Fox Super Shop

I used to be a dealer also, in northern IL. Sold about 10 of them before he went “down”. Had the privilege of visiting personally with Tony Fox. I still use one and have it decked out with all kinds of accessories. Have a spare stand, ways, and tail casting with spring. I was offered a complete one in good working order, but he wanted more than I could afford at the time.
Would you know anything about getting more parts and putting these into working order? What kind of issues getting them to southern IL in U.S.?
Let’s at least talk.
DanK

-- DanK All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.

I am interested in one of the units (with electronics). Located about an hour west of Toronto. Are they still available?

You can reach me at [email protected]

Hi jbruce and jimlc,

It is ofcourse too late but do you still have Fox Super Shop Motor Head?

Will be possible to send one or two to Germany?

Thank you in advance!

Canada to Germany could be really pricey!

DanK

-- DanK All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.

Hello Dan,

I really like Tony Fox Head Stock Unit Design, and try build my own Wood Machine on its base.
If the cost of the Head Stock is around 100$ and shipping cost also 100$ it can be ok for me.

Best Regards.

Good deal! It is a very good design, I agree. Love the machines.

DanK

-- DanK All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.

Hello Dan,

Do you have contacts emails from jbruce or jimlc, maybe they have interest to sell some Fox Head Stock Units?

Best Regards.

I have communicated with them only through Lumberjocks, so you have what I have.

Just FYI, there’s an entire machine looks to be in good shape for sale on Ebay. It says local pick up only, so you would have to have a contact in the area to pick it up and prepare it for shipping.

Good luck.
DanK

-- DanK All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.

Hello Dan,

Thank you for Link. The machine seems pretty dead: no under cover for motor, no other parts for wood plate holding ect…

Can I ask you as experience Fox Shop user, how stable is the Super Fox Machine for Wood Turning operations,
because some colleagues says that even some usual Wood Turning Lathe (Jet ans other from China) are not enough stable, Frame (Frame Rails) and Headstock are not enough solid. A special for big plates, wood pices >30…40cm can be a stability problems?

Super Fox has one in one “pipe” structure and only one bearing – for Drill Press is ok but how it for Wood Turning?

For small and long parts i have no doubt…

Tank you.

George.

I didn’t notice the missing cover. The original Fox Supershop is a very strong machine I’d say comparable to most midrange 17” (its official rating) lathes. The maximum diameter over the carriage is 12”. It was (and is) used extensively for metal work, lathe and milling, so yes it’s very strong. I have a milling table, a 6” three jaw and an 8” 4 jaw metal working chucks. I watched a mechanic machine one head of a big block V8 using a Supershop. Tony Fox used them to expand his own manufacturing capabilities. The two pipes upon which the headstock rides have a 3/8” wall thickness, so there is no flexing and the spindle has four large ball bearings two in the quill and two in the splined driving quill. The idler shaft has two ball bearings. The quill has the longest extension of any homeowner type drill press at a full 6”. The base machine weighs in at something like 600 lbs if I remember correctly. I know it is all I could do in my younger days to lift one end with all the stuff removed and the head at the other end. The head by itself (with motor) is more than one wants to comfortably lift, so that is why there is an enormously powerful coil spring to counterbalance that weight. The casters retract, but I’ve never had one “walk” away from me even on the casters. In my demos, I would balance a USD quarter on edge with the machine at idle and run the RPM from 0 to 3600 and the quarter might spin a little, but never fell over or walked away. Any information to the contrary is from a knockoff where shortcuts may have been taken. 2 HP (zener diode controlled DC motor) is a little weak for professional turners doing large stock stuff. But by using the lowest of 3 ranges (max 900 RPM) there is sufficient power to get the job done. As the stock becomes balanced, the mid range (1000-3600) can be used effectively. It’s a solid mid-range lathe, but if you’re a professional, spend the money for a professional lathe. This multipurpose machine is designed for the serious hobbyist with limited shop space. Don’t expect to haul steel with a VW!
Almost all the parts are available off the shelf in US industrial suppliers. The ones that aren’t are readily made in a machine shop. I have replaced my lathe tool rest (which I snapped) with a Delta cam operated tool rest and I like it much better. I have a custom tail stock that I really like, and have rigged my router to be carried by the slotted carriage so I can do flutes, tapered flutes, template following and the like. Using parts from another Supershop, I can extend my lathe to 96” between centers with no middle supports.
It’s a great lathe for learning to turn because of the speed control and power combination. One can learn the skew cut at 32- 50 rpm and if the tool catches, the lathe momentarily stops preventing a serious accident. And so on, so on, so on, so forth.
DanK
DanK

-- DanK All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.

Thank you Dan for proffesional help. Will try to get one Fox or Industrial Super Shop foe me … more hope that posible… very hard to finde… Best Regards. George.

Power Heads offered above are no longer available.

Bruce

Thanks for the offer, Jbruce, and for letting us know they are no longer available. I think you can edit the title to include “sold” or something.

DanK

-- DanK All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.

I bought a used fox supershop but I do not have the lathe chucks, collets etc and have been unable to locate on-line. I read where someone said the Delta parts are interchangeable and so on as well as other machines too. Do you have any specifics for those that are interchangeable which can be used such as size, model etc? My machine is a model ss 20; serial:1222

I have not followed the various models that developed after the demise of Tony Fox’s operation where I was a dealer.
These machines, regardless of model, use R-8 collets in the headstock. “R-8 collets”http://http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-pc-Precision-R-8-Collet-Set/G1646 are available everywhere on the buying sites. In addition, there are many useful R-8 accessories like tapered receivers for MT-1 through MT-4, end mill holders, various other milling and boring tools. All of the standard SuperShop accessories used a 3/4” R-8. The only part you would need to turn to Delta for is the mortising chisel holder. The standard chuck for drilling was a 5/8” keyed Jacobs with a 3/4” tail, but I have added a keyless chuck integrated with R-8 stem inexpensively. Very handy. Any lathe drive center can be used…I like these. I use a SuperNova chuck with a #2 MT adapter for bowls. I would recommend, as I’m going to do shortly, have a machine shop turn an adapter with a 3/4” stub shaft on the headstock end and 1” x 8 tpi thread on the other to the chuck. By the time the other multiple adapters mentioned above get put together, the chuck is hanging quite a ways from the headstock. I want it closer, though it seems to work fine. Ideally there would be an R-8 adapter with 1×8 threads. Somewhere…someday.
Keep in touch. It will be fun to see this develop. I’ll send pictures to email if you want. What part of the world are you in?
DanK
I had a custom tail stock made (by a machine shop) that holds an arbor whose external threads and R-8 collet capabilities match the headstock. Very useful.

All the moving parts like bearings, belts, tooling are off the shelf hardware. Even the motors and electronics are available.

-- DanK All my life I've wanted to be someone. I see now I should have been more specific.