Re: Skil XShop?

Hi Tanus,

This product by Skil is aimed at those who don't know much about woodworking but want to start into the craft with an inexpensive all-in-one solution. Dream on.

I know this product was available in the province of Quebec in the Reno-Depot/RONA stores. I didn't see it for a while now and I go almost every week so I'm only guessing it doesn't sell very well.

After looking at it extensively, I honestly think this product is a piece of junk and a waste of money.

Unfortunately, the woodworking hobby is all about precision. You don't have many choices. Either you develop your hand skills and you eventually achieve precision (takes a lot of practice though) or you buy good quality tools and you manage to shape your parts precisely (you will still need some good hand skills for that too).

This Skil all-in-one table saw/router station/drill press/sander will not be able to reach any acceptable level of precision. Most parts of it are made of aluminum and plastic which are too flexible. You will also be limited by the size of the table when manipulating larger parts.

If your friend wants to start into woodworking, I would suggest him to find a supervised workshop he can rent by the hour. He would have access to professional quality tools and wise advices of other experienced woodworkers around him. He would quickly learn the basics of woodworking in a safe environment. If he goes through that process, I bet you he will not buy the Skil XShop.

Hope this helps,

Greg D.

Thanks Greg. I too, am in Quebec, but haven't seen them in Reno Depot. I"m in the Gatineau Hills BTW.

In looking at the table on the website, I figured the drill press was the weakest part of the ensemble, but the other parts might have served him for his purposes. I doubt that he's serious about getting into the hobby in a big way, and this might have gotten him through a few projects till he moved on to something else.

I agree that precision is paramount, and I wasn't interested in the table for that reason. But since it's not available in Canada at all anymore, it's a moot point. I also see that even Lowes doesn't link to it directly.

It's funny tho. Years ago when I had the room, I figured I could get by on the cheap, because any tool is a tool, right? Now, I'm very tightly limited in space, and have no desire to fill what little space I have with junk that will piss me off, ruin my concentration and ultimately give me lousy results.

Tanus

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