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

[Jeff Erbele]

I have never had one but they are listed like crazy on craigslist around here.

In 1979 I saw a traveling ShopSmith demo at the local mall. It was an impressive presentation and leads one to believe that this is the only wood shop machine one will ever need. I think there is a certain percentage of people that are not wood workers and at some point in the presentation decide they want to be. Once they unpack theirs and set it up the bright lights and pony show does not pop out of the box. They are on their own and not quite sure how do do some things, or maybe most things. There is a certain percentage that got caught up in the moment.

By the way I bought one after that show, but just out of college, just started my first real job, just bought a house and needed everything to furnish it, remodel some things, needed to upgrade the fridge and range, needed a fridge etc. etc. and had not yet established a credit rating, I somehow managed to address all those needs and saved every nickel for maybe 6-8 months in order to buy one. I was single, had a good job and worked 579 hours overtime and double time in the first year, and only started in May.

I never regretted it and was glad to have it and used it a lot. I had to sell it in the yer 2000 because of moving, needing the money, not having time to use it or the space for it. I sold it to my cousin. Last summer I once again had a place to use it and the need for it. i called him and ask him if he used it or if it was collecting dust and wanted to sell it. He said no, I use it all the time and taught my boys wood working and turning, but he would sell it back to me if I really wanted it. I said no keep it, he was 4 states away and it seems like one can always find a couple on CL almost all the time.

When i was shopping I found in a lot of cases the guy that owned and used it had past away and someone in the family was selling it. In other cases people were moving. I think i paid about $24-2,500 for mine in 1979 and sold it for $800 in 2000. Last summer i bought one for $650 and it came with the jointer, the router attachment, a dadoo set and a few extras, plus for another $100 the guy sold me a Foley Belsaw Sharpal which retails for $900; but only if I took everything for $750 total. Ya man, I'll take your tough deal. ...For me they were worth more and I would have considered maybe paying up to a $1,000 as his stuff was in good condition compared to some I saw on CL. I don't know how some machines get in that shape. The must store them in a coral with the livestock and drop them off their pickup several times, than back into them with a tractor and then set a leaking 12 volt car battery on them. Sure that is a bit of an exaggeration but there is some junk out there.

As far as I can see now, I think I will always want and have a Shop Smith. For what it does, it does not take up a lot of room and it does some things very well, especially horizontal boring and drilling. The table saw has limitations but works find for some things. Gutting a 45 on a long piece of stock in either direction (swivel the miter gauge or tilting the table) is a severe limitation.

I see nothing wrong with being a Shop Smith owner and am proud to be one. And I am not one to tolerate or own junk in tools or machines. As an owner, I have some advantages over craftsmen that don't have one, but that doesn't matter. What matters is for what it cost and does, it is worthy of the real estate it takes in my shop. What matters is i use it and it is a good solution for some needs.

[Jeff Erbele]

Many years ago I bought an SS from a neighbor who claimed financial difficulty and I paid $700. It had "everything" whatever that means. In the year I had it I don't think I ever made a successful use of any function. It required more fussing than I was capable of. So I sold the SS (luckily) for $700 and bought a Kity K5 combination machine. The Kity was not wonderful, but it was workable and I built decent furniture with it. Furthermore it could be wheeled into a corner so my daughters car could still fit in the garage. The Kity was donated to Habitat and I hope it is still in use. The Kity was replaced by a Euroshop (now MiniMax) multifunction, and for those confined to a small shop, using it is akin to having arrived......

RE: Fussing. Changing from one function to another is fairly easy, but early on I discovered i was constantly changing from one machine to another. I got pretty good at planning my work, doing all of one type of operation, say sawing, before converting to say sanding.
Still, it is true, there is some of that, no matter how hard one trys to minimize it. That is a weakness or a Con when considering the Pro's & Con's.

[Jeff Erbele]

The only thing better than a Shopsmith is multiple Shopsmiths. I have 4. One Mark 5 (Model 500 that I've cut 14" off the tubes to make it a "shorty"). Three Model 10ERs (circa 1948-1952, predating the Mark 5, all cast iron and very heavy). One ER is a "dedicated" drill press. Another ER is "dedicated" to horizontal use - disk sander, lathe, etc. The third ER is in parts waiting on restoration. (I put "dedicated" in quotes because while I treat them as being dedicated to those purposes, in a bind they can always be changed over to another function.)

Sure, there are some drawbacks. The table saw function, and changeovers being the two most mentioned. But, what you get in return is one amazing tool. Scratch that. What you get in return is 4 amazing tools and one useable tool all in one machine. "But, it's just not accurate enough" you might say? Well, then do a proper alignment - just as you would do on any other tool. "Changeovers are too much fuss" you might say? Changeover only takes a second or two. What you mean is setup. And you have to go through that same setup for any other tool. You have to think about and plan your setups just as with any other tool - you just have to adjust HOW you think about setups. True, you don't have the convenience of setting up for the drill press, moving to the table saw, and then going back to the drill press with the exact same setup. So you have to plan accordingly. But there are also benefits. Once one function is setup accurately, you can sometimes carry that over to other functions. Use the table saw to make a miter cut at 45 degrees. Keep that same miter setting and drill holes for dowels that are exactly 90 degrees to your cut or switch out the saw blade for the disc sander and know that your disc sander has the exact same setup as your table saw. Once you figure out HOW to think about your setups and changeovers, they're no more of a fuss than standalone tools.

That being said, I don't use the table saw function all that much because I also have a standalone table saw with a much larger table along with a big outfeed table. I still use it for dadoes and as a secondary table saw. It's really great having that backup table saw if I need to make a cut but don't want to change my setup on my main saw. And with each additional Shopsmith I have, I have exponentially increased capabilities. With 3 useable Shopsmiths, I have 4 table saws, 3 disc sanders, 3 lathes, 3 vertical drill presses, 3 horizontal drill presses, etc. All in a 12'x24' sized shop.

I'd love to have a lot of standalone tools. But even if I had a 60'x60' shop and an unlimited budget, I would still make room for a couple Shopsmiths.

I agree and well said.