Hello - newb with SS questions - considering purchase

[BuckeyeDennis]

I am aware of the lathe and other functions of the SS. While I had not cared about a lathe, I would if I had one. And a full-size drill press would be much better than my little benchtop press.

A Shopsmith makes a pretty good lathe, limited mostly by its light weight. With a Speed Reducer accessory (or a Power Pro headstock), you can even turn big heavy bowls. I didn't think I cared about having a lathe either, at first, but now I find turning to be a lot of fun.

A Shopsmith makes an excellent woodworking drill press. It has ample power and torque for even big Forstner bits. Pretty much any other drill press would require extensive table and fence add-ons to even start to compete.

[roy_okc]

My current table saw is a portable Ridgid that I bought cheap. It gets me by, but I am ready for something better. So that is the reason I am looking for a Table saw. I can't afford a cabinet saw (or the space for one) - I am currently looking at a Ridgid R4520. Price and the moveable base make it attractive.

Truth is I may be better off just getting the Table Saw - but the ShopSmith is so cool I had to ask!

EDITED: I have to say, another reason that I like a dedicated table saw is that I can easily do beveled rip cuts.

I have a 500 (and the parts to upgrade to 510) and 510, won't use the 500 as a saw, don't care much more for the 510. I bought a Ridgid jobsite saw around a year ago and felt it is better overall (not great) for table saw purposes than the 510 due to a fence that moves less and the tilting arbor. Last summer, I lucked upon a nearly brand new SawStop 3 HP PCS for a reasonable price; wow, what a difference! Will try to sell the Ridgid when it warms up a bit and I can unbury it.

Above said, I plan on keeping at least one, probably both of my Shopsmiths for other purposes, maybe even using for dado stack work rather than swapping back and forth on the PCS. If nothing else, I'd keep one for horizontal boring use.