Shopsmith Forums

Amen, lildaddy. And happy woodworking to you too.

There is one thing I wish SS would do. We see the name Bob Folksworth often in relation to SS but we hear very little from him actually. Perhaps I'm missing something. It would be nice if Bob would every quarter, write a news letter to us SS owners and make us feel included as part of his establishment. After all, we are his family so to speak. I would like to know what is going on there. What are they working on, what are their long range plans etc etc etc. Of course we can hear all of that from others but its not like being included into the family by the man himself.

Are you kidding? I'm sure that the Folkerth's don't have the time to write a newsletter four times a year just to let their customers "know what is happening at the company." They use other avenues for that. I'm sure they are pretty busy trying to run a company that has 1,000's of dedicated customers and trying to keep it going.

If you feel slighted, I am sorry. But maybe this will help. They do pay attention to what is happening. Case in point: I wrote a letter to the company six years ago expressing my appreciation back when Doug Reid was the Traveling Academy instructor on the west coast. I told them how Doug was very patient with me and a very knowledgable teacher. A couple weeks later I received two personal letters from both John and Bob Folkerth thanking me and saying how much they appcreiated hearing from me about how much I enjoy the Traveling Academy. They are both handwritten and signed by them, not just copies they send to customers.

So, you see, they do listen. They're not just names in a catalog or website. Maybe if you wrote them a nice letter, they will send you one back to. And I'm not talking an email here.

Oh come now, others have or make the time to do it. It's just good public relations. However, your point is well taken Woodburner because things do work two ways. Sometimes I don't put out the effort either, so I do have to look at myself too. That's what I like about this forum........some of the best lessons in life are from the experience of others.

Arno

Interesting thread. I am relatively new to SS having owned a used Mark V 500 since Dec. 2006, and I just learned about this forum recently. I have wanted a SS for years as my first boss in 1971 had one from the 50's. I had a Total Shop for awhile but didn't like it and sold it. As I have not had to purchase much from SS I don't know how much of their inventory is USA made. I do know that the bearings I ordered recently from them for my drive sleeve were made in China and the bearings that they replaced were marked Japan (I don't know if those were original to my SS). I think we all make judgments about relative quality and country of origin as well as purchase price (particularly in these economic times) so it doesn't or shouldn't surprise us that one of the few retailers making a profit is Walmart and I defy you to find much in their store made in USA. Maybe one of the bright spots in this economy is that jobs will return to America due to high price of shipping. Steve

cityslicker2 wrote:Interesting thread. I am relatively new to SS having owned a used Mark V 500 since Dec. 2006, and I just learned about this forum recently. I have wanted a SS for years as my first boss in 1971 had one from the 50's. I had a Total Shop for awhile but didn't like it and sold it. As I have not had to purchase much from SS I don't know how much of their inventory is USA made. I do know that the bearings I ordered recently from them for my drive sleeve were made in China and the bearings that they replaced were marked Japan (I don't know if those were original to my SS). I think we all make judgments about relative quality and country of origin as well as purchase price (particularly in these economic times) so it doesn't or shouldn't surprise us that one of the few retailers making a profit is Walmart and I defy you to find much in their store made in USA. Maybe one of the bright spots in this economy is that jobs will return to America due to high price of shipping. Steve

Personally, when I shop at Wal Mart, I look for, and find, many US made items. They are there, and in good quantity.

How many of you drink Budweiser and Budweiser products. They were just bought by an overseas company. Is it time to boycott "Bud"? Some think so.

Your opinions?

Why? As long as they continue to make Bud in Milwaukee and don't layoff the Clydsedales.

Bud is from St Louis and Miller is from Milwaukee.

Oh. You can tell I'm not much of a beer drinker. I was really only thing about the horses, anyway.

dusty wrote:Oh. You can tell I'm not much of a beer drinker. I was really only thing about the horses, anyway.

Last time I saw the horses they were being kept in California.