Should I buy this?

When I first started, I tried to find a shopsmith that was in decent shape for my first tool purchase. Had I found one in my area, in decent shape, I would have purchased it and been better off doing so. There is a great deal of knocks on cheap tools (btw shopsmith is not in that classification) but it is hard to avoid when you first become interested. Budgets don't allow most to purchase a good deal of top notch quality products when your shop is empty. You either buy cheap or you just simply don't do. A shopsmith is a better deal than buying a cheap tablesaw, bandsaw, drill press, etc. I purchased about 500 dollars in cheap tools at the onset. Some I learned to hate, but they taught me a great deal. They are in the hands of other new woodworkers now.

On the threads here, there are some very skilled woodworkers with a shopsmith as their primary tool. Use the search function on the upper right and you should get a number of blogs and forum topics on them. Get in touch with the members who post and you will get a great deal of assistance from these folks. The fact that your dad has one is a good thing. You have someone close to you that can help you with any of the quirks of setup. Even if you don't use is at a primary your whole life, you would have the potential for a 2nd dedicated table saw or have it permanently set up as a lathe, etc. that will keep its usefulness for a long time.

I don't know the availability in your area, if you see them frequently posted, work with the poster on lowering the price or look for another. If availability is limited, try to work it down a little. Seek your dad's help a little on this, I can't think of one shopsmith owner who doesn't like taking a new owner under the wing and teaching them a few things about it

Good luck,

David

Um, I vote no. Just my preference. I've never owned one myself but I know I prefer less set up time. I started seriously woodworking in a small 18'*18'garage on an extremely limited budget.in 2008. I did buy a few new tools in the beginning. But I quickly learned CL was a great source. One of my first awakening moments came in the middle of a small commission when my tiny craftsman TS burned out, within a day I picked up a Delta contractor saw for 75.00 and completed my job on time. From then on it has been one CL find after another. Now I even go to machine/tool auctions. I have also found a dislike for extensive set up tasks. 4 years later we run 3 shapers and a router table, 2 table saws, 3 sliding miter saws, 2 RAS saws. All this is for redundancy and to help minimize set up times. What we have is overkill for a hobby, but more to the point is a tight budget can go a long ways with patience and CL. If you can afford to drop 750.00 on this shopsmith, you are likely in better financial shape then what I was in when we first began. That sort of money can buy you a good quality ts on CL and likely a good used bench top planed. I have never owned a jointed myself and we manage very efficiently without the jointed.

If you just want to make small pieces like boxes and gift
type items, a Shopsmith is adequate.

If you are looking to do casework, you'll need something
else to cut out sheet goods and square large panels. The
Shopsmith table saw has design features that make it
awkward for working on wood parts that weigh more than
a few pounds.

So… it really depends on what you want to do. A shopsmith
won't serve especially well in building cabinets and bookshelves
but for making chairs and other open-framed mortise and tenon
furniture it's a serviceable joinery and turning machine.