Shopsmith Forums

paulrussell wrote:A bit of an aside - I have a hard time feeling too bad about my health. It is what it is, and although the limitations are considerable, if not for my disability I wouldn't have the time for this wonderful passtime.

Well said. It's not so much what you're confronted with, it's how you deal with it. Sounds like you are doing well.

paulrussell wrote:Thank you to all who have replied. It's difficult to reply with quotes when I'm using my cell phone (now) so I apologize for not naming all names.
WellM for now my plan is to see how far I get following Ed's advice. I recently reconditioned a Stanley 4 smoothing plane and have a 9 1/2 block plane on the way.
For those of you savy to the ways of the plane, is there much to be gained from adding a #5 or a low-angle block plane?
I saw a beautiful low-angle block plane that has optional tote & knob for use as a small smoothing plane as well, but it was not cheap. I think the brand was Varitas or something like that.
Lifting a sandflee or v-sander around might be every bit as tiring as using a small plane, and I can sit on the porch with the latter.
As far as sealer - I am assuming this is for the so-callled 'open grain' woods? Or can all benefit to some degree?
Again my thanks for a lot of terrific advice.

I've thought about this issue of loading tools on and off the SS. I'm still very able, but I know lots of folks these days with real back issues. Seems to me that it would be easy enough (and cheap enough) to rig up a system using hardware store items to make this easy and painless. My first thought was a simple overhead length of pipe with each SPT hanging from it with rollers -- the pipe in line with the bed of the SS. Roll a hanging tool over the bed, line it up and then lower the hole pipe using a Harbor Freight electric hoist (under a hundred bucks and comes with a wired remote). Unhook the tool once in place and raise the whole mess back up and out of the way. You've got to store those tools somewhere, and they might as well hang. If you've got a tall garage-like space there's room above -- if not you roll the tools out to the end as far as you need to go to get them out of the way. Pipe (or tubing from a steel supply), aircraft cable, casters (as pipe rollers) and the above mentioned hoist along with some miscellaneous small parts.

robedney wrote:I've thought about this issue of loading tools on and off the SS. I'm still very able, but I know lots of folks these days with real back issues. Seems to me that it would be easy enough (and cheap enough) to rig up a system using hardware store items to make this easy and painless. My first thought was a simple overhead length of pipe with each SPT hanging from it with rollers -- the pipe in line with the bed of the SS. Roll a hanging tool over the bed, line it up and then lower the hole pipe using a Harbor Freight electric hoist (under a hundred bucks and comes with a wired remote). Unhook the tool once in place and raise the whole mess back up and out of the way. You've got to store those tools somewhere, and they might as well hang. If you've got a tall garage-like space there's room above -- if not you roll the tools out to the end as far as you need to go to get them out of the way. Pipe (or tubing from a steel supply), aircraft cable, casters (as pipe rollers) and the above mentioned hoist along with some miscellaneous small parts.

Everybody's shop and work patterns are different and mine are no exception to that rule. My shop is Shopsmith oriented but I do not use a Shopsmith as a primary table saw. That is a Rigid TS3650 which I love. I do have the tablesaw option available to me on all of the Shopsmiths (except the "Push me, pull me" drill press). I also have a 6" long bed jointer that is not Shopsmith related but I also keep a SS jointer just in case.
I decided that I could get maximum flexibility from using Shopsmiths much like stand alone tools. I leave the bandsaw sat up on one but "could" remove it and have the flexibility of mounting it on any of the other Shopsmiths. One (the Frankensmith) is intended as the primary lathe but if desired I still have a half dozen other choices since almost everything will interchange between most of the machines.
I also have other tablesaws and a RAS (that I have not used in at least a year )
It just happens that a lot of my quick cuts are made on a Delta compound miter saw (that mounts on the end of a Shopsmith).
I made the Shopsmith choice because of the flexibility of change-overs rather than "in spite of" them.
It is a little like my favorite Chinese buffet... Chicken, fixed 27 different ways...
BTW, at less than 2 miles down my road, that buffet is dangerously close...
I mostly see the Shopsmiths as a base and power source for 101 different attachments. All manner of grinders, sanders, buffers and on and on. If it needs to turn there is probably a way to turn it with one of the Shopsmiths.

robedney wrote:I've thought about this issue of loading tools on and off the SS. I'm still very able, but I know lots of folks these days with real back issues. Seems to me that it would be easy enough (and cheap enough) to rig up a system using hardware store items to make this easy and painless. My first thought was a simple overhead length of pipe with each SPT hanging from it with rollers -- the pipe in line with the bed of the SS. Roll a hanging tool over the bed, line it up and then lower the hole pipe using a Harbor Freight electric hoist (under a hundred bucks and comes with a wired remote). Unhook the tool once in place and raise the whole mess back up and out of the way. You've got to store those tools somewhere, and they might as well hang. If you've got a tall garage-like space there's room above -- if not you roll the tools out to the end as far as you need to go to get them out of the way. Pipe (or tubing from a steel supply), aircraft cable, casters (as pipe rollers) and the above mentioned hoist along with some miscellaneous small parts.

This reminds me of a very nice older posting:
https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=957

nuhobby wrote:This reminds me of a very nice older posting:
https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=957

Cool --also nice and simple. That's very close to a Harbor Freight electric hoist, by the way. You can get them for $70 or so as I recall, with a 440/880 lb lifting capacity (depending on how you run the cable). I suggest the hoist as opposed to a winch. Hoists are designed for overhead, hanging loads. There may be no difference in the Chinese version, however.

I have a spot on the boat where I didn't want to use stairs (which would take up too much space) so I built an elevator using one of these things. It works very well, and allows getting the dogs up to the pilot house. Got to accommodate the dogs, you know.