Shopsmith

[MikeR]

I have the opportunity to get a Shopsmith for $150. My intention is to basically use it as a lathe to teach myself how to use it, then if it turns out that I have any skills at all, will buy a stand alone unit.

I guess that most of these 'all purpose' tools are usually not terribly good at any specific task but am wondering what the collective intelligence is about my using it to learn on.

Thanks for any insight.

Cheers,

MikeR

[Russianwolf]

which model is it.

some are good, some aren't worth the parts.

[Papa]

Shopsmith

If that's a Mark 5, snap it up at that price. I've had one for about twenty years, and it's served me well. I bought it used, and it came with a bandsaw and jointer. I still use both (with good results) and I use it as my primary lathe. It's also a useful 12" disk sander, if you have the attachment. You can get all sorts of support and spare parts from Shopsmith.com, and ebay always several pages of parted out machines and attachments.

Warren Bell (Papa)