Ed in Tampa wrote
Anyone check the price? My blood ran cold when I did. Wow!!!
Yeah, that is still a concern of mine...for that price of a headstock, one could buy a complete Sawstop cabinet TS instead. Still trying to give Shopsmith the benefit of the doubt and I want to see this thing in person. I agree with most, if not all, of the concerns raised above. Thanks for pointing out the quill change and that makes sense to me now. Looking at the pic again, it makes me wonder if the Shopsmith magnetic, quick release drill press handle will fit or potentially be in a position to hit and damage the LCD screen. One thing to keep in mind with having an LCD screen is how prone they can be to breakage with impacts - potential negative in a wood shop unless the screen has been ruggedized. Also a question that I have is how well this particular LCD screen will handle touch screen inputs and how responsive it will be once a thin film of sawdust settles on it. Most LCD touchscreens now are capacitive (used to be resistive) type, so any dust that settles on the screen will affect ADC measurements on the touchscreen interface. It can be managed, but just a small concern for integrating "tech" into a platform like this. Still, trying to be positive overall here. As some of you know, I have been a vocal critic of Shopsmith on this forum, but I hope you also realize that I love my Shopsmith equipment and continue to use it productively. So, I try to be balanced in my feedback here, i.e. listing the good with the bad...pointing this out because I don't think it is always evident from those who read my responses sometimes on this forum. I use and
love my Mark V, but also am not hesitant to point out its weaknesses.
In the end, ANY movement/change/update that Shopsmith makes is a net positive in my opinion and I applaud them for attempting to make what is hopefully a very positive change on this platform with the Gen 2 PowerPro.
