Great-grandfather's 1960 "Goldie" new member introduction

sealover · Post by **sealover** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 8:45 pm

When my grandfather passed away I inherited his late father-in-law's Shopsmith and lots of woodworking books and magazines (dating back to the 1930's)

I'm in a nostalgic mood so I'll share the story. I'm a high school shop teacher but my specialty was more toward the mechanical side of things, not wood shop. I was asked to pick up a few low level shop classes and I went to my grandfather for project ideas. He took me into the shed in the backyard. It was always damp in there and it smelled of plywood, grass clippings, and two-stroke oil. Old kitchen cabinets hung on the wall. Everything had a place and was neatly stored and clean. Old mesh-back baseball caps on a shelf celebrated achievements in his career as a lineman for the power company and coils of patched-together extension cords hung above his beloved Snapper rear-engine riding mower. He gave me several small project ideas - including Cedar crosses he made from the mailbox post after it was snapped off by a new driver down the street.

My grandfather is gone now and someone else owns the shed. The hats probably went in the trash, my uncle has the extension cords and the Snapper went to auction but the Shopsmith is mine to pass on.

It's a "Goldie" with a 1960 serial number. The jointer and casters are green - maybe later additions? It's certainly been used but was always maintained and cleaned and is in respectable condition. The switch broke the second time I turned it on. It wouldn't turn off. I finished the job by using a power strip with a switch as a foot control and then replaced the failed switch with a generic toggle switch I had laying around. I admire the inner workings and quality of the machine -- aspects I got to experience when replacing the switch. Reminiscent of the old Mercedes I tinker with -- high quality machined castings beautifully made but hidden inside where few get to enjoy them. The Shopsmith all works properly now but I have yet to get some lathe tools or a coupler to fully test all features.

I got pretty good at woodworking but never had a home shop because I had a 7000 sq. ft wood shop full of nice machines at work. I changed jobs again (still a shop teacher - but not wood) and have started doing things at home.

I have a big garage but its stuffed with wife's car, my truck, and a 21 foot sailboat. The shopsmith has a home in the corner and is ideal. Put a car outside, move the boat to where the car was and I have a lot of clear floor space. I like having a "shop" that goes away when I don't need it. I did a production run of Christmas presents this year.

This "new" sailboat needs hatch rails in a bad way. The last set I made (different boat) out of teak came out nice, but I may latch on to some TREX decking scraps and try that instead.

Maybe it's my imagination, but I get a faint whiff of plywood, grass clippings and two-stroke when I click on the Shopsmith.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:41 pm

Welcome to the forum sealover. Hope your grandfather for project only took ya out to the woodshed for woodworking plans.

reible · Post by **reible** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:54 pm

Hi,

We are always glad to see first time posters!

Liked the story and I'm hoping to be such a grandfather some day when my shopsmith(s) get passed on.

If you can take a few minutes to add a location to your profile, city, state, or what ever you are comfortable with.... We have several "sail boaters" here so wade right in and make yourself at home.

Ed

tgamel · Post by **tgamel** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:23 am

If you have a Shopsmith, any type any age, this is the place to be for information. The guys here are an invaluable resource for these machines and are quite happy to share their knowledge. Welcome to the forums.

algale · Post by **algale** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 7:19 am

Welcome! Very nice story. Thanks for sharing it with us and I hope you will become a regular contributor to the forum.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:36 am

I really enjoyed your nostalgia trip.

Welcome to the funny far . . . uh . . forum.

sealover · Post by **sealover** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 12:08 pm

Glad to be here. I updated my profile. Going to see a Mark 7 demo at Lowe's this afternoon. Mostly for the free CD of plans. Why get rid of a perfectly good 1960 for a $$$$ new one?

WmZiggy · Post by **WmZiggy** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:30 pm

My Uncle Don who was married to my mother's sister, owned a SS 10ER that he bought in 1950s. I don't know the exact date, but do remember seeing it for the first time during that decade in his shop. He and my cousins (his two sons) made a pool table with it. That project and the very machine left a deep impression on me. That 10ER planted a seed in my mind that never left me so that when my older brother bought a 500 in 1978, I followed suit in 1982. Today, I own the '78' 500 and still have my '82' with a number of special purpose tools. My mother passed away this past year and my cousin came to her funeral. I hadn't seen him in many years and it gave me an opportunity to ask about the 10ER. He still has it, babies, and uses it. That made me really happy. There is just something about a SS that you never forget or leave behind.

Welcome to the Forum.