Wow!

[RFGuy]

I am glad someone is happy with SS. I am not.

It took 3 months to just get the answer that they would't replace my computer. I contacted support and didn't get an answer for two months, finally contacted Doug Reid and it took another month to get an answer, with the empathy of a rattlesnake to a baby rabbit. I have to buy another at $500.00. I have had more problems with this machine that anything I have bought new in decades. I am thinking again of selling it. Maybe just the PP and not the M7 and put a M5 headstock on it.

I really don't know how to take this. Really bummed right now.

/RANT

Sorry.

Dick,

I am sorry to hear about your struggles with Shopsmith. I have a similar, albeit different set of problems with them. I have picked up a few odd and end accessories and components on sales from Shopsmith the past few months. Stocking up on what I think I need should Shopsmith go into bankruptcy again. I know fatalist thinking, but still....Most items have arrived without issue, but I am amazed every time that I open a box from them. Fragile items thrown in with heavy items with no real packing material inside a big open box. Two of my recent shipments arrived damaged. One of them was the universal lathe tool rest. It comes disassembled in a big open box with negligible packing material around it. Clearly the swing arm and about half of the components went shooting out one end of the box, so what does Fedex do? They tape the box back up and deliver as is. There has been a lot of back and forth with Shopsmith trying to get the missing parts. Every contact with customer service is slow and takes tremendous effort on the customer's part. Mind you, I had to wait 4 months for the manufacture of this rare artifact and now it is taking another 1 month of time trying to get the missing pieces of the order that Fedex supposedly lost/threw out. During the manufacture, I received no status updates from Shopsmith and had to call repeatedly to check on my order. Dealing with Shopsmith is playing a real life "waiting game".

If I didn't have so much already invested, I would sell all of it and move to other brand tools. I can certainly empathize with some of your struggles. My gut instinct has been telling me to hold off on the PowerPro and your story has confirmed it for me.

[rjent]

It is sad to see this company continue to go down hill the way it is. Some of these guys have witnessed it happen three times now. I have major regrets in buying the Mark 7. I love the SS concept and function, but the reliability just has not been there. with 70 year old 10ERs still humming along the PowerPro has just been very disappointing. I am tempted to swap out the PP for a standard headstock and still run it in the Mark 7. The only op I use reversing on is the planer and it runs just fine on the 500 on the opposite side of the headstock. I will build a router table to house my plunge router for routing and i will be good to go. Maybe someone will come out with a better solution for controlling the motor in the PP. Who knows.
Thanks for the sympathy, I cringe at all of the people I have pitched the PP to. At this point, I just hope they have better long term production with it than mine.

I know this hijacked the thread, and for that I apologize, you guys carry on!

[JPG]

A downside for that plan is the smaller power of the 1 1/8 HP motor.

Actually the SS mount planer was designed to operate as you describe.

The absence of the power up sequence makes it easier to use.

Truth be told, I think using it on a M7 is a force fit.

I share your concern re declining substance from the mothership.

As for hi=jacking this thread, I think this is a bigger WOW!!!!

[RFGuy]

I didn't intend to hijack this thread either, or to rant...but thought it was important to share that I empathize with Dick's story. His struggles to get support for the PowerPro certainly gives me pause. I am trying to be content with my Mark V as-is, since I have a lot invested in it already. Also, why I broke down and purchased, on sale, some of the remaining goodies that I wanted. Good points on the 10E/ER's. If I can find a place in my shop and/or decide to safely store them outdoors here in the dry AZ climate, I hope to find a good deal on a used one that I can maybe fix up to make a dedicated drill press or lathe. I haven't seen a decent looking one for sale locally lately, but when one turns up, I will seriously consider bringing it home. Would be a good addition to my Mark V. Also, based on a recent thread, I can also use the universal lathe tool rest on the Mark V or the 10ER which is good. As of Friday, I finally got all of the parts to make one complete universal lathe tool rest, so Shopsmith did come through for me, it just took a long time.