I have a ... (gasp!) ... Shopsmith!

[Dave Lehnert]

My Shopsmith is over 20 years old. That's how I got started in woodworking. I use the table saw without problem. Built a house full of furniture on a Mark V.
I buy my hardwood rough cut and use a Shopsmith pro planer. The planer is also over 20 years old and runs like brand new.
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[Bill Space]

Glad to see there are others here that see the value of the Shopsmith, at least when you can find them for $200 or less!

In my original post I forgot to mention the 12" disk sander...Love that...

The bang for the buck is pretty high with the SS when you can pick one up so cheap...

Forget I said that! Let's keep the demand down so I can buy at least one more some time soon...If I can find a way to shoehorn it in my shop. Like someone mentioned above, we all know there is never enough room in one's shop. Mine is about as full as it gets!

[Roy Nielsen]

I'm guilty, too. A few years ago, I found a early 80's 500 with bandsaw and jointer (and all the normal accessories), truly hardly used and well stored. Never used the saw, just don't like it. Also greatly appreciate the horizontal boring, sanding disk, bandsaw. Mixed results for lathe work, pretty decent for between centers turning, have some vibration when turning with only a chuck.

[Robert Keeney]

I've had a Shopsmith since 1981. Being in the military and moving every year or two it was the perfect solution for me.

[Tim Leiter]

I have a SS 10ER that I purchased a few years ago and cleaned/repainted, had a lot of fun refurbishing it. I am using it as a dedicated pen blank drilling rig and have used it for spindle turning and horizontal boring. I have many stand-alone shop tools but have always wanted a Shopsmith, just because I think they are so cool........Tim.

[Mike Cutler]

I used on once many years ago. We were renting a house in Charlotte and there was one in a shed on the property.
Found all the parts, the book, set it up and built a couple of stereo cabinets, speaker enclosures, a futon frame, and a low coffee table with it.
I've read the slams it receives, and it did have it's limitation, but it cut the material four square, located dowel holes accurately. At the end of the day that's the most important thing.
It the person, not the tool, that is usually the limiting factor.

[Matt Ranum]

I have a SS 10ER that I purchased a few years ago and cleaned/repainted, had a lot of fun refurbishing it. I am using it as a dedicated pen blank drilling rig and have used it for spindle turning and horizontal boring. I have many stand-alone shop tools but have always wanted a Shopsmith, just because I think they are so cool........Tim.

I have 2 of those old cast iron tanks! One I reconditioned, converted it to a variable speed DC drive and use it as a dedicated lathe. The other is either a drill press or a horizontal sander. I have a lot of stand alone machines but really like the versatility of them.

[Robert Keeney]

Some Shopsmith inks you might find interesting.

Shopsmith Forum
New Shopsmith Owner Info
Everything Mark 5 / V - Technical Info
Shopsmith Academy (Lots of Videos)
Product Manuals
YouTube Videos
Shopsmith Tool Hunter Blog
Built With A Shopsmith
My Pinterest Shopsmith Board
The Shopsmith User Group Forum (Allows you to sell Shopsmith Tools)
Shopsmith Users Yahoo
Shopsmith 10ER Users Yahoo
eBay Shopsmith Search

[Craig Behnke]

Double gasp, I have a Shopsmith, and a Felder saw/shaper. Now, that's a combo.

Rick Potter

agree, that is the strangest shop tool combination i've ever heard of,....and i'm 100% jealous of your Felder. i'd love to see a picture of how those 2 machines sit in the shop.

[Aleks Hunter]

Nothing really wrong with a shopsmith at all. Except possibly that over time parts will become harder to come by. As an all in one it is fairly easily convertible and fairly sturdy for a basement or garage hobbyist's shop. In fact the horizontal borer setup is pretty sweet. Woodworking as a hobby is not about having the latest and greatest machines. Some of the best woodworkers out there use some pretty primitive setups. I have a friend who makes windsor chairs and he turns out uniform spindles with a drawknife and spokeshave on a shaving horse as fast as I can on my minimax lathe. A little south of me The guys at Froggy Bottom guitars build instruments that professional musicians often wait more than a year to get and pay prices well into five figures. In their shop there are no exotic machines, but they do have some mighty nice hand tools and fantastic shop made jigs. Woodworking is not so much about the tools as it is the woodworker.

[Roy Nielsen]

Heath,

How is the 10ER as a lathe? Do you have experience with a good dedicated lathe that you can compare it? I've been thinking of trying to find one and potentially convert to variable speed DC motor to replace my 500. It looks like with a couple additions that I could do everything that I care to do on a SS on an ER (no table saw).

Thanks,
Roy

[Bruce MANNING]

I love my Shopsmith. I have a 520 with a double tilt uprade an a Powerpro headstock wired for 220V (2hp) and most of the attachments including the bandsaw, jointer, jig saw, belt sander. With the Powerpro upgrade it can be an effective shaper at 10000 rpm or turn big stuff at 250 rpm. With a shop built outfeed table the table saw is safe and works fine - my blade and fence are aligned to within two thousands. Might not be for everybody but I am retired and like to tinker. I make furniture and I can do everything I need to make fine reproduction furniture with it.

[Rick Markham]

There's a pretty famous female furniture maker (who's name escapes me now) that has for several decades built all of her works on a Shopsmith. I've never owned one, however, they have always piqued my curiosity.

[Mike Heidrick]

I own a shop smith and used the drill press and horizontal drilling functions to build 3 JoeCNC CastCNC setups with it before getting a mill. I also have a 6X48 SS/Magna sander on the power station I use about every time I am in the shop. I am also looking for a SS bandsaw cheap but have also tried to sell the main machine. They definitely have their place.

[Michael Schapansky]

My dad gave me his. It has been set up as a bandsaw and 12" disk sander for a few years now. I really need a bigger, powerful bandsaw.