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From: toma@tekchips.UUCP (Tom Almy)
Newsgroups: net.rec.wood
Subject: Re: Shopsmith
Message-ID: <73@tekchips.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Aug-85 12:41:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekchips.73
Posted: Thu Aug  8 12:41:31 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Aug-85 01:01:07 EDT
References: <27e04fd2.a51@apollo.uucp>
Reply-To: toma@tekchips.UUCP (Tom Almy)
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 61
Summary: An owners happy experience



I bought my Shopsmith about a year ago, and wished I bought it years
ago!  Let's face it, it appears to be awfully expensive, but its
utility and quality more than make up for it.  I don't have any
add-on tools, but I am planning to buy the band saw sometime within
the next year.  I also own a Craftsman radial arm saw and jig saw
(the latter about 30 years old).  Also a wide variety of hand tools, 
powered and not.   Here are my comments about the different functions:

General--Speed control is a big win.  Sturdy and machined well, but I
wish the table was cast iron instead of aluminum.  Some operations
need extra bracing for accuracy, the experts at the store have lots
of tips, but no mention of this is made in the manuals.  Speaking of
which, if you are in an area with a factory store, the support is
great (a big selling point!).  They have free short classes as well
as reasonable cost hands-on 1 3 or 4 day classes.  Excellent set of
manuals come with the machine--includes a basic course on using the
Shopsmith.  They don't want you to fail -- their customers are their
best salespeople!

Table Saw-- I feel that this is its weakest function.  The table is
really too small for crosscutting, and the tilting table makes
beveling real tough.  But then I use my radial arm saw for that, and
it peforms the job better than a table saw would anyway (no flames,
please!).  If I didn't have a radial arm saw, I might have thought
more about the wisdom of a Shopsmith.  Adjusting the cutting depth by
moving the table up and down is a disadvantage because any extension
table(s) (btw, I bought an additional one) or rollers must be readjusted
as well.

On the plus side, its footprint is smaller than any **good** table
saw (with extensions) and it does a fine job of cutting sheets of plywood.
With a 5/8" arbor you can use standard (non-Shopsmith) blades and
accessories.  I have made my own table inserts.

Sander-- Nice big sanding disk.  Very flexible since you can use
just about any table-saw-like setup.  Can mount a disk on each side
(different grits).

Lathe-- Never used a lathe before; I even took their one day class
on how to turn wood.  Great fun.  Can't compare with other's except
it does seem to have greater capacity (esp. for bowls).  I think
tool rest could be easier to adjust and wider as well.

Drill Press-- Large capacity.  Uses the table saw's table so you can
tilt it and use the mitre gauge and rip fence to allign the work.
Disadvantage is that it is the most radical change of the five so
takes longest set-up time (and I tend to use this alot).

Horizontal boring machine-- Some may not count this as an extra tool
since it is the drill press lying horizontally with the table 
horizontal!  But boy is it a big win for me.  Great for drilling
dowel holes for gluing up table tops.  I do alot of this (I am
making some solid wood furniture), and this function was worth the
cost of the machine for me.


Conclusion -- Unless you have both lots of money (to buy professional
quality stationary tools) and lots of space, BUY IT!
(You also get a 30 day trial period--return it if you don't like it).