Shopsmith Forums

Last week I ordered the SS safety kit & received a 20% coupon code good till monday with my receipt. Since I'm still in need of decent saw blades, I thought that might be a worthwhile purchase, and I could make use of my 1 1/4 arbor.

Can anyone comment on how the currently offered SS Amana blades compare to similarly priced Freuds? Thanks!

Don't think you can really tell the difference between the two, especially when cost is compared.

I have the late-model SS Amana Thin Kerf Carbide Rip blade, and also the late-model SS Amana Carbide Prestige general-purpose (standard kerf) blade. By using these 2 different blades for the appropriate types of cuts, I'm much happier than I was when using my original combination thin-kerf blade used for everything. These are high-quality blades. (Of course they aren't free, either.)

I'm VERY tempted by the Shopsmith 3-blade deal. But by doing so I'm investing rather heavily in Shopsmith 1 1/4 arbors, and locking myself a little bit into Shopsmith blades.

paulrussell wrote:I'm VERY tempted by the Shopsmith 3-blade deal. But by doing so I'm investing rather heavily in Shopsmith 1 1/4 arbors, and locking myself a little bit into Shopsmith blades.

You are really "locking yourself in" only financially. You can get any blade re-drilled to accept the 1 1/4" arbor.

I use both. The only problem when switching back and forth is that the riving knife may now be aligned. No problem as long as you pay attention. Get in a hurry and you could introduce a serious safety issue.

If you make it a habit of using ZCI, the system sorta alerts you automatically.

Where do you get a blade redrilled, and how much does it typically cost?

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. This morning I ordered the 3-blade 3-arbor set from Shopsmith. I figured it can't hurt to throw my business in the direction of the mothership. (or would that be mothershop?)

I had hoped they would allow me to substitute a 5/8 arbor for one of the 1 1/4, but no. Sigh.

paulrussell wrote:I'm VERY tempted by the Shopsmith 3-blade deal. But by doing so I'm investing rather heavily in Shopsmith 1 1/4 arbors, and locking myself a little bit into Shopsmith blades.

Although more convenient to have one for each blade, only ONE arbor is required if you are tolerant of changing the blade by using a single arbor.

JPG40504 wrote:Although more convenient to have one for each blade, only ONE arbor is required if you are tolerant of changing the blade by using a single arbor.

I probably neglected to mention how profoundly lazy I am. Actually, I have an autoimmune disorder called "scleroderma/dermatomyosits overlap syndrome" which causes me to fatigue quickly at times, so every timesaver I can muster helps. So multiple arbors it is. Apologies if I've entered into TMI territory.

paulrussell wrote:I probably neglected to mention how profoundly lazy I am. Actually, I have an autoimmune disorder called "scleroderma/dermatomyosits overlap syndrome" which causes me to fatigue quickly at times, so every timesaver I can muster helps. So multiple arbors it is. Apologies if I've entered into TMI territory.

NO APOLOGY needed.

Do you have the lift assist installed on your machine. If not, I would definitely recommend it. It reduces the effort required to go in and out of drill press mode to almost nothing.