guy@slu70.UUCP (Guy M. Smith) (11/08/85)
Having depended primarily on hand tools for some time (with the exception of a router, sabre saw and drill) I'm considering purchasing some larger power tools to reduce some of the drudgery involved in cutting large pieces of wood (especially ripping) as well as turning and other things that pretty much require power tools. As purchasing a separate table saw, jointer, lathe, etc., requires considerable space as well as expense, I'm considering a Shopsmith. Has anyone had experience with them. Is the vers- atility worth the compromises in individual functions relative to stand- alone equipment. I'm particularly concerned with such things as the accuracy of the rip fence and the planer table.
jrm@cbuxc.UUCP (John Miller) (11/11/85)
> Having depended primarily on hand tools for some time (with the exception > of a router, sabre saw and drill) I'm considering purchasing some larger > power tools to reduce some of the drudgery involved in cutting large > pieces of wood (especially ripping) as well as turning and other things > that pretty much require power tools. As purchasing a separate table saw, > jointer, lathe, etc., requires considerable space as well as expense, I'm > considering a Shopsmith..... I have a Shopsmith. I have had no problems with accuracy - it can be set up to be very accurate and consistent. However, I have some reservations about the machine and some praises, I will summarize below: - as a lath, it is not too bad, it has some nice features like variable speed, bowl turning off the end, etc. My biggest problem with it is the weight, it jumps around if I attempt to turn something large. - as a horizontal drilling machine, it works very well, but, a doweling jig and a hand drill works just as well. - as a disc sander, it can't be beat - it does some real neat stuff, esp. the table which can be moved in all 3 planes. - as a drill press, it is very good for wood, but look out for drilling holes in metal > 3/8" in diameter. The machine cannot be slowed down enough and it again is too light - it jumps around. - as a table saw - it is a real poop. Yes it is accurate, but set up time is terrible and the saw table size is way too small (note that they are now selling a Mark V Pro to address this problem - but it still too small). - as a shaper (optional attachment), it is OK, but still a bit too light and too slow. I get a rough cut in some cases esp. hardwood. - the jig saw attachment works well, I like the variable speed, but the "neck" size is limited (the overarm to saw blade clearance). - the jointer attachement works well, but I do have problems with long boards, it is too short (22"). - I have not purchased the bandsaw because of it's size, I consider 14" to be a minimum. In summary, I bought mine as a demo, all my attachments except the jig saw were bought used (the jig saw was on sale). I bought a 1950's Sears 10" table saw (which I will NEVER give up) to compensate for the shopsmith table saw and I have a separate drill press for drilling metal. I will probably purchase a floor model bandsaw in the future. Or build one of the Giliom (sp) kits - bty has anyone build one of these kits? I will keep my shopsmith because of it's strong points, but, if I ever win the lottery, I would probably give it away to some aspiring woodworker. j.r. miller, at&t bell labs, columbus, oh, us of a
yates@lll-crg.ARpA (Kim Yates) (11/16/85)
Someone asked about Gilliom Manufacturing's kit tools. Years ago when I was a poor student and had to give back to my father-in-law the table saw I was using, I ordered the 10" tilting arbor table saw and the lathe. What a remarkable collection of parts I received! Every last screw, bolt, cotter pin was included with the major parts, all the metal and electrical stuff. Plans were very well done and everything separated into little labelled packages. Putting the kits together took patience, care and many hours of work. As you can imagine, the most difficult thing was cutting and assembling the parts with accuracy. You need a good table saw to cut parts for the arbor, and table, but after that you can (I did) bootstrap the operation by screwing the top directly to the arbor and mounting on a simple frame. The tools themselves were remarkably serviceable for what they cost. These are tools with no pretensions, and as beggars can't be choosers I was happy enough. Flimsier, less rigid than good metal ones. I did all my fine work with hand tools anyway. The worst part was always having to use a metal square to set up the rip fence. Always. Every time. And again... I finally got rid of them some time ago. I actually made a profit on them! --Macho Sisu