Shopsmith DEMO

[Ed in Tampa]

Ed, that is my point exactly. A table aw that has been around for twenty years, is still going strong and cost $700 new would be a $3000 table saw if bought today.

Equipment purchased new today, be it power tools, TVs, cars or whatever, are NOT BUILT TO LAST. As for computers, they are outdated the day after you leave the store.

$3900 is whopping price. The $1500 or so that I paid for the Shopsmith package was a whopping price. I put it on credit. Fortunately, I was full time employed then and had no kids to feed. I paid it off in 6 months. Can't do that today.

http://www.woodcraft.com/PRODUCT/206398 ... gwodm3QZiQ

Not so Dusty that $700 saw is still $700 and short of comparing bearings one for one they are the same.

I bought my SS in 1984 and at the time a saw that I would buy and a drill press I would buy and lathe would be slightly more. Today that SS costs $3900 and the table say is $700 the drill press is $300 and the the lathe in $800.

I can have the total price of a new Shopsmith + in my "Ed's toy fund" but I would not consider spending it on one today. Today if I would going to outfit my shop the biggest purchase would be really nice bandsaw aprox $1000+ and about $2000 in Festools. An alternate would be a Ridgid table saw $700, bandsaw $700, drill press $300, a midi lathe $600, $1000 in Festools and $600 Lie Nelson bench planes.

[dusty]

You know, Dusty, there really isn't much to go wrong with that other machine besides the motor and controller and from looking at the parts diagram, the motor looks like is has a standard mount (something like a type 56 mount). I've got just about enough Shopsmith gear, but if I could find a used one of those other machines cheap enough, I'd at least give it a really close look.

You just may be right and I am not the one that must be convinced or ultimately satisfied. If you are going to fork out the money and you are the one who will rely on it - you get to make the choice and pay the price (whatever that may be).

If you really want to inquire about the SuperShop, I think Bill Mayo may be your best choice (at least here on this forum). I know one individual (here in Tucson) that has one and he does nothing more than complain.

I met him one day in one of the box stores. He was looking for parts and we got to talking. He was complaining that his table saw was hard to adjust while trying to cut 22.5° angles. We got together. He expressed confusion because the edge was cut supposedly to 22.5° but it was coming out closer to 67°. We got that straightened out but since then have not shared much shop experience.

I was impressed with his metal lathe capabilities.

[dusty]

Not so Dusty that $700 saw is still $700 and short of comparing bearings one for one they are the same.

I bought my SS in 1984 and at the time a saw that I would buy and a drill press I would buy and lathe would be slightly more. Today that SS costs $3900 and the table say is $700 the drill press is $300 and the the lathe in $800.

I can have the total price of a new Shopsmith + in my "Ed's toy fund" but I would not consider spending it on one today. Today if I would going to outfit my shop the biggest purchase would be really nice bandsaw aprox $1000+ and about $2000 in Festools. An alternate would be a Ridgid table saw $700, bandsaw $700, drill press $300, a midi lathe $600, $1000 in Festools and $600 Lie Nelson bench planes.

Ed, it can't be "the same saw for the same price" or the seller is losing the value of the inflation dollars with each one sold.

We will never agree on this subject because we see the world through different port holes.

When you get all that equipment home - please post some pictures.

[Ed in Tampa]

Ed, it can't be "the same saw for the same price" or the seller is losing the value of the inflation dollars with each one sold.

We will never agree on this subject because we see the world through different port holes.

When you get all that equipment home - please post some pictures.

I think what the seller did was shift manufacture to Asia instead of US thus saving the cost of manufactuure. I also know the manufacture is not getting as much profit as he once did. And I think that is biggest factor. At one time the manufacture selling $700 machine saw the actual cost of the machine to be $250 or less than half what he was selling it for. Today I believe his cost is closer to $550 or only about $150 less than he is selling it for.

I think this is a biggest problem with SS they still want the 80's and early 90's profit margins they once enjoyed and to accomplish this they have increased prices where other manufactures had held their prices and taken hits in their profits.

Oh it will be long time before I buy any new equipment. I don't believe the economy is any where near what people would like us to believe. I suspect there will be some real equipment bargains before this mess is fixed.

[dusty]

I think what the seller did was shift manufacture to Asia instead of US thus saving the cost of manufactuure. I also know the manufacture is not getting as much profit as he once did. And I think that is biggest factor. At one time the manufacture selling $700 machine saw the actual cost of the machine to be $250 or less than half what he was selling it for. Today I believe his cost is closer to $550 or only about $150 less than he is selling it for.

I think this is a biggest problem with SS they still want the 80's and early 90's profit margins they once enjoyed and to accomplish this they have increased prices where other manufactures had held their prices and taken hits in their profits.

Oh it will be long time before I buy any new equipment. I don't believe the economy is any where near what people would like us to believe. I suspect there will be some real equipment bargains before this mess is fixed.

Enough is enough. We don't see the workings of business the same and nothing to be said here is going to change that.

[JPG]

Philosophical if I were to and realistic I am are quite different things.

Only one requires a 'commitment'!

[SDSSmith]

Philosophical if I were to and realistic I am are quite different things.

Only one requires a 'commitment'!

Now that is some deep thinking. Next thing will be application of Existentialism in the Workshop.]

[JPG]

Now that is some deep thinking. Next thing will be application of Existentialism in the Workshop.]

No deep thinking! Just observation!;)

[wh500special]

Sorry for the long windedness…

I agree with the decreasing price issue for competing equipment, cars, computers, etc. The fact that Shopsmith has held their prices relatively constant (adjusting for inflation) for decades isn’t a criticism I have of their philosophy or abilities, but it is likely a huge challenge for them since price shopping is such a big deal.

Price can be everything. 10 years ago while living in Indiana I worked for a place that made components that go into virtually every double-insulated power tool made. Drills, circular saws, routers, etc. One of the big box retailers made a demand on all of their power tool vendors to drop their prices by 10% (I think). Evidently, this is a regular occurrence by the big guys.

Of course, our customers came to us looking for a similar price reduction which is how we heard the following story.

One of them couldn’t or wouldn’t meet the price concession. The big box called their bluff and said, essentially, “No problem. Come clean out your inventory and displays until you can.” Their presence at that retailer disappeared for about 6 months (I hate to name names, but think back about 10 years and you might guess the who and where). That’s when another brand of power tool – sourced from a different part of the world – came in to fill the void. And that “new” brand is still there. Happily, the exile for our customer was short lived since they found a way to meet the demand and they managed to maintain their quality and reputation in the process.

I think Shopsmith is disadvantaged by this trend toward price-focused marketing. They make a great product which is apparently expensive to manufacture and is sold in somewhat low volumes. It will be forever hard for them to compete when prices of mass produced products around them are dropping.

I apologize for the lost thread direction I took this down. I thought it had kind of turned into a “what can Shopsmith do...” type of thing. To get back to the original point, I’d love to see the demonstrations start up again. I’m not in the market for anything big, but if they drug along sanding belts, disks, and some SPT’s I would be an easy sell…especially if I could get to try the oscillating sander attachment. Not sure if my meager purchases would justify the show though.

Best regards,
Steve

[robinson46176]

I’m not in the market for anything big, but if they drug along sanding belts, disks, and some SPT’s I would be an easy sell…especially if I could get to try the oscillating sander attachment. Not sure if my meager purchases would justify the show though.

Best regards,
Steve

In the store I always figured that the small sales paid the small bills... They all have to be paid too.

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