Lobby Dosser wrote in message news:3iGfd.10307$kr4.8490@trnddc01...
(David Hall) wrote:

I recently came into possesion of an item that is essentially an X-Y
table. It is all aluminum with a table about 6" x 18" with 4 t-nut
slots in it. it moves left-right and forward-backward via two threaded
rods with knobs that are marked for fine increments. It was sold by
Shopsmith in 1986 as a "Two-Way Router Table". I found it advertised
in an old 1985 copy of their catalog. It has no markings on it to
identify manufacturer, model, or anything else to ID it. I emailed
Shopsmith and got a call the next day from a nice lady who remembered
the item and had looked it up in a couple of old catalogs, but could
not find any information on how it was used or how (or whether for
that matter) it could connect to a Shopsmith Mark V. She had checked
around the company headquarters and couldn't find anyone else who
remembered this thing or had any information on file for it.
Apparently Shopsmith stopped selling it in 1986 as it is in their
Spring/Summer 1986 catalog but not in the Winter 1986 or later
catalogs (according to the nice lady from Shopsmith). It is new and
complete in the box, but has no instructions or other documentation
with it. Does anyone recognize this item or have any information on
it. I have Googled and web searched to no avail.

Thanks

Dave Hall



This sounds like what they used to call the Shopsmith Routing System.
From your description above, you may not have all the parts. The System
was a stand alone table which allowed a router to be mounted below the
table or above as a pin router. The pin router mode had a rack and pinion
height adjustment.

There is a how to in Chapter 22 of 'Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone'
(available used at Amazon - ISBN 0936611006).

If you like, I could scan a picture or two for you, or you could scan the
catalog page and send to me for an ID. Remove the backwards nospam and
excess dot from my e-mail.

LD


Thanks. I have seen the Shopsmith overarm router (which, as you note,
also allowed the router to be under the table). This is not part of
that unit. It was clearly sold as a separate thing back when Shopsmith
had retail stores and sold lots of third party items that had nothing
to do with the Mark V or any Shopsmith branded equipment. In the
scheme of things, it is a trinket - small, all aluminum, etc., but
seems it might be interesting to use once I figure it out. It appears
that it was designed to attach to a small drillpress (with a 1-3/8"
column), according to the one line description in the 1985 catalog,
and you would then "rout" with the drillpress. We all know how good of
a router a drillpress makes Must not have been a big seller since
Shopsmith can't find any info on it, the Shopsmith users group (over a
1000 strong I believe) never heard of it, nobody here seems to have
heard of it and web/google searches bring up nothing. I can see why
Shopsmith dropped it in 1986

Dave Hall