Outside PowerPro Reviews

ryanbp01 · Post by **ryanbp01** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:22 am

I was originally going to use this as a reply to Ed's thread, but though it would be better to start a new thread instead. I am looking for reviews on the PowerPro independent of this forum. Does anyone here know of any?
Thanks,
BPR

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 12:49 am

Several other woodworking forums (Family Woodworking, Sawmill Creek...) have discussed the PowerPro but as far as I know the people talking about it are mostly the same people as are on this forum. If you are looking for a review by an independent entity like a woodworking magazine I have never seen one, over the 50+ years of Shopsmith there are just a handful of reviews and most are not really critical reviews with a rating.

You would be better off going to Lowes and trying it for yourself or finding an owner willing to let you see theirs in action.

If you already have a Shopsmith the differences are more power and speed range, and a little extra safety. Of course I am only talking about the motor upgrade. If you are looking at a Mark 7 that is a completely different discussion.

michaeltoc · Post by **michaeltoc** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:12 am

paulmcohen wrote:over the 50+ years of Shopsmith there are just a handful of reviews and most are not really critical reviews with a rating.

I often wonder if that is because many "professionals" don't take the Mark V/7 seriously. They seem to think that everyone has a 10,000 sq.ft. basement with plenty of room for stand-alone tools. Then they balk at the price. Yes, we can fill our shops with cheap Chinese tools that are obsolete in 3 years for far less money - but how much would it cost to equip a shop with quality tools that you can still get parts for after 20-30-40 years? Then factor in that you can fit this quality in a 100 sq.ft. shop.

The main thing I've found about this forum is the honesty of the members. As much as we love the Mark V, we're not afraid to rant about it's shortcomings. It would not surprise me if these customer complaints were the driving force in the development and evolution of the Mark V - more so than any "independent" review. The progression from the 500 to the 510 to the 520 to the PowerPro to the Mark 7 (along with the attachments and accessories developed over the years) seems that Shopsmith is really listening to us.

dlbristol · Post by **dlbristol** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:01 am

michaeltoc wrote:I often wonder if that is because many "professionals" don't take the Mark V/7 seriously. They seem to think that everyone has a 10,000 sq.ft. basement with plenty of room for stand-alone tools. Then they balk at the price. Yes, we can fill our shops with cheap Chinese tools that are obsolete in 3 years for far less money - but how much would it cost to equip a shop with quality tools that you can still get parts for after 20-30-40 years? Then factor in that you can fit this quality in a 100 sq.ft. shop.

The main thing I've found about this forum is the honesty of the members. As much as we love the Mark V, we're not afraid to rant about it's shortcomings. It would not surprise me if these customer complaints were the driving force in the development and evolution of the Mark V - more so than any "independent" review. The progression from the 500 to the 510 to the 520 to the PowerPro to the Mark 7 (along with the attachments and accessories developed over the years) seems that Shopsmith is really listening to us.

I agree with the statements above, and I would also say this. I would be far more likely to take a recommendation ( pro or con) from this group than from some of the other sources. Those other sources are not familiar with the machine, they are always looking for the next, new, best, cool, thing. I would also add that there are plenty of guys on this forum who are "professional" wood workers. Some make their living at it, some don't get paid,but areas good as anyone who has aTV show or Magazine.
Now if I did a review, I would carry very little weight, but some of the folks here know their stuff. Also read some of the threads concerning the issues with the new head stock. They were not soft and fuzzy. Neither were most of them nasty or just gripping. They were all aimed at getting things right. That adds much credibility to the forum for me.
LAstly, the amount of help that flows freely here leads me to believe that no one is all that invested in making a SS any more or less than what it is. I trust this group pretty much. I would guess that most of what I buy from SS is a direct result of someone here telling the story and recomending it.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:29 am

Don't be too harsh on users who post on other forums but do not post here.

Shopsmith advertises that there have been far more Shopsmiths sold than the total number of members in this forum. Example: Shopsmith has posted recently on Facebook that they have sold over 500 PowerPro conversions (that may include Mark 7s). We don't have half that many active members on this forum.

I would bet my shop that there are more than a few of those guys/gals out there that know their stuff.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 2:23 pm

dusty wrote:Don't be too harsh on users who post on other forums but do not post here.

Shopsmith advertises that there have been far more Shopsmiths sold than the total number of members in this forum. Example: Shopsmith has posted recently on Facebook that they have sold over 500 PowerPro conversions (that may include Mark 7s). We don't have half that many active members on this forum.

I would bet my shop that there are more than a few of those guys/gals out there that know their stuff.

Do you think there is any way to get Shopsmith to announce to all those new owners that this forum exists?

When I ordered my PowerPro upgrade I had to provide an email address so they have them. Also do yo think there are people on the Facebook page that do not know about this forum?

I posted the question and another on the Shopsmith Facebook page, go check it out.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 4:26 pm

paulmcohen wrote:Do you think there is any way to get Shopsmith to announce to all those new owners that this forum exists?

When I ordered my PowerPro upgrade I had to provide an email address so they have them. Also do yo think there are people on the Facebook page that do not know about this forum?

I posted the question and another on the Shopsmith Facebook page, go check it out.

We can't even get Shopsmith to announce significant events to the members of this forum.

Example: Did Shopsmith announce to this forum that they had a Facebook page?

Are there people on Facebook Shopsmith Woodworking that don't know? -- Probably but how would you know?

Are there people on this forum that don't know there is a Facebook page?

Paul, I found your questions (I think) but do you know that is not the Shopsmith Facebook page? Try here.

8iowa · Post by **8iowa** » Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:46 pm

Glen Huey, one of the staff members at "Popular Woodworking" reviewed the MK 7 on his blog;
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/?s=shopsmith

My blog, "Wow, this isn't grandpa's old Shopsmith" on my home page on the Lumberjocks forum now has over 1600 "hits". Very few of these "reads" are by Shopsmith forum members.
http://lumberjocks.com/8iowa

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 2:01 am

8iowa wrote:Glen Huey, one of the staff members at "Popular Woodworking" reviewed the MK 7 on his blog]http://www.popularwoodworking.com/?s=shopsmith[/URL]

Very positive article.

The one think I don't like about the comments is people are comparing 50+ years of different models as if they are the same as a Mark 7 with the most common issue being the table is too small on the saw. Well in Nicks aircraft carrier mode it would be hard to find a large table anywhere.

As a lathe, I don't know of many lathes with 2HP that can go from 250 RPM to dangerous (ask my son and his girlfriend about this they have the scares) in forward and reverse for any price.

I would like to compare the number of working Shopsmith to all the other home table-saws made over the last 50 years.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:53 am

paulmcohen wrote:Very positive article.

. . .

I would like to compare the number of working Shopsmith to all the other home table-saws made over the last 50 years.

Then figger(compare) the percentage of those still functioning to those manufactured.

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