Shopsmith

[Ronald L. Schloss]

Anyone care to comment on the effectiveness of a Shopsmith??

Ron Schloss

[Patriarch]

"Ronald L. Schloss" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

A google search on the archives will yield a bunch of commentary. Nothing has fundamentally changed with this system in decades.

For what it is, it is well-built, well-supported, and versatile. It has some serious limitations, however, for larger, or repetitive work.

Wanna buy mine?

Patriarch

[robo hippy]

I always read the 'Tool' section of the want adds, even if I am not looking for a tool. There will be at least one Shopsmith for sale per month, and sometimes 3 of 4. A lot of people buy them with grand plans, and then almost never use them. They do a lot of different things, but not at the level of dedicated task tools. robo hippy

[lobomikem38]

To answer this we really need to know your intentions. It is well made and supported. Provides much flexibility at the cost of setup time. It will not provide the quality of good purpose built equipment, but better than many inexpensive pieces of equipment.

It's a decent, but marginal table saw but provides flexibility of lath, drill press, etc. It provides a lot of capability in a small space. Again the setup time is the trade off. Plan your projects well and you can economize the setup time. Plenty of parts, etc. are easily available.

Mine (Model 510) basically is used as a drill press with occasional lath work. I almost never use the table saw, except for rare dado work (set it as dado and leave table saw as is) depending on length of cuts etc.

HTH

[Fred]

The Shopsmith is a tool, a very good tool, but as such is no better than the person using it. It is well made and the support from the company is tremendous. If you are considering purchasing one check out their web site

for demos in your area. Another option would be contacting the user group on Yahoo, there might be a user in your area who would be willing to let you spend a little time in his shop with his/her Shopsmith to get a feel for it. A great way to get a feel for the tool would be to take one of their Traveling Academy classes, a schedule is available on the site. This would give you a chance to spend a day with the tool and an instructor for a tiny amount of money. Another option would be to take one of the woodworking classes Shopsmith puts on in Dayton - spend 3 days with the Shopsmith and make a piece of furniture, with expert instruction. You will take away a piece of furniture and a firm decision as to whether the Shopsmith is for you or not.

As has been mentioned, there are numerous ads for Shopsmiths, some have never even been setup - the purchaser got seduced by the demo, wanted to do "something," but never found a round tuit. On the other hand, a number of those for sale are well-used machines whose owners have passed on, and now their children are selling them off - still running after years of good use.

In short: Takes minimal space, readily movable. Well-built, well-supported machine. When properly setup, as is the case with any machine, is fully capable of the most accurate woodworking you could ask for. Changeover time is really not much of an issue - takes minimal time, and when well planned out is no problem. What is the difference whether you stay in one place, changeover the machine and set it up, or move across the shop to another machine and set that one up? This really is only a potential issue for production workers, and there are still plenty of professionals out there making a living on Shopsmiths. The table of the newer Shopsmith (510 or 520) are much better as far as a roomy table, and the fence on the 520 is really good. That said, it can't replace the capacity of a Unisaw, but who has the money or room for one? There are plenty of options for supporting larger work.

Sorry for the long-winded answer, but I have owned (and enjoyed my Shopsmith) for 20+ years. This is actually my second - the first one had to be sold due to a financial need at the time, but I vowed at the time that I would have another as soon as I could - a did! For me, the Shopsmith has been great. My shop is only 14 x 23, I have the 520 with bandsaw, jointer, and belt sander, a Dewalt planer, a Dewalt jigsaw, a router table, and a Jet mini lathe comfortably placed in this space.

Regards, Fred Bearman Port Huron, Michigan

"Ronald L. Schloss" wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

[mac davis]

I think it depends on your needs and the space available, Ron..

I got my 2nd SS in 81, after losing the 1st one in a divorce.. If you have limit space and/or are just getting into woodworking, I think it's an excellent tool... with the basic "starter" package, you can learn to use the table saw, drill press, lathe, disk & drum sander, etc... also excellent as a router for some work..

Like anything else in life, it has good and bad points, mostly because it isn't really a dedicated tool but adapts to several uses.. table saw is great for small stuff, but large stuff is better cut with cir. saw and guides than on the SS.. it is nice to adjust your cut by either moving the fence or the blade, (using drill press quill), but it's a bitch to come back later and try to get the same setup for another cut.. It's the best drill press I've ever used.. variable speed, adjustable, tilting table with rip & miter fences, etc... that's mostly what I use my SS for, now that I have more space and several stand-alone tools.. I find that I mostly use it as a Horizonal. DP... takes up less height and has the 12" sanding disk on the rear shaft, using the accessory table..

If you can find a used one, it's always better... not just because the machine is cheaper, but the seller has most likely bought add-ons and accessories... Should it need service, rebuilding, etc., anyone with basic tool skills can do it, and SS stocks all parts and has good support with instructions, tips, etc..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[bigredbarn]

If you decide to purchase, definitely look for a used one. The last one I saw at auction brought $165.00 for the basic unit. The same person bought all the accessories (band saw, planer, separate power unit, blades, jigs, pretty much everything you can get for Shopsmith, and spent less than $500 for everything.