Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

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MatrixClaw
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Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by MatrixClaw »

Hi guys,

A friend of mine is selling his SS Mark V, I believe a 510, it's been a while since I've look at it - I'm waiting on confirmation from him now but he just left on vacation to Hawaii, so it might be a bit :p It's just the standard model with no additional accessories, super clean, not sure on year but everything functions, he's just getting rid of it because he's too short to comfortably use the table saw. He's asking $500 for it. Right now, I have a small WEN table top drill press that I rarely use and a DeWalt DWE7485 that I use all the time.

My initial thought was to get it mostly as an upgrade to my table saw, but the exposed blade at the bottom of the table honestly kinda scares the crap out of me :eek: I've also not heard a ton of people really rave about that feature and I'm not sure that I'd get a ton of use out of the boring system or lathe (though, both would be cool to have). There's a bandsaw attachment for sale locally for super cheap I'd likely pick up as well.

If I was mainly interested in using this as a table saw with the added functionality of the bandsaw, drill press and bandsaw, would it be worthwhile for me? I have the space for individual tools with an entire deep 1-car garage dedicated to my shop. The idea was to build a large workbench on casters and mount my TS into it for a larger rip capacity and outfeed table, but I'm intrigued by the SS and can't help thinking the quality of the TS itself has to be better than my contractor DeWalt saw...? Then again, building the table I wanted to would no longer work and I'd have to buy a bunch of extensions which I'm guessing would add a lot of hassle to converting this to use the other tools? The one huge benefit I see if the SS is only having one exhaust system, so I won't have to keep unplugging and plugging in my shop vac to all my different tools. I'm just afraid that switching to the SS to use mainly as a TS might not be the best route?

Would going the SS route make sense or should I just buy a bigger TS and buy some extra tools to go with it?
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reible
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by reible »

The first thing you will need to do is find out just what is coming in this purchase. It should have both the lower and the upper blade guards, it should have extension tables and tubes and other things like the drill press chuck, sanding disk, blade with arbor and well the list goes on. If any of these items are missing they can be replaced but add to the cost to purchase.

Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
RFGuy
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by RFGuy »

Opinions vary on this, but let me try to give you some things to consider to help you make your decision. In many ways, a Shopsmith 510 tablesaw is better than the DeWalt DWE7485. However, keep in mind that bevel cuts on the 510 are a PIA because the table tilts, NOT the saw arbor. In my opinion, the DeWalt DWE7485 is superior to the 510 in this regard. IF it is a 510 and there is no lower blade guard then that is missing and would need to be replaced. I would NEVER use any Shopsmith in tablesaw mode without a lower saw guard. The on-off switch is just too close to the blade that reaching under the table risks coming into contact with the blade. There should be a lower saw guard with a 510. Honestly, you would probably enjoy the drill press function on the 510 way more than you will enjoy using that WEN table top drill press. The 510 drill press is much better. You mention having a deep 1 car garage. I have a standard size 1 car garage and it is still tight in it even using my Shopsmith 520. IF you have lots of space, then I recommend individual tools because you can get as much quality/features as you can afford for each, not to mention not having to break down a station to do another function (as a Shopsmith requires). However, if you are tight on space, like I am, then a Shopsmith system is a great option. Speaking of small spaces, there are some good ideas in the video below.

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Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
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edma194
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by edma194 »

If it really is a complete system, as Ed mentioned with extension tables, blade guards, drill chuck, etc., then yes, you do want to buy it. You may want to keep your table saw until you've had some experience with the Shopsmith in table saw mode, and maybe keep it anyway as a portable saw. You will love having the Shopsmith and using all it's different modes. $500 is very reasonable for a complete working 510.

Since this is your friend's machine ask him to let you try out the different operating modes.
Ed from Rhode Island

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MatrixClaw
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by MatrixClaw »

reible wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 6:51 pm The first thing you will need to do is find out just what is coming in this purchase. It should have both the lower and the upper blade guards, it should have extension tables and tubes and other things like the drill press chuck, sanding disk, blade with arbor and well the list goes on. If any of these items are missing they can be replaced but add to the cost to purchase.

Ed
Fair enough! I definitely want to get a list of everything included for the price. He just kind of said, "Hey, by the way, I'll sell you my Shopsmith for cheap if you want it" as we were walking past it in his garage. I didn't really get a chance to look at it for very long cause we were trying to do something else and just walked through the garage to do it :p Most of what intrigues me about the Shopsmith are all the accessories. The jointer would probably be too small for me, but the bandsaw, belt sander and planer are all things I planned to buy soonish, regardless, and I imagine the attachments for the SS are higher quality than the cheaper individual tools I was looking at buying. I'm by no means a professional, so I don't really see myself NEEDING dedicated stations for all these tools - obviously, it'd be nice, but the amount of time I have to dedicate to woodworking probably wouldn't have me changing out pieces multiple times in a day.
RFGuy wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 7:09 pm Opinions vary on this, but let me try to give you some things to consider to help you make your decision. In many ways, a Shopsmith 510 tablesaw is better than the DeWalt DWE7485. However, keep in mind that bevel cuts on the 510 are a PIA because the table tilts, NOT the saw arbor. In my opinion, the DeWalt DWE7485 is superior to the 510 in this regard. IF it is a 510 and there is no lower blade guard then that is missing and would need to be replaced. I would NEVER use any Shopsmith in tablesaw mode without a lower saw guard. The on-off switch is just too close to the blade that reaching under the table risks coming into contact with the blade. There should be a lower saw guard with a 510. Honestly, you would probably enjoy the drill press function on the 510 way more than you will enjoy using that WEN table top drill press. The 510 drill press is much better. You mention having a deep 1 car garage. I have a standard size 1 car garage and it is still tight in it even using my Shopsmith 520. IF you have lots of space, then I recommend individual tools because you can get as much quality/features as you can afford for each, not to mention not having to break down a station to do another function (as a Shopsmith requires). However, if you are tight on space, like I am, then a Shopsmith system is a great option. Speaking of small spaces, there are some good ideas in the video below.

