jsc@nbires.UUCP (Steven Carnes) (02/23/84)
Sometime back, I sent away for literature on the Shopsmith Mark V home wood-
working system. It's pretty expensive, and I didn't go for it at the time.
Since then, they've sent me their woodworking "magazine" (advertisement,
really) every month, and flyers telling me of demonstrations of the product in
my area.
My question is: is this system worth it? Does anybody have one and use it on
a regular basis? Would I be better off looking for good, used equipment and
building up my shop with separate table saws, joiners, lathes, etc.?
Any and all answers are appreciated. Even hearsay evidence is ok. Mail or net
as you please.
Steve Carnes
{allegra,ucbvax}!nbires!jsc
"On the shores of Hayden Lake--the sixth Great Lake"ell@linus.UUCP (Edward L. Lafferty) (02/27/84)
Combination machines very seldom will perform as well as machines built for a particular operation. The Shopsmith is a good lathe but a pretty poor table saw. Since the most important woodworking tool is the table saw, you will not very satisfied with Shopsmith for long unless you intend to do only very small work and not very often. The table is small and tilts rather than the arbor as on a normal table saw. For long boards you can't do an angle crosscut because the ceiling or floor get in the way. It is also a pain to change attachments and convert the machine to do the various things. You would like to be able to go from the saw to drill press and back again. With a combination machine you plan your operations so as not to make many changes. Generally, used tools will be a better buy. They are probably old and well made, although you have to be careful that they are accurate and have not been damaged. If you are really cramped for space then a combination tool is OK but you should look at the other choices. They cost more but will be more satisfying in the long run. Better combinations are available, like a jointer, planer and saw. These are much more important tools than a lathe and drill press.
snafu@ihuxi.UUCP (Dave Wallis) (02/27/84)
The Shopsmith combination shop tool (as of a few years ago) is a well
made, good precision tool. It combines: table saw, wood lathe, drill
press and boring tool into a single unit. All of the parts are die
cast or drop forged, and they can last for a good many years. The
biggest advantage to it is that it takes up very little floor space if
you are limited to a small shop area. The major disadvantage is that
you spend a lot of time changing the setup as you move from one tool
to another. My recomendation (preference) is to buy separate power
tools unless space is a prime consideration.
--
Dave Wallis
ihnp4!ihuxi!snafu
AT&T Technologies, Inc.
(312) 979-5894emma@uw-june (Joe Pfeiffer) (02/28/84)
I asked my father (a woodworker by hobby who owns a Shopsmith) this question. His response was the single word "unflattering", and he declined to elaborate. I have noticed that the Shopsmith gets used very rarely, and only as a lathe. -Joe P.
dthk@mhuxd.UUCP (hawkins) (02/29/84)
Granted, a combination machine can't do all the things that separate ones can. But for a small shop, you get a lot of flexibility without taking up too much space. And the price is probably less than what you would pay for all the machines individually. I just bought a Shopsmith and so far am VERY PLEASED with it. I was impressed by the precision of the machine and also all the safety features provided. I'm still just learning how to use the various things, so can't comment much from experience. The documentation, however, is EXCELLENT-- lavishly illustrated with lots of detail. If you buy it from a demo (at a mall, etc.), you save about $150 off their $1200 direct-order price. Don Hawkins AT&T-Bell Labs Murray Hill, NJ (201)-582-6517 mhuxd!dthk