Shopsmith Forums

Let's put this stuff in context.

The shopsmith 'community' here consists of many who have been owners for decades and are quite spoiled by the support that we receive from the manufacturer.

Sadly that support is now less than we are accustomed to due to attrition(retirement) of customer support personnel.

That said, the support is still quite significant.

Now about the Power Pro. It is a far more complicated beast than the 'historical' headstock drive. It is indeed more prone to failure. It is also more expensive to repair due to that complexity(electronics etc.).

Yes it is more of a gamble than getting the reeves drive version.

However there is MUCH that one acquires when getting a Power Pro headstock/Mark 7. I cannot emphasize that too much. Actually it is an entirely different realm. So it ain't apples and apples.

Only thee can make the decision which fork in the road to take.

I bought a new Mark 7 in 2014 and I am one of the few (<-important) that have had problems. With that said, I would buy another one, even with my bad experience, if I needed it. Like JPG alludes to, they are different with different performance (much better) function (dual tilt etc.) and problems.

All in all, don't hesitate to buy one, they are truly wonderful machines. Probably a little more expensive to maintain and repair, but you get so much more for your money.

Just my grumpy .02

I also am a PowerPro owner and one of the few that had a problem. Mine got fixed under warranty. I love my PowerPro and would buy another one if I had to do it again. My repair did take some time due to personnel transitions and Jim going out on medical leave. I ended up using my extra parts from the diy kit and now have a fallback belt unit if I need it.

I have a few shopsmiths and two of them are powerpros.

If you do get one it might be wise to buy a used belt drive system to keep in case you have some extended down time due to issues at shopsmith. You can get a pretty good deal on them and the $200/$400 range and that is a good insurance policy. In fact getting a whole used shopsmith and having it available makes a lot of sense. Not only do you have a spare you also have another machine to use when you don't want to take down a setup or just want to keep your band saw/belt sander/or what ever spt up all the time. Or like me I like to have one set up as a drill press all the time.

Ed

I ordered my Mark 7 on the afternoon of Nov 6th. Received today, 2 weeks . Just wanted to share that the customer service at Shopsmith is the best.
Very good to work with.
Now to unpack.
Thank you who replied to my questions related to this thread.
JJ

Have fun with it!

Jim,
I think you will be happy with your decision. The price difference of $450 between the Mark 7 and the Mark V 520 is partly made up in the additional accessories the Mark 7 comes with. If at any time you wish you can buy an extra standard headstock as a backup.