So this last winter i bought a Shopsmith from a guy off Craigslist and it turned out I knew him from church basketball. Got a pretty decent deal on it but it's not the best deal I've seen. It's a 2005 model so not a 30 year old machine and runs strong. Came with a few extras like a talon chuck and nice wood turning chisels. I long debated the situation and before i forked over the money made sure that I wanted to commit to this machine and not stationary machines. Most had to do with the space issue; I was working in a old International school bus so it really was perfect. But now I am in a nice heated garage as of about three weeks ago and loving it. I have a lot more room and had to again ponder my commitment to Shopsmith products. I am trying to start a smaller wood shop side business and had to decide whether I go buy all new stationary equipment or stick with Shopsmith and buy some accessories and upgrades to sup up my already existing tools. I decided to stick with Shopsmith because i already seen the tool is very accurate and diverse and I wanted to be a good steward of what I already have. I am able to do all that I could with Stationary tools and with the same accuracy. No doubt it has draw backs, like any tool ,but overall I love the machine. I have ordered the Incra fence and miter 5000 sled and can't wait to get that set up. I am maybe not as fast as i was on stationary machines but I've liked the slower pace in the shop. I guess I am wondering about the thought of others experience with Shopsmith tools and pros and cons others have had. Success stories and such. There seems to be so much negativity surrounding Shopsmith ,but I have found in my own reading that it tends to be from people who don't have experience with the tool. Anyway happy to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
Shopsmith Is It Really That Bad of a Set-Up?
akmiller907
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I see this is quite old, but if you don't mind I'll add my two cents worth. I have owned two SS. The first was a brand new Model 510, the second was a little bit older that I bought used, so maybe a Model 500? The newer unit had some much better features and I'm sure the newest model is superior yet. Wow, what a price increase. My first new unit was purchased in 1986 so thirty years ago. I found that with taking time and using accurate setup equipment I could adjust the tables, fence, etc. to be very accurate and once adjusted were reliable. Like many folks I wondered about the changing from one setup to another. One evening I was working and my middle daughter was keeping me company. I had a stopwatch handy, she was playing with it. I needed to go from vertical drill press to table saw for a compound bore and cut. I told her when to start and when to stop. I hated this piece of information, three minutes and twenty seconds! Knowing that makes a person feel lazy if they decide they will stop and do it tomorrow. I think the ability to perform a compound cut, sand, bore in one setup cannot be readily copied on multiple other pieces of equipment.
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I have upgraded a 500 to a digital Mark VII, show me another tool that has that kind of upgradablity or a saw with digital speed control. No other saw on the market can run an 8" dado blade at 6k or more (some blades are rated to 7.5K) producing a cut as smooth as glass or slow it down to not melt plastic. Set an angle to cut and use the same setup to drill or bisquit the end no problem. You can find 50 year old used machines and the upgrade takes just a few hours and you have a machine your great grand children will be using.
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Over 1 million Shopsmith machines have been sold over the past 60+ years and from the 60's every machine can still be repaired and upgraded if something is wrong, they were not built to be disposable. Show me another tool that can make that claim. The reason "many" machines are for sale is because people die and their descendants have no idea what they are or have no interest in woodworking.
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I think that used machines are much like the used one I bought while living in Seattle. The fellow's father had bought it for use in retirement. Over $7,000 worth for $1,500 and I think I only had to pay shipping from Sacramento as the fellow had a business with a location there. The jig saw had never been used or had oil installed. I had duplicates and triplicates of many items. So I think maybe sometimes the equipment was purchased and used very little, somebody died or didn't like it.
The original dust collector I had was great, but a wood chunk took out the squirrel cage. The replacement was stronger by having fewer vanes, it was much louder in use. However, being able to just drop the bag, tie it off and put it out with the trash was very convenient and better, in my opinion, than using a shopvac. One other feature, and other equipment may offer it as well, are the blank plastic plates for thin cuts, dados. I had several of those set up so that I didn't have to cut a new one all the time, just swap it out and go.
The original dust collector I had was great, but a wood chunk took out the squirrel cage. The replacement was stronger by having fewer vanes, it was much louder in use. However, being able to just drop the bag, tie it off and put it out with the trash was very convenient and better, in my opinion, than using a shopvac. One other feature, and other equipment may offer it as well, are the blank plastic plates for thin cuts, dados. I had several of those set up so that I didn't have to cut a new one all the time, just swap it out and go.
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I usually end up with duplicates when I buy an accessory at a garage sale and the seller has no idea what it is so they sell everything as a package. I take the duplicate stuff and sell on eBay to help pay the cost of what I purchased, I needed one shaper cutter and the seller sold me every shaper cutter (27), shaper fence, 2 router chucks, shaper arbors and some other stuff for $75, one cutter sells for $19 plus shipping. When I upgraded to the digital motor with dual tilt ($1,200 at the time), I sold the parts I removed for almost $800 profit so the upgrade was very cheap. I also did this for my 500 to 510 upgrade, and 510 to 520.
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6,267 Posts
I started my woodworking with an old model 10ER Shopsmith that I bought 40 years ago for $100. I really got my money's worth out of that machine. I used it for 2 years and sold it for $100 to a friend who used it for about 6 months. He really didn't like woodworking, so he sold it back to me for $100. I used it to fix up my house and make projects around the house. I finally sold it for good for $100 and moved up to stationary machines. I'm sorta a tool junkie, and wish I had kept the SS. If I find another one, I will get it, but it probably will cost more than $100.
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220 Posts
This man can sell it…hahah
A ShopSmith can do anything the individual tools can do.
It helps knowing up front, that there is going to be more change over to get that done. With all stationary tools you can make a saw cut, go the the drill press, or sander do a function, then if you go back to the TS, your set up will still be there. Not so much with a SS.
In terms of teaching a noob woodworking, a ShopSmith is a much better system to teach a person to plan their work flow. I believe if you can do that, everything else falls into place.
It helps knowing up front, that there is going to be more change over to get that done. With all stationary tools you can make a saw cut, go the the drill press, or sander do a function, then if you go back to the TS, your set up will still be there. Not so much with a SS.
In terms of teaching a noob woodworking, a ShopSmith is a much better system to teach a person to plan their work flow. I believe if you can do that, everything else falls into place.
Back when I was with them 82 through 85 the guy who had been, and was after I left the number one seller of Shop Smiths was Harry Manaois he mostly did the North East states. I had the pleasure of helping him at a Mall show on 2 different weekends, and he was the guy that pretty much made up "the demo" That was taught in less than 2 days to all of the sales guys that went out to sell in Shopping Malls across America. Some were smooth with it, Harry was magical. That silk throated guy had you digging in your own pocket for loose change…
That was on the MK V, predecessor to the MK VII, so it was interesting to watch. They changed the machine a bit, but the pitch was so good, they kept it the same.
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2,551 Posts
I have a SS that I got way way back. I think it is a Mark V. I have not had problems with the tool. I still have mine and use it for different tasks every now and again. I don't have a speed increasing attachment so I don't use the shaper cutters.
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