FWIW, I love it so far. I have mounted all of the spts (belt sander, bandsaw, jointer etc) with no problems and everything lines up and works. I just turned a plate from 3/4 pine glue up and the 700 rpm low end is a little faster that I like to start out at.RFGuy wrote:Thanks Steve. Yeah, the pivots look nice and I didn't even think about the overhead advantage for this compared to a Mark V. So, the dust collector didn't have a separate motor, but siphoned power from the headstock? The base looks to me to be made out of heavy gauge plate steel that has been welded. Am I correct, or is it cast or etc? Sorry for all of the questions, but there are only a very few pics of these online and the pics aren't very high resolution.
The base is a tank. It reminds me of the way the 10's are made.
Very solid, quiet (which suprises me), and powerful. It seems to rip 2 3/4 and 3" thick stock easier than the mark V 500, but of course doesn't compare to the Powerpro (the POS).
I love the tilt process. Best SS to date of that experience.
I will be doing one of my solid wood raised panel cabinet doors exclusively in the next few days, that will test the under table and over table shaping because I do both for that. I have to make a couple of jigs first, but I will report back.
The real worry, and justifiable hesitation in getting one is the lack of parts. My attitude, is that every item on all Shopsmiths (except the PP electronics) can be made. It wouldn't be cheap, but you can repair them. I had a lot of experience in that (making parts) in my childhood.
So, so far, I am very impressed with the design and build. Someone (cough cough) should start building these things again.
JMH 2 cents.