Shopsmith Forums

alisfair wrote:I see advertised a shortened shopsmith and is used primarily for turning. He wants 250 for it but wonder if it is worth it? Looks to be in good shape.
thanks for any input.

If the Shopsmith legs, caster assembly and tubes are some what clean and the headstock operates over the full speed range, it would be a great buy. I find up to 18" shorter still allows almost all functions. More than 18" will restrict some functions. Rust can be difficult to remove or prevent once started. Takes a lot of work to clean and paint the legs too. if the owner will let you look around in his shop, try to find as many accessories and attachments that you can see when buying a used Shopsmith. Scan the Shopsmith web site for what is available. Many times the seller will not realize what should be included with the Shopsmith but is laying around in his shop. Never hurts to ask.

Around me one can get a fully functional 500 for $300 pretty regularly, so Iwouldn't unless a mini is exactly what I wanted. I am in Dayton and it seems the SS is more common here than most places.

I have decided to sell my machine along with my other large power tools. My machine is nice, but not perfect. I feel confident I can replace it with a like condition or better in the future without too much trouble or extra expense.

I've only had it a few months and done a few projects, but even so I am sure I will get another when my living situation changes. My wife has decided to go into construction management so I guess we will probably get some tools we can write off in the future anyways.

johnwilliamson062 wrote:Around me one can get a fully functional 500 for $300 pretty regularly, so Iwouldn't unless a mini is exactly what I wanted. I am in Dayton and it seems the SS is more common here than most places.

Dayton is where they are made so yeah there are tons of them around, I am really envious of the deals I see in the OH area on these tools. Not to mention the climate is better on them. Its not easy to find a non rusty tool here in Texas, I feel very fortunate to have picked up a very clean model 510 last weekend for 475$

billmayo wrote:If the Shopsmith legs, caster assembly and tubes are some what clean and the headstock operates over the full speed range, it would be a great buy. I find up to 18" shorter still allows almost all functions. More than 18" will restrict some functions. Rust can be difficult to remove or prevent once started. Takes a lot of work to clean and paint the legs too. if the owner will let you look around in his shop, try to find as many accessories and attachments that you can see when buying a used Shopsmith. Scan the Shopsmith web site for what is available. Many times the seller will not realize what should be included with the Shopsmith but is laying around in his shop. Never hurts to ask.

I can strongly agree with this statement now. The 510 that I bought last weekend was an okay deal in the ad. A clean 510 with the sliding crosscut table and a couple acces. for 475$ When I got to his workshop I noticed a new set of SS lathe chisels on the wall and asked if he was selling those. He had forgotten that they came with the tool. After poking around we found the unused saw blade guards, disc sander and a whole box of discs, around 8 SS and Oldman saw blades, lathe centers and chisels, new SS dado blade, grinding wheel, safety set, goggles and apron, all the literature, a set of brad point drills, etc etc. It turned the okay deal into a pretty good one.