I need to keep busy in retirement.
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Me too. But I’ll find out! But I will tell you…it took out the bow of the neck with the truss nut out of the bass.I'm always curious how this kind of treatment holds up over time.
I’d like to think the heat loosens the glue on the fretboard a bit. And resets the fibers of the neck wood in the direction of your bend under pressure.
But. WTHDIK.
It seems to be more extreme art than hard science.Me too. But I’ll find out! But I will tell you…it took out the bow of the neck with the truss nut out of the bass.
I’d like to think the heat loosens the glue on the fretboard a bit. And resets the fibers of the neck wood in the direction of your bend under pressure.
But. WTHDIK.
But I've seen it work successfully more often than fail, so that's one opinion. I think it must soften the lignin and permit some kind of reorientation of fibers when cool as you say, but I don't understand the specific mechanics such that I can consciously apply a particular approach.
It was the first time I did it….I could have just started with a nut washer…It seems to be more extreme art than hard science.
I seemed to me that the truss rod was near maxed out and had a bow…unstrung off the bass…
I dunno I just tried it. I didn’t have much to lose at $20.
It's a crap-shoot, for sure. I've had better luck than not, for the most part. I've used intense heat for short periods and lighter heat (heating pad) for longer and I've had a pretty good string of results with either, although I prefer less heat for longer periods as it seems less savage to me. Lately I've only used a heating pad.I'm always curious how this kind of treatment holds up over time.
The most common result for me has been for the neck to bend forward again a little bit and then settle. I compensate now by heat-setting more than I think the neck needs and letting it drift back, within a month or so, to where I wanted it in the first place. I've had reasonably consistent results over the six or seven necks I've tried this on.
Interestingly, the worst neck I've ever straightened this way was also the first I ever heat treated. The neck was VERY bent and didn't have an adjustable truss rod (National Westwood 72 - it has a magnesium bar imbedded in the neck). My method was absolutely barbaric: I clamped the neck in a pretty extreme back bow to a steam radiator and let the heat cycle with it clamped there for several days! Looking back, I would be terrified to try that now but that darned thing has remained razor-straight for over 15 years! It never moved back even a little bit. By far the most successful heat set for me to date.
As time has gone on I've gotten more cowardly, stepping back to using a steam iron and a piece of aluminum bar and then farther back to a heating pad but, so far, they seem to stay in place after the initial shift back. I'll have to wait and see how they look in 20 years.
