Quick Poll
While combination woodworking machines have long been the norm in European shops, the one combination machine that has been sold for decades in the United States has been the Shopsmith. It’s touted as the Swiss Army Knife of woodworking machines, with the current model - the Mark V - able to serve as a table saw, drill press, disc sander and lathe right out of the box.
While, at first glance, it might seem like the perfect tool for a cramped woodworking shop, opinions about the tool run the gamit from deep, abiding love to an intense loathing.
So, this week’s poll is trying to determine whether or not you own a Shopsmith, and what your thoughts are about this interesting woodworking machine.
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I figured I would justify my vote. I voted “never have one [Shopsmith], never will,” not because I have an intense loathing for them, but I do have three objections to multi-use machines. First is I don’t think they can be inherently accurate enough for fine joinery, by their very nature. Second, my work style is to run one process and then flit to the next, often coming back to the first. Multi-machines mean multi-setups. Lastly, I have found the machines to small — table saw table too small, jointer table too small, etc.
Comment by Mack — August 31, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
Mack - Now, that’s what I’m looking for - some awesome reasons ‘why’ you arrive at your choice.
I know it looks like the combination sports car/dump truck, but I’d think it might be easy to do a lot of things OK, it’s probably really difficult to do everything well…
Comment by Tom — August 31, 2008 @ 6:28 pm
I agree with Mac above.
Comment by John Gray — September 1, 2008 @ 12:14 am
owned a shopsmith(20 years) simply outgrew it. sold it and purchased a new cabinet saw, lathe and a band saw. the shopsmith served its purpose but it became a pain in the backside for many reasons, but accuracy and repeatability was a big challenge.
Comment by robert miller — September 1, 2008 @ 12:34 am
My wife found my Shopsmith at a estate sale 15 years ago for $150 including all original paperwork plus a bunch of misc. w/w tools and attachments.It is a 10-ER circa. 1948 and very heavy.I’ve used it for mortising-vert. & horz.,sanding,turning,sharpening,polishing,(w/homemade leather and sandpaper discs).It is a well built machine. I’ve found it to be very useful despite being a large space taking tool. But it is on wheels.I think it’s peachy!
Comment by Tom — September 1, 2008 @ 5:59 am