Shopsmith Forums

Some extra parts there. Not all it came with are shown. Looks clean/good condition.

Got it today! Super excited to figure everything out on this. He had the overhead router attachment as well, which will definitely get a lot of use. I have a router table and plunge router right now, but being able to see my cuts on top for inner routes will be super useful.

I have 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.

techiejunk06 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 9:16 am I have 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.

Largely dependent on what lumber you buy and what kinds of furniture you build. For example, if you are building a table top or desk top it is common to use 6-8" wide boards (larger if you can get them locally) and join them in a panel glue-up. You can edge joint these on the Shopsmith 4" jointer, but you can't surface joint them on it. Note that edge jointing on a Shopsmith jointer requires a longer infeed/outfeed support if board is long - otherwise you may never remove cupping due to the very short jointer bed. Unless your lumber is straight and flat to begin with it is difficult to build solid wood furniture with the Shopsmith 4" jointer. I would never build a desk/table top using 3" wide boards, but that is an alternative if you want to use the Shopsmith 4" jointer.

Are you buying lumber from a big box store (Home Depot, Lowes, Menards) or from a lumberyard?

In addition to the width limitation, there is the length of the beds.

As an SPT for the SS, anything larger would have an excessive weight issue and a power limitation.

DO NOT bother responding to techiejunk06 comment about the Jointer. It is a copy and paste of the comment Ed in Tampa made in this thread on page 1.

Do I see spam coming?

Regardless, those posts that followed are useful to the rest of us.

Time will tell re spam. At least this is an established thread.

Ed in Tampa wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:58 am 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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I would agree , so many people see these shows on TV with these shops loaded with every new tool on the market and seem to think you cant build anything with any quality with out them . some of the most amazing wood craft is still around and was built / carved with out a CNC machine or mechanical tools , I have found that a drum sander will do just as much in most cases as a big planer and there are a lot of plans for diy drum sanders that are fun to build . JMO

If I ever need to do something larger I can increase my membership level at the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association and gain access to the workshop. Among the equipment they have is a 12” Jointer, several thickness planers (including a 20” model), thickness sanders (including a SuperMax 25-50 that accepts pieces up to 50” wide and 4” thick). If we don’t have the space or the money to equip our shops with larger equipment, we can think outside the box to find ways to do what is needed.