Shopsmith at Lowes?

[Mike Cruz]

You two are haters!

[David C. Roseman]

[snip]And a RAS demo? OMG I would be all over that one, even if it was at the local cafeteria.[snip]

I would join you, Aaron, just for the nostalgia! My first full-sized bench tool was a Craftsman RAS nearly 40 yrs ago. It's still going strong, now pretty much only used for cross-cuts on very long stock. But when it was all I had, I used it for every operation they promoted, including overhead routing, extensive ripping, of course, and even milling tongue and groove on the edges of wide boards using an auxiliary table!

I've never owned a Shopsmith, although I have an old Grizzly jig saw that's a clone of the early SS jig saw attachment. Had a woodworking friend with a SS who used it to make a beautiful dining room table and full set of chairs that I probably couldn't replicate with a shop full of dedicated machines. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to folks who have limited space or just prefer not to collect separate bench machines.

David

[Joe Tilson]

Just thinking for the past couple of day about this thread, and would apologize for sounding harsh yesterday. A pastor of ours said,"opinions are like noses everybody has one". Everybody is welcome to theirs, sorry for the harsh words.
Joe

[Rod Sheridan]

ShopSmiths are one of many combination machines.

Combination machines can be excellent choices for those of us with small shops, I happen to have 2 combination machines.

Having SS do a demonstation at Lowe's is interesting, I went to a demonstration at HD that was put on by a cutter manufacturer.

Very interesting demo, even the part where I asked about shaper cutters and was informed that they were obsolete.

Some after the demo conversation resulted in the person mailing me their shaper cutter catalogue and explaining that it was a week before Father's Day, and many people left with a router and some bits in a buggy, but no one left with a shaper in the buggy.........Had to laugh, a lesson in demo's and marketing...........Rod.

[Mike Wilkins]

It's been awhile, but the local Lowes here in Greenville, NC had a Shopsmith demo right as you walk in the front door. They may have been trying to get folks to finance them through the Lowes credit card. I listened and watched for a while, but did not get into any conversations with the demo guys. These machines pop up all the time on the local C-list, and there was one in the local Habitat for Humanity resale store. Not my cup of java though.

[Rick Potter]

Frederick,

Just google shopsmith demo video, and you will find all you need. Not in person, but a good second choice. I just tried it.

Rick Potter

[glenn bradley]

I'll just add that I always thought a Shopsmith would be an ideal tool for the hand tool woodworker that wants the use of a power tool now and then.

Heyyyy, that's a very good idea.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks Rick!
Fred