Re: This Month in Shopsmith History!
Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2025 12:55 pm
Great post, John, and just like clockwork! Wow