Wood magazine - home shop dust collectors

[a1gutterman]

Pop,

I am sure that you like your set-up and that it works great for you. How big is your shop? I too use stand alones, but I still like my Mark V. The Mark V is a good tool, even the table saw when aligned right, used with proper material support systems etc., and the most important thing for woodworkers that lack a large shop; it will do all of the functions and do them well, in a small space. Not to take anything away from your shop, but that is the most attractive thing about the SS.

[reible]

Gee now I have to go and tell my shopsmith it is underpowered... I hope it takes it alright, I sure don't want it to get depressed... here it has served me all these years and did so well at it.... and all the time it must have been working oh so hard trying to keep up with the big saws... you know I think I may have heard it wimpering "I think I can, I think I can...." Oh it is certainly a sad day in shopsmith land.


On the other hand I was reminded just this week that I know the answer to somethings. How about you? Do you know the "answer to life, the universe, and everything" ???? If not check back later and if no one has posted it I'll tell you. I'm serious now, not like the joke about the shopsmith being under powered.

Ed

[dusty]

Ed, I don't think so.

By way of comparison. A long time ago, 1993, I towed a 36' Airstream travel trailer with my 1993 Ford F250, turbo diesel long bed with a camper shell. Everything was great, We took the hills like they weren't there. Power galore.

Then, one day, suddenly the old truck wasn't doing so well. But we fixed that quickly. All we needed to do was buy a new truck. We bought a 2000 Freightliner Sportchassis. The hills were no longer a problem. No longer a problem even though we were now pulling a 45' fifth wheel with multiple slides. The open road was a dream again. We put on the miles and really enjoyed ourselves. Power galore.

The underpowered F250 didn't get much of a workout anymore.

For reason I won't dwell on, we decided the fifth wheel was too much and we sold it. Then we sold the Freightliner and went back on the road with a much smaller rig. Once again, the F250 turbo diesel does just fine. It is no longer under powered. The open road is once again a dream - even in that old (187,000 miles) Ford pickup.

It was never under powered; it was just being used incorrectly. It was never intended to be used to pull something like that fifth wheel. On the other hand, that Freightliner never broke into a sweat.

If you need to cut bridge timbers, don't use your Shopsmith. Use it for what it is and you'll soon find that it is not under powered at all. It handles everything the typical home craftsman ever does. Yes, now and then I need a little more than the Shopsmith is able to give but that is very seldom. Very, very seldom.

[scottss]

Well so far I have been able to build everything I wanted to on my shopsmith. I did have a contractors saw and it was very accurate, it had a vega fence on it. But there hasn't been anything that I couldn't do on my shopsmith that I did on my contractor saw. Some of you have seen my shop and know it is small. This is where my ss shines. I can actually put together my projects in the shop with the door closed. This I couldn't do with my other setup. We must remember that the big plus for shopsmith is space. Sure if I had a big shop I would probably have stand alone tools but I probably wouldn't build any more or different projects unless I was getting paid to do it. I think of friends that have stand alone tools and nothing ever comes out of there shop. Once about 10 to 20 years ago I was at woodcraft and asked about the shopsmith (at the time woodcraft sold them) and several of the guys there laughed and joked except one and when he said what was comming out of his shop and asked what was comming out of theres it got very silent. Right then I knew he enjoyed using his ss and thats what counts.

[Ed in Tampa]

OK GUYS !

... You're darn right the SS is a very underpowered saw. I have a General contractors saw (the ONLY one with 2 hp.) and what i've gained over the SS is ACCURACY...
... There are many folks in out assoc. that have Unisaws in a garage. It is the most central tool to a shop...

Pop.

Underpowered??? For what? Cutting wood? Please tell me why, is it because I can't use a power feed?

As for a Unisaw. I know many people that have cars built to go 150 MPH in their garages and I ask myself two questions. First if they were allowed to go150 MPH could they drive the car that fast and secondly would I want to be anywhere near them. But both those questions are pointless since the law says they aren't allowed to drive that fast. That means to me the paid a lot of money for a something they can use.

I feel the same way about a home hobbiest buying a production machine. A Unisaw was built as a production machine built to run 24/7 using a power feed and endless supplies of wood. Since I don't know of any hobbiest requiring that kind of service I would say they spent more than they needed. Or as my father would say they had more money than brains.

As for your gain in accuracy would you be kind enough to tell me how the General versus the Shopsmith improved your accuracy. Please don't go to the tired old bevel cut argument. I have owned a Shopsmith of 20+ years now and every time I needed to cut a bevel with the exception of once or twice the Shopsmith was up to it. On the one or two occasions where the board was too long to be able to cut a bevel on the Shopsmith I used my power mitre saw or Radial arm.
Ed

[scottss]

Sorry it seems this thread has been hijacked. Getting back to the original question. I don't care that much for most of the woodworking magazines. I subscribe to others online like finewoodworking and woodworking in aciton. Shopnotes and woodsmith I still like not many adds and great projects. Wood magazine is to full of adds. Plus my wife has asked me to get rid of those magazines I don't use and subribing to online is less clutter.

[solicitr]

The 'underpowered' thing is an issue that irks me, and has for quite a while: there is a whole lot of "mine's bigger than yours" going on in the tool world. It's not like many people outside production shops actually need 3 ponies, but there's this Tim Allen mentality that say if you don't have them you're a 98-lb weakling.

I find this annoying because it's very largely a function of ego, not what's required for the job. Sort of like buying a 200-mph sports car to drive on public roads. My dad and I ripped ungodly board feet of yellow pine and hardwoods, including teak, rosewood and padauk, on his 1961 Craftsman 100-series saw* with a one-hp motor (though I must admit before we took on the teak we put in a 220 circuit).

I think in many cases guys blame a power tool's motor for things that aren't its fault: a dull, dirty or inappropriate blade, a misaligned table or fence, a loose belt, or wiring/cordage that doesn't deliver the juice it needs.

* My brother has it now: a massive, indestructible beast which is as good as or better than any contractor's saw you can buy today if you add a good fence and can tolerate the complete lack of dust collection.

[popstoyshop]

Sorry Scotss,

I'm one of the ones who hijacked the thread. I sell machines and I love my SS, but it ticks me off when the SS owners try to tell me it God's answer to all wood working machines.
They are just as bad as the standalone owners who poo poo the SS.

Now to the magazines. At one time I was a pro photographer. When I read the reviews of cameras etc. I KNEW things were tilted. The same is true in woodworking mags. Sad to say those ads pay for those reviews. "Say it an't so!" Sorry to say it is in spite of very loud deninals by the publishers.

Pop

[popstoyshop]

Reibnle, Dusty, Scotss, Solicitr & Ed in Tampa,

The Techinical answer to what the term "underpowered" means.

Freud has designed the thin kerf blade for underpowered saws. That is ANY saw under 3 hp.

I have found this to be a constant with almost all saw blade makers.

Pop.

[charlese]

Under powered? Kinda reminds me of the 40 HP VW Bus we had that would consistently out do 4wd Fords - Chevys - Toyotas when pulling a trailer of snowmobiles uphill on snowy/icy roads/trails.

Under powered? I don't think so! Maybe they (both the SS and the VW) are underpowered by definition, but it is the performance that counts. After one such trip in the VW, and waiting for other units to catch up, one of my compadres said "I bet you wish I had your transmission and you had my engine!"
Silent reply: "No, my rig is perfect!"

BTW so is my SS! Don't care a bit what others call it!:p