Shopsmith (the company) up for sale or closing operations after 70 years

[dbhost]

With the ongoing difficulty in the white collar job market, skilled trades are seeing an upswing, young people are fearful of an automated future they won't fit into so they are looking for ways for them to have something to provide for themselves so they can have a future, woodworking, carpentry can certainly be that to the right kids... The trades NEVER should have been abandoned by our education system. I know a good number of young adults under 30 that are absolutely interested and pursuing woodworking, but it is because their fathers spent time with them in the shop when they were younger, they aren't getting it from the school, they are going to have to get it from home...

[Jim Frye]

It's very rare to find anyone under the age of thirty or so, who is interested in woodworking, or for that matter most crafts.

My children have no creative hobbies with the exception of my DIL who crochets. My son who works in engineering will simply 3D print things he cannot buy. My SIL has no hobbies with the exception of golf. The issue for them is that they all work so many hours there is very little time for a hobby, even though they could afford one. The Grandkids are still in their education process to have a hobby. I fully expect the contents of my workshop to end up in an estate sale when I am gone. I will be 80 next year and have no expectation of the shop staying in the family after I am gone.

[leehljp]

[QUOTE=cwsmith;n863141]Sad to hear, but this has become the way of our world today.

It's very rare to find anyone under the age of thirty or so, who is interested in woodworking, or for that matter most crafts./QUOTE]

Agreed. I have 8 grandsons ages 10 to 28 and equally separate in years. Only 1 has any woodworking IQ.
That one grandson (age 20) that has the knack for woodworking, has a lathe, can do electrical work, welding, and although having a full scholarship through his university of choice, is going though National Guard while in college. Between his Freshman and sophomore year, was chosen to go to a month long training at West Point, in which he finished well! He is excellent in Marksmanship too!

I don't know what he is going to do, but he certainly has unusual abilities in numerous fields. He helped his aunt rebuild a fence that had several sections burned down last fall. He works hard at what ever he does and looks beyond the surface. He re-floored his mom and dad's house when he was 16 - with his dad being the gofer. He lives 2 1/2 hours from his grandpa and Grandma (Linda and Me) but he comes and helps several times a year, and comes to learn too.

I HAVE ONE that loves to work with grandpa - and will inherit most of my tools!

[cwsmith]

Sad to hear, but this has become the way of our world today.

It's very rare to find anyone under the age of thirty or so, who is interested in woodworking, or for that matter most crafts.

I'm fast approaching 82 years of age, and I have a son and two grandson's who have absolutely no interest whatsoever. Likewise most of the young people I know are the same way.

I joke that it's like some alien paid us a visit and introduced cell phones to our technology for the purpose of weakening our race's ability to do anything for themselves.

[twistsol]

The company was purchased and restarted operations as of April 9th they announced they were at full production April 29th. I've received a couple of emails as an owner but haven't seen any announcements on the web.

[LCHIEN]

This too, on wikipedia

In September 2025, the company's owners posted a message on their website announcing they were suspending operations and looking for a new buyer to purchase the company.^[9] In January 2026, the company was purchased by a group named Shopsmith USA, headed by Andrew Deutsch.

I haven't seen any other details. The shopsmith website is working. But no announcements.

[twistsol]

And here we go again ... I don't know of any company that has died and been resurrected more times than ShopSmith. The link below gives a few details.

ShopSmith Reopens

[JamesDean19]

Oh, wow! This is sad!

[dbhost]

I love the concept of the ShopSmith, however I can NOT get over the idea of a tilting table instead of a tilting arbor. And all of the added bits and pieces such as the bandsaw, jointer, etc... are pretty small... I think with a bit more engineering to it. the SS could have evolved into a much more capable machine. Pretty darn capable as it is, and certainly for super constrained space wise shops absolutely unbeatable!

[LCHIEN]

I read Chrs' post and found this which he was apparently referring to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENZLMf9Cn2c

[twistsol]

The YouTube channel Mygrowthrings just reported that the company has been purchased. No further information though.

[leehljp]

I remember going into a few shops like that when I was young (7 or 8 or 9 Years old). As much as I liked mechanical things, I was intimidated by all the belts.

[LCHIEN]

Back on the subject of motors were expensive, one motor for the whole shop was the idea...

Turn of the century woodshop. Notice all the power tools were driven by belts connected to a single power source:


Like this jointer, you bought the jointer and the motor separately and jiggered up a stand.

[capncarl]

When Shopsmith was in its prime there were not many offerings for the homeowner type woodworker to purchase compact woodworking tools like the BT3. This woodworker had a small shed in the back yard, a 1 car garage or a basement. The larger table saws and jointers like a Powermatic or Delta were cost prohibitive and much larger than possible for his size shop. The compact size of the Shopsmith allowed the home woodworker to utilize his small space and still park a car or lawnmower or snowblower when not in use. He didn’t have to buy every tool at once, it could be his Christmas or birthday presents to himself for years to come. Having to swap tools to the powerhead was a small sacrifice to not having tools at all. I’ve known people that used an extra bedroom after the kids grew up for their woodworking shop with a shopsmith. It made sense at the time.

[JamesDean19]

This is the brand bandsaw I had! This is sad.