After a month or so of working with the first ShopSmith and learning the in's and out's with many thanks to @Masonsailor for walking me through the machine and giving me a lot of pointers, I have settled on the first Shopsmith being set up as a sanding station and occasional lathe.  

 

So when another 510 popped up I couldn't help but think that it looked like a good drill press.  The only SPT it had with it is the bandsaw which is the updated model with dust collection and it needs some TLC with regard to the speed control and a good cleaning / waxing / calibration. On the good side, I expanded my collection of turning chisels and got a nice dado stack with it.  Once I get everything cleaned up and running properly, I will probably either hang it on the wall or build a vertical cart for it.

On the good side I think I have enough table parts to build a pretty significant infeed and outfeed table if I ever need to

Since one of my 'Smiths is semi permanently configured with a router table as part of the FrankenSmith, use of any SPTs is pretty much impossible without breaking it all down. So, the "Shorty" serves to run those. I rarely use the sanding discs, although, they are handy at times. But, the belt sander is a Godsend. Very few of my projects escape that sander. 

With two auxiliary tables, plus the saw table installed, the shorty makes an excellent out feed table, as you suggested. 

As to the drilling mode, IMO, the capabilities of the 'Smith are unmatched. The horizontal drilling capabilities make it superb. And, would be lost if it were mounted for vertical use permanently. 

48 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

SPTs

 

What are SPT's ?

25 minutes ago, John Morris said:

 

What are SPT's ?

Special purpose tools....in my mind, anyway.

13 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Special purpose tools....in my mind, anyway.

Thanks, just added it to our Acronym expansion database, soon we should see SPT underlined with a hover explaining the acronym, thanks Gene.

I am still just scratching the surface of what the SS’s are capable of. Hope to find the time to try turning, this year.

On 1/2/2022 at 11:28 AM, Artie said:

I am still just scratching the surface of what the SS’s are capable of. Hope to find the time to try turning, this year.

 

You are doing fine.  Most people have all they can handle mentally operating a hammer..

36 minutes ago, Gunny said:

 

You are doing fine.  Most people have all they can handle mentally operating a hammer..

Just like those snow shovels. Ya gotta keep the hammers fueled up. Jamesons comes to mind. Improves your aim immensely.

23 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

Jamesons comes to mind. Improves your aim immensely.

Captain Morgan, apparently, has the opposite effect. VOE!

Most modern hammers boast Flex Fuel capabilities.

48 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Most modern hammers boast Flex Fuel capabilities.

Well, THAT explains it!! My hammers are all antiques!

Started tearing down the head stock on the second 510 today.  

Lots of grime / dirt / dust caked into everything. 

Little spots of rust here and there to remove.  Figured out the problem with the speed adjuster.  The previous owner had put it together incorrectly and left out the little washer that holds the floating gear between the speed indicator ring and the adjustment handle. The adjustment handle teeth are all stripped out and this is the cause of that, mystery solved.

 

I have a lot more cleanup and maintenance to do on this one but I do now have some 18” bench tubes that are waiting to be installed when I turn this one into a nice little drill press station.

So the Franken Press is starting to come together and phase 1 is complete.

I used 18” tubes for the base so I could tie an auxiliary table to the main table.  There is a gap between the two left deliberately so I can have a consistent clamping location for any drill press tables and jigs that I build for it. Tied together with a couple of short bars, there isn’t a significant amount of flex and it provides a large working surface.  Next up is a good drill press table and some way to raise and lower the headstock easily.

That's going to be a sweet setup with a relatively small footprint considering the capabilites Michael. Looking forward to seeing this one through completion.