I’m a novice woodworker who will soon own a 200 plus year old farmhouse in Chester County, Pa. and I’m interested in getting a Shopsmith.
I have a chance to pick up a lightly used recent model for a good price.
The house does not need to be restored but will need maintainence, and I think this would be a good tool to own for such projects.
I am far from a dummy, am very mechanically skilled, but have minimal experience with a tool such as the Shopsmith.
Any info or comments would be helpful.
Thanks,Greg in Oakland Ca.
Replies
I think the shopsmith things are a poor compromise of a lot of tools, and they don't do anything particularly well.
What does it mean if you break a mirror with a rabbit's foot?
I think there have been several discussions about shopsmiths on the Knots forum. I'd start by doing a search there. If you do an advanced search you can sometimes find things.
Personally my knowledge ends with seeing the infomercial once.
The Shopsmith would be great for making bird houses or wooden reindeer, or other hobby type crap. I've got a buddy who would love to sell you his. Probably around $1200-$1500. For an amateur/hobbyist, that's probably not a bad investment. The band saw, drill press, and lathe are pretty strong, but the table saw design is very dysfunctional in my opinion, except maybe for smaller stock.
shopsmiths are a waste of space. they do alot but dont do anything very well and i think the table saw attachment is dangerous if you just want some tools for handyguy doit yourself stuff just go to sears and get some craftman tools or look up grizzly tool on the net
Horrible tool.way too compromising.
Buy the tools you need as you go......by the time you set up each crappy tool on it you could be half way finished with the project already.
Buy a good table saw!
Be uncompromised
Namaste
andy
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I concur with Andy. A good table saw and most importantly one with a good fence will last you forever and is a good base from which to build. The first question you need to ask yourself though is what type of work do you envision primarily doing. The answer to this question will lead you in the right direction. A table saw and a good router can accomplish a lot with lumber.
Shopsmith is like the Kirby Vacuum of shop equipment.
Ken Hill
Hmmm...you seem to have the same thread going on in General Discussions sectiom...
You seem to have stirred up quite a bit of response in the two threads concerning the Shopsmith! It is a shame that several have chosen to run down this fine tool. I have owned mine since 1978 and am quite pleased with it. To respond to all of the points raised would be quite lengthy but here are some things which you might wish to consider. Projects I have built with the Shopsmith include: A house addition with quite a few cabinets, a fireplace mantle and custom milled window trims. An office with bookcases and computer workstation areas. Several pieces of furniture, picture frames, a Murphy bed, car repair tools and countless other small items around the house. The table saw is used most, followed by the jointer and drill press. I usually mount the jointer at the same time with the saw. Swapping from setup to setup usually takes just a few seconds and never over a minute. I have learned to use the table saw in conjunction with two folding 6 feet long tables. I set one up on the infeed and the other on the outfeed when handling sheets of plywood.
I like the height of the table saw as I am fairly tall. It is at a much more comfortable height than "regular" table saws. The horizontal boring feature is something that is quite useful. Just get a 6 feet long (or longer) piece of stock requiring a large diameter hole bored lengthwise into one end and you will see what I mean! The sanding disc is the handiest tool for putting a quick edge on an axe or a landmower blade. You will be surprised how much the disc is used. The machine is easy to move and store out of the way. I store the attachments on the wall.
If customer service means anything, you might appreciate how your calls are handled when you call the factory. The first person who answers the phone will be knowlegeable on all of their models. I understand that they keep all of the models of their equipment handy so they can quickly look at just what you are describing over the phone. The people who take the phone calls have worked in the factory building the Shopsmiths. The only failure I have had in 25 years is the On/Off switch which I replaced about 10 years ago.
What I would suggest is that you get some hands-on experience with the machine. Go to http://www.shopsmith.com and check out the traveling woodworking acadamy. In these one-day sessions, you can meet other owners and get their imput. There is also opportunity to work with the tools. I think the cost is up to $40 for the day now, but is well worth it. It should give you a good idea if the machine is for you or not.
Hope this helps.
Mike
Im with you Mike. Ive had mine since 1987 and it was 5 yrs old when I bought it. Only trouble Ive had was the poly-v belt and thats not much considering the amount of time its been run. We almost always take it to the job for trim out, just like having the shop right there on the job.