Shopsmith Forums

And most of the comments were about Shopsmith, as opposed to the other combo machines that the article seemed to be more focused on!

Well thats nice, until a few years ago other then SS I did not know there were other combos out there till I talked to a guy selling his SS and buying another combo, looked it up on the net, it was made in Europe or Sweeden, and seemed a bit more complicated for change overs, or less because it took up a bigger food print and a lot of the SPTs were built into the machine and not attachable. No band saw,belt sander, strip sander, ext, as I remember, more a table saw, jointer, planer.

I don't think that you can blame the shopsmith for this guys mistake.I will say IMHO the 500 table is way to small.


“I had a Shopsmith once upon a time. It was the only power tool that I got injured by. I had my finger get hit by the saw blade during an operation. I feel it was the most dangerous tool in my shop and will never entertain the idea of having anything similar again. There are just too many variables that can bite you in the butt with ‘multi-function’ tools. Oh, it was useful in its own way but a real pain in the patooty when one has multiple operations to perform.”- Bob Hoyle

bill50cal wrote:I don't think that you can blame the shopsmith for this guys mistake.I will say IMHO the 500 table is way to small.


“I had a Shopsmith once upon a time. It was the only power tool that I got injured by. I had my finger get hit by the saw blade during an operation. I feel it was the most dangerous tool in my shop and will never entertain the idea of having anything similar again. There are just too many variables that can bite you in the butt with ‘multi-function’ tools. Oh, it was useful in its own way but a real pain in the patooty when one has multiple operations to perform.”- Bob Hoyle

I understand what you are saying, Bob, but I must wholeheartedly disagree. Good advanced planning and a thorough understanding of the tasks that need to be performed are a sure cure for that "pain". The fact that you stuck your finger where it did not belong and got bit is not the fault of the table saw. What made that saw dangerous was the fool using it. As far as variables are concerned, are you trying to say that a shop full of stand-alones presents fewer variables than does a Mark V Model 510. I don't think so.

bill50cal wrote:I don't think that you can blame the shopsmith for this guys mistake.I will say IMHO the 500 table is way to small.


“I had a Shopsmith once upon a time. It was the only power tool that I got injured by. I had my finger get hit by the saw blade during an operation. I feel it was the most dangerous tool in my shop and will never entertain the idea of having anything similar again. There are just too many variables that can bite you in the butt with ‘multi-function’ tools. Oh, it was useful in its own way but a real pain in the patooty when one has multiple operations to perform.”- Bob Hoyle

I have never worked with a 500, Bill, so I have no experience with that smaller table. I have done some wood working on my Craftsman table saw though and it has a smaller table than does the 500.

Why do I no longer do work on the Craftsman Table Saw? Because the table is too small. As life evolves and a wood worker comes to that point where his tools no longer serve their purpose in a safe manner, it is either time to cease woodworking or get the "proper tools for the job at hand". Respectfully, the 500 table is not too small, it is the wrong table. If one needs a table larger than the 500, quit using the 500 as a table saw. If you don't, and you get bit, don't blame the table saw.

This, for many years, was my goto Table Saw. Small but dead flat. I still use it for a reference surface.

Dusty I am not the one that got bit. it was a reply on the woodworkers journal. my point was not to blame the tool but operator of said tool. my point on the 500 tabla size is just my opinion after using a 500 I bought new than upgrading to the larger table system many years ago. small table saws do have there place but I much prefer the larger table for what I do on a saw.

Keep in mind that when one refers to the table as being too small, that they most likely are referring to the '500'. Not always, but likely.

I still don't get the " tables too small " comment that people make. The fact is at one point or the other all saw tables are too small. That's why we build them into large tables. That goes for the SS as well. We have a member who built a sliding table for the SS which I still am in awe of. You alter the tool to get the job done. Even a Mark V. Many years ago we had a pretty good size cabinet shop. But in the beginning we has a single Mk V. We had the space leased and jobs to get done and a MK V. With every job we built in enough profit to buy one free standing tool and ultimately years later had all the tools we needed. But meanwhile we had the Shopsmith. We built an 8'X8' table in the middle of the shop and built the MK V into it because we needed a " bigger table ". As far as shop safety and a Shopsmith well let's face it some people should not eat with a fork.
Paul