Upgrade to Power Pro

[jonesuh]

from what I've read here most people that have up graded are very pleased --- is it worth the money?

buy a complete new head stock or convert my current machine? does it matter (other than the higher cost)

best way to buy? at a demo @ Lowes or call SS
i think they offered special pricing at the Demo's do they still



thanks

[jsburger]

from what I've read here most people that have up graded are very pleased --- is it worth the money?

buy a complete new head stock or convert my current machine? does it matter (other than the higher cost)

best way to buy? at a demo @ Lowes or call SS
i think they offered special pricing at the Demo's do they still



thanks

IMO it is worth every penny. It is the best thing to happen to the Shopsmith since Hans Goldschmidt invented it.

I bought a full up headstock and the double tilt end castings from a demo at Lowe's. I bought mine right before Christmas a few years ago. The price was going up after the first of the year. I got the Lowe's demo special pricing, I got my 10% military discount through Lowe's and I put it on my Lowe's credit card and got 12 months no interest and no shipping. Win! Win! Win!.

I bought the full up headstock because I wanted to use my old headstock and the end castings to build a dedicated drill press. I bought all the other parts needed for the drill press on eBay. I don't think there is any reason to go one way or the other except personal preference.

The best way to buy is a Lowe's. Even if you are not a vet to qualify for the 10% discount you can still get 5% if you use a Lowe's credit card and you get 24 months no interest and no shipping and the Lowe's special pricing and and... Oh I guess that is all. Lowe's all the way.

[Cornell]

I just bought the DIY upgrade, from Lowe's. If you use their credit card it's 5% off, if it's the first purchase on the card, 10% or interest free for 6 months. I'm retired military and opted for the interest free and used the 10% military discount. And that's on top of the discounted demo price.

That was two weeks ago... and I still have to wait til mid July :-( The computer manufacturer is backlogged.

And if the demo's too far away, and you know what you want, you can try calling Lowe's, talking to the demo guy and buying over the phone, during the demo period, and get the discounted price.

[shipwright]

I'm in the market for an upgrade at the moment so I checked out the Lowes option this morning and found:
1) the 10% off first purchase ends today.
2) the Lowes price is $1784 to ShopSmith's $1649
The 5% discount brings it to $1694.80. Free shipping at Lowes probably makes it about a wash.
Am I missing something?

[wa2crk]

When I bought mine I bought the factory assembled headstock so I could keep my original headstock as a spare. The original was used by our community's woodworking club while I rebuilt their donated SS. It has been loaned to three other members of the club while I repaired theirs and also to my son when I fixed his. So, a spare may be a good thing.
The PP is a great system. Go for it.
Bill V

[jsburger]

I'm in the market for an upgrade at the moment so I checked out the Lowes option this morning and found:
1) the 10% off first purchase ends today.
2) the Lowes price is $1784 to ShopSmith's $1649
The 5% discount brings it to $1694.80. Free shipping at Lowes probably makes it about a wash.
Am I missing something?

Yes you are missing something. You need to buy it from Lowe's when there is a demo at the store. Then you get the SS special price and not the Lowe's price.

Not sure why the 10% off first purchase would have an end date. The 5% off is good all the time if you use the card plus you will get the 6 0r 12 months (depends on the amount of the purchase) no interest.

I think I misspoke. You don't get both the 5% and intrest free you get one or the other unless you are a Vet. Then you can get the Veterans 10% discount and the interest free on the card.

[reible]

The reason I got a second machine was that I did not want the down time that might happen if the existing machine failed and needed parts. A second machine could be either scavenged or serve as a replacement machine so I found a 510 basket case to work on. I decide it was worth the effort to get the machine in working order which I did. Since my original machine had been upgraded to a 520 I even went so far as to upgrade that machine to a 520.

Some years later the powerpro came along so I wanted to upgrade to that and the dual tilt. The question then became the one you have of which way to go the upgrade. For me it seemed like paying the lesser amount and doing the work myself would not be a problem.

Since I have a number of machines it seemed like a good way to go was to get the upgrade kit. That way I have spare parts out of the old machine in case I need them for one of the other machines. I still have multiple machines so if the powerpro would be out of commission I still have a shopsmith to use or to swap a head stock with.

Now I'm thinking about upgrading the other 520 machine to the powerpro and dual tilt. Now I have to think about how I want to go with the next upgrade, do I want to do the same thing or just pay the extra money and get the whole new headstock. I can't answer for sure which way I will go but I do know that the kit was not that difficult to install at least for me.

I got mine at Lowe's during a demo and that was before the price increase. Prices are now much higher for the dual tilt, it went up like 33%. I feel the alignment issues of having a fixed extension table being swapped end for end on the machine was a major improvement so I would like to do that again on the other machine as well.

The price sheet from the Lowe's demo I went to in Feb. had the powerpro upgrade with shipping listed as $1597.17. the demo person gave me his phone number in case I decided to purchase one at a later time, I have not as of yet done so but it would appear they are interested enough in a sale that they work things out for you. I'm not sure how the Lowe's discounts work in those cases???

When I got mine the stores guidelines were the same as the Lowe's policy and I wasn't able to get a veterans discount (only applicable 3 days a year). Some stores give the military discount to vets everyday but that is their local policy. So if you are like me and just a veteran you may or may not be able to get the discount for that.

As far as the powerpro it is great! As an example I was tuning a hunk of wood yesterday and tuned it down to 250 rpm to get it round that was much nicer then having to get out the speed reducer and going that route. No having to stop every 10 hours of use to do a lube job.... quiet, powerful, smooth, and having reverse is great. For me it was worth it.

Hope that helps.

Ed

[jsburger]

When I got mine the stores guidelines were the same as the Lowe's policy and I wasn't able to get a veterans discount (only applicable 3 days a year). Some stores give the military discount to vets everyday but that is their local policy. So if you are like me and just a veteran you may or may not be able to get the discount for that.


Ed

The Lowe's Vet policy should not vary from store to store. It is a national policy and available on their web site.

The policy in a nut shell is as follows.

If you have a Military ID card (Active Duty, Retired or Dependent)you get 10% discount on all purchases. If you are not retired but are a Veteran enrolled in the VA Medical System and have a VA ID card you get the 10% discount on all purchases. If you are a veteran and don't fall in the above categories you get the 10% discount on Memorial Day, 4th of July and Veterans Day by bringing a copy of your DD214 to the store.

If there are stores out there that don't follow the policy correctly I would certainly file a complaint.

[beeg]

Remember that Paul only lives in the USA part time.

[jsburger]

Remember that Paul only lives in the USA part time.

Why should that make any difference?