I did alot of looking in the Topeka (home) and Kansas City area on Craigslist, and after looking at a few and getting a good feel for values, I purchased a SS built in 1981 for $400. It had all the basic attachments plus saw blades, router chuck, several lathes chisels, speed reducer, power couplings and fittings and was in GREAT condition.
After playing with my machine and making some shop jigs and such, I decided to upgrade to the double bearing quill (a great improvement), a SS router table ($50 on craigslist) and a SS bandsaw ($100 on craigslist), a craftsman router combo kit ($85 craftsman club) and a 15 piece router bit set from MLCS ($40, w/free shipping).
So after about $800 investment plus a couple hundred bucks on pipe clamps, etc...
My TV stand for our guest room is by no means complete. It will have a drop down door on the top shelf for VCR/DVD, etc... and the bottom will be a drawer on sliders. After it is all said and done, it will be painted an eggshell white. I designed it myself, built to match the $1500 Basset armoire and nightstand my wife purchased for the guest room.
Funny, the $1500 she spent on furniture for the guest room is what possessed me to purchase my shopsmith and start building my own. So what I was angry about, I guess I can thank her for!!
Shhhh, don't tell her that though......
I think the shopsmith is an absolutely great machine. Anyone who says it is not "accurate" enough for fine furniture probably couldn't do fine work on any machine. The SS is plenty accurate. It takes an accurate OPERATOR. I should add, this is my first woodworking project since making basic trinkets in high school twenty years ago. Yes, it does take a little time to change over tools, but you start learning about how to think about and plan your cuts and work. The SS is an absolutley amazing machine. I love the fact that I am only limited by my imagination in operating the hundreds of functions this great machine is capable of.
I love my SS.
otee453,
