Shopsmith Forums

Yikes, I could buy a couple nice cast iron table saws for that, including a pretty nice fence.

Wow$2400 for the fence??? I don't get it. Oh well, I only paid 200 for the shopsmith, it'll make a dandy drilling and sanding machine. I don't think I could easily justify the cost of any of the upgrades. I have 3 other table saws, one cast iron belt drive with a great fence, another delta contractors saw and a brand new rigid portable with as good a fence as the shopsmith. I bet I could even rig up my own fence on the machine. Having said all of that, I still think it was worth the 200 I paid plus the chuck for 65. I just bought on eBay.

Blair wrote:Wow$2400 for the fence??? I don't get it. Oh well, I only paid 200 for the shopsmith, it'll make a dandy drilling and sanding machine. I don't think I could easily justify the cost of any of the upgrades. I have 3 other table saws, one cast iron belt drive with a great fence, another delta contractors saw and a brand new rigid portable with as good a fence as the shopsmith. I bet I could even rig up my own fence on the machine. Having said all of that, I still think it was worth the 200 I paid plus the chuck for 65. I just bought on eBay.

One or the other, not both!

$65 for a drill chuck?????

Yes, that was a bit ridiculous too, but it's a pretty specific part and for me to order it directly from the distributor in Canada was going to be about $20 more ! The bit was $29. Plus shipping, plus duty plus exchange from us to Canadian. Dang! This better be a decent drill press! I've never tried turning on a large, never had much interest, but I might be interested in turning a bowl or something

Blair wrote:Yes, that was a bit ridiculous too, but it's a pretty specific part and for me to order it directly from the distributor in Canada was going to be about $20 more ! The bit was $29. Plus shipping, plus duty plus exchange from us to Canadian. Dang! This better be a decent drill press! I've never tried turning on a large, never had much interest, but I might be interested in turning a bowl or something

You need to watch for stuff from 'inxss'. He be in Canada!

Blair wrote:Yes, that was a bit ridiculous too, but it's a pretty specific part and for me to order it directly from the distributor in Canada was going to be about $20 more ! The bit was $29. Plus shipping, plus duty plus exchange from us to Canadian. Dang! This better be a decent drill press! I've never tried turning on a large, never had much interest, but I might be interested in turning a bowl or something

It should be one of the best DPs you have ever used. Plus, the horizontal boring capability is worth what you paid for it. My 500 is exclusively set up as a sanding station with the belt sander on one end and the disk set up next to the table and a small drum sander at the output of the belt sander. I use it all the time and never change it.

IMO you done good!

Yes, that is primarily why I went with it, for the superior drilling capabilities. I'm sure it'll come in handy when I need to sand something too or cut a dado in smaller pieces. Seems like a fairly ingenious yet simple machine to maintain as well. Does it use a standard size belt, or is it once again a proprietary belt? If proprietary, I better order a couple.

Blair wrote:Does it use a standard size belt, or is it once again a proprietary belt? If proprietary, I better order a couple.

Yes you can buy one elsewhere. BUT you'd do BETTER to order it from SS. WHICH belt are you ordering?

Blair wrote:Yes, that is primarily why I went with it, for the superior drilling capabilities. I'm sure it'll come in handy when I need to sand something too or cut a dado in smaller pieces. Seems like a fairly ingenious yet simple machine to maintain as well. Does it use a standard size belt, or is it once again a proprietary belt? If proprietary, I better order a couple.

The SPT's or Special Purpose Tools are add ons to the Shopsmith "system". They mount and unmount on and off the main machine. You can find them very reasonable on ebay and Craigslist. I highly recommend the Shopsmith belts. They are first quallity .... even the cheap ones. I couldn't tell if your 500 came with a belt sander or not.

BTW, you will probably wind up buying another Shopsmith. It's a great way to add to the SS SPT list and to add versitility .....

Does the mark 5 have more than one drive belt? I haven't taken delivery of the one I bought yet, but yes, I am already scouting out another for versatility. Is the band saw and jig saw add ons very good?