Shopsmith - To buy or not to buy?

[messmaker]

I think Everett gave you some really good advise.I would never buy a Shopsmith new.

[Super Ry]

HA! Ya gotta be careful with that logic my friend - my wife caught on and now has her OWN little storage room out back of my shop. She tried to write "NO TOOLS ALLOWED" in the cement while we were finishing it. She and I think too much alike :) :) :7

[ThomasHe]

This is all great feedback…thanks everyone! The responses I’ve received have been very interesting and helpful.

I’ve also posed a few questions on a Shopsmith User Group site. Obviously, they are pretty loyal to the SS and most seem to be long-time users.

It sounds like the limitations/hurdles to using the SS are as follows…
- Change over time
- Price
- Tilting table top (instead of tilting blade)
- Adequate, but not great, table saw

Given my storage space limits (about 4’x6’ and some cabinet space), the SS is still a strong contender. However, I’d be curious how others would set-up their shop given the same size limitations.

Thanks again, everyone, for taking the time to respond! This has been very helpful.

Thomas

[dcarter636]

I had stayed out of this thread because I developed a strong prejudice against those all-in-one machines. We had seriously considered the Shop Smith about 25 years ago, until we realized how much time was involved in set ups, how much space was really needed to store all the gadgets, and just how limited the individual capabilities were. Instead we initially went with cheap ($80-$150 each) dedicated machines that allowed us to leave set ups intact with less stress on progressive batch processing. Neither my wife (she like to play with wood too) nor I have ever regretted that decision. That allowed us to learn what tools we really used/liked and then purchase full sized versions as the little ones went on to their reward.

A space 4' x 6' is adequate to store a contractor style table saw, a floor model drill press, a 14" band saw and a 20" scroll saw, you could store a 12" compound mitre saw and portable thickness planer on top of the table saw and perhaps fit in a smallish jointer too. Decompressing and dragging all that out and putting it back is a chore, but likely takes less time than all the changing to and fro on the SS.

[brent]

I started out in the garage and found you can store quite a few tools out there if you really work at it. I had a long bench along the back wall and the table saw would slide under part of it. I am too lazy to change back and forth between tools so never really considered a Shopsmith... but again... I am lazy.

[deirdre]

>A space 4' x 6' is adequate to store a contractor style
>table saw, a floor model drill press, a 14" band saw and a
>20" scroll saw

...it is?

I'd be hard pressed to put a contractor TS under a workbench in 4x6'.

[Sonny Edmonds]

At the last house I built her her own shed, about 3' X 16' long on the side of the house.
She had lots of room for decorations, and I had a frameing nailer. }>

:D

[link:home.att.net/~paul.edmonds/|Sonny Edmonds ]
"Precision Firewood Specialist"
God Bless America !
One Nation Under God!
"Lurkimus turdius orifus"

[dcarter636]

For some space challenged folks the table saw is their bench, a piece of particle board flopped on top makes a large reasonably flat work surface at a comfortable height. Though not particularly space limited or lacking work bench area I still like that for messy staining operations or when building large table tops or wide panels.

[stretch2187]

It's pretty easy, build your workbench taller than your tablesaw.

I was once a proud owner of an 8' x 8' shop (shed). In that shop I had a contractor tablesaw, planer, jointer, SCMS, and 30"x 84" workbench. I could work in that space with every tool being in position that I could use it. I am not a small person (6'6", 230lbs) and 8' x 8' was a space I could work in with all those tools. 4' x 6' is definitely adequate for storing multiple tools if you are moving them out to work with. Take advantage of your vertical space.

[Steve Wilson]

I have a very strong dislike for the Shopsmith. My dad had one, it almost killed me, and kept me from woodworking for 20 years or so. It ranks right up there as the worst tablesaw design in history. It's a moderately OK lathe, drillpress, and disk sander, other than that it's a boat anchor.

As for combination machines, the good ones are very, very good. I moved away from using separates and now use a Minimax CU350 (8.5' sliding table, tilting arbor shaper, 14" jointer/planer, mortiser) which is a very good combination machine, a much better fundimental design than the Shopsmith. If you design in 3 space you'll find that you can store separates in a surprisingly small amount of space, just takes a bit of creative thinking.