Interesting. To be totally honest, I have no idea if his has the blade guard or not, I just watched a bunch of videos of people using these and almost all of them had the saw exposed on the bottom of the table. If there's a guard that's supposed to come with it, that makes me a lot less uneasy. I'll definitely have to verify that with him! I'm not super concerned with the miter function of the TS, I've only used it once on my DeWalt and that was because I didn't have my sliding miter saw. I don't really work with large enough pieces to need the TS for a miter, I think my miter saw can cut a 14" board, which is plenty for me.

My 1-car garage has two large popouts on each side of the window, which gives me a ton of extra storage space. I have the whole back wall lined with work benches and then the rest of the space (enough to still park a truck inside it) completely open, so I have a decent amount of space to work with. Definitely not a professional size shop, but enough to have multiple stations. I was planning to build a ~7x4' table with slots for my table saw and miter saw, which would still give me plenty of walking space around it. I'm mostly just concerned that I'd have to spend a lot more money to get the same quality tools as individuals compared to the Shopsmith. The attachments seem to be a lot less money than buying standalone tools, but they're also generally smaller as well.
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by thunderbirdbat »

edma194 wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 7:26 pm If it really is a complete system, as Ed mentioned with extension tables, blade guards, drill chuck, etc., then yes, you do want to buy it. You may want to keep your table saw until you've had some experience with the Shopsmith in table saw mode, and maybe keep it anyway as a portable saw. You will love having the Shopsmith and using all it's different modes. $500 is very reasonable for a complete working 510.

Since this is your friend's machine ask him to let you try out the different operating modes.
You may also want to ask him to walk you through changing to and from different modes and doing the maintenance. This would allow you to determine if it is something you want to do. While working on a project, it takes practice to plan ahead to minimize setup changes for efficiency but it is possible to change as needed as well.
Brenda

1998 510 upgraded to a 520, upgraded to power pro with double tilt and lift assist.
1998 bandsaw
2016 beltsander
jointer
overarm pin router
RFGuy
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by RFGuy »

Below is a pic that I found online of what the lower saw guard should look like for a 510. It is part number 515290 (Lower Saw Guard). A lot of people may run a Shopsmith without it, but they are risking their fingers (IMHO). Yeah, I would say that a Shopsmith and all of the attachments are at least as good of quality/function as most mid-tier woodworking tools and certainly worth more than the low-tier woodworking tools. However, if you are spending at mid-tier or above, you might prefer standalone tools, if you have space. The reason is newer tools have more bells and whistles on them and often greater capacity than Shopsmith ones because Shopsmith has kept many of the tools/accessories the same for decades. A good example of this is the Shopsmith jointer is only 4", which is perfect for small projects. If you want to build furniture, then that 4" jointer is inadequate. Shopsmith can't make it larger than 4" or it would be too large to lift onto a Mark V. Bottomline is that getting a used Shopsmith is a VERY good value.
lower_guard.jpg
lower_guard.jpg (19.73 KiB) Viewed 4115 times
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
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Hobbyman2
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by Hobbyman2 »

for $500 ??? unless it has some serious issues snatch it up !! if nothing else with a extra carriage and it will make one heck of a miter saw set up, the fence can be adjusted for stops for nearly any size lengths , if it has all the bells and whistles that is awesome . the main draw backs from a SS and a dedicated table saw is the table adjustments, Just like said above any time you adjust the depth of cut you have to adjust the tables . but dont let that distract you because it is not a big deal most of the time . most of the time I dont break down sheet goods on the SS so the main table is all I use ,,a good sacrificial piece of wood or HDP with slots for T-track on the fence is a option , you can do almost anything with a ss that you can do with a entire shop full of stand alone tools and more , it takes a bit longer to set up each station than walking from one tool to the next but the maintenance is much less on one tool than several . I agree with the statements above the stand alone table saw is hard to beat and would compliment your shop along with a good router table and over head router . that said depending on what your intentions are when it comes to its use may help you in deciding how and what your needs will be . JMO
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RFGuy
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by RFGuy »

You may also find these couple of other recent threads of interest in helping you to decide.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24801%5B/url

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24811&p=280002&hilit=bevel#p280002
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
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Ed in Tampa
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Re: Should I buy my friend's Shopsmith?

Post by Ed in Tampa »

My question to you is what do you want to do on the SS that you can't do with what you got now? I am sure everyone will have a comment but this question is directed to you alone.
I have one other question to those that comment on the 4 inch jointer. How big is big enough? What in furniture making requires you to have a jointer bigger that 4 inches? I have built furniture, built houses and did general home maintenance and I was never stopped or had to do a major work around because of having only a 4 inch jointer. So I would like to know what size jointer is big enough.
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