Is anyone still hanging onto their ShopSmith?

[ironhat]

I bought My SS back in '75 or '76 and it served me well while I used it mostly for home repair projects. I have kept it around more for sentimental reasons and talked myself into the logical reasons such as it's use as a disc sander, drill press and lathe (I have tools but never got into turning). It sure occupies a large area and lifting it into the DP position is hard on some of my ailments I do see that they have a cylinder assist now). I'd sell it and replace it with a floor model DP and use the ancient Dunlap circ/ belt sander (motor hangs beneath) that was my Dad's but he instilled a healthy dose of 'never sell your stuff' in me - thanks, Dad, I think.

So, float me some opinons to further cloud the issue for me when you get a chance and I'll ponder them while I finish the porch swing.

[gad5264]

I don't have one of these but my uncle does and he says he will never part with it. Here in Columbus there seems to be one or two of them on CL every week or so.

[LCHIEN]

the attractiveness of the SS (and some of it drawbacks, too) lie in its all in one status, saving space and expense (one motor shared by all tools)

Which seems to be of little real consequence once you have a shop full of single purpose tools (which take up space but save work becuase they can be individually set up and used back and forth without having to continually reconfigure).

So it would seem to me that you should sell it unless of course you are sentimentally attached to it which brings us full circle back to the original question.

[padboy]

Shopsmith

I have an old basic SS from the time when they were made by Magna(the originators of this tool). My model is an ER10 and it is made of cast iron! SS is now made of aluminum(aluminium for Rod K) and has many improvements over mine such as rack & pinion table raising and on-the-go variable speed change.
I am planning to keep mine at least forever. There is a company(in Texas I think) that sells parts and rebuilds these machines as they now have somewhat of a cult following.
Happy Trails!
Fred

[LinuxRandal]

My father has always wanted one, and mom says she will buy him one when he cleans out his "shop" (OLD computers, back to his original XT, leather work, some wood working (hacked together stuff), etc, in one space).

I wanted to put some tools in their garage sale (upgraded things, things I no longer use, etc). Dad, FREAKED. "You NEVER get rid of tools son!"

Gonna have to have my own garage sale, because my shop is turning into his as I upgrade/replace things (or eliminate hobbies). His bench has been clean/usable twice since they moved into the new house. (between 3 and 5 years ago). I went over there to help, and couldn't find ANYTHING I needed. Keeping everything is just Hoarding, which I believe is considered a psychological disorder. Sell it if you don't use it. If you have all the tools it was supposed to be, then use the money to buy wood.

[gwyneth]

So, float me some opinons to further cloud the issue for me when you get a chance and I'll ponder them while I finish the porch swing.

In Nick Engler's "Workbenches and Shop Furniture", he shows a picture of one converted to a "sanding station"--by attaching belt sander, disc sander and drum sander. The purpose of the picture was to show the stand, so there weren't any instructions, but according to the caption "The result is a variable-speed sanding station that's more versatile than the best commercial sanders."

[ironhat]

In Nick Engler's "Workbenches and Shop Furniture", he shows a picture of one converted to a "sanding station"--by attaching belt sander, disc sander and drum sander. The purpose of the picture was to show the stand, so there weren't any instructions, but according to the caption "The result is a variable-speed sanding station that's more versatile than the best commercial sanders."

Maybe I'd be further ahead to get rid of the old Dunlap sander (built like a tank) and buy a used belt sander (and coupler) for the SS and learn to turn some pieces - haven't done that since the late '60's!! Anyone want the Dunlap - for FREE!! ?

[sparkeyjames]

Seems that around here there is always a ShopSmith or two on sale on craigslist. I just ran a search for shop smith on CL and just since May 28 there have been 8 adds for SS. Many ancient models and one that looks almost brand new with many attachments.

[siliconbauhaus]

oooh.....free gear

er how big is it mate?

[headhunter636]

I've drooled over many Shopsmiths when I visited a Shopsmith store in Kansas City. I liked what it had to offer but it just seemed like a lot of work to set it up only to change it when you wanted a different tool. A friend of mines dad has one and he still loves it, says its dead on and worth every penny.

I don't know if i'd buy one now but they still hold a place on my wishlist.

Dave

[docrowan]

I've got two sets of "handyman" encyclopedias from the mid to late 60's. Both of them have Shop Smith's featured in a number of the project articles. At one time, I would have really loved to have one, but I can't afford the price tag for them. I don't like debt, especially for something which is essentially a hobby for me. I can accumulate bench top tools that accomplish the same thing slowly and enjoy working with them while I save up the money for the next tool. However, if I ran across an unbelievable deal on a Shop Smith, I'd snatch it up just so I could play with it.

Having said that, I'm not one to hang on to tools. I've only been working with wood for a few years, so I have no problem in buying a HF cheapie to start with, learning how to use it, then selling it to upgrade to a Ryobi, and maybe even upgrading again after that.

[L. D. Jeffries]

I had one back in the early 70's, but had to sell it when we moved overseas. Great tool with one exception: it was time consuming to have to realign it after every operation (that is changing from drilling a bore hole to a saw table, etc.), other than that I really like it, for the small footprint and the verisility it offered.

[jbalders]

I wound up with my Dad's '84 SS. I only use it for a drill press, disc sander, lathe and bandsaw.

I think that the first three are some of the best uses for it, and I don't wind up converting back and forth too much, since they're normally at different stages of whatever I'm working on. The table saw and router functions are sub-par and seem like a kludge, in my opinion. The Bandsaw is OK for an 11" , but has some limitations too. I haven't seen or used any of the other functions (jointer, plane, moulder), so I can't comment.

If it's not in the way and/or has sentimental value, I'd say keep it. Otherwise, you may want to consider selling it on CL and getting some single-purpose tools to replace three functions you use.

[goslin23]

When I decided to get back into the woodworking hobby, a SS was something I looked into quite a bit. Then I saw the price tag for a new one..

I have seen a few on CL for sale for a decent price, but I have the room for multiple tools and prefer that kind of set up. If I see one for a great deal I'd still take it for some of it's unique functions though. If you have room for it, I'd say keep it.

-=gos=-

[Boomer_01]

I have a SS

My wife bought mine for me back in 1985. It has been an important part of my shop ever since. I use mine for several purposes....horizontal boring, lathe, disc sander, and drill press primarily. I agree that as I have gotten older raising the motor to vertical is more of a chore.

One of the best uses I have found for the machine as I added stand-alone tools is as a mobile workbench and table saw extension table. The SS is easy to move around and if you build a table top to fit over the miter table and end support it makes an easily adjusted work surface. I always mount my dado jig to the tables, which allows me to raise the jig to a comfortable height.

As a drill press and boring machine the SS is a good as anything I have used. I also bought a set of drum sanders and mount them in the drill press for sanding out band saw marks on curved aprons and such.

One final use that you may not have considered is to use it as a horizontal router for cutting mortises with straight bits. I built a jig with miter runners that sit in the miter table slots and a slide mechanism that allows the work piece to move horizontally and perpendicular to the bit. In the horizontal position the work piece is easy to control. The blade speed is pretty slow but the cuts are clean enough for a good fit up. The best part is it is fast and with the stops on the jig I can make exact repeats on as many pieces as I need to with a single set up.

I will never get rid of mine because its just too versatile if you look for new ways to use the unit and take advantage of what it does best.

Just my thoughts......

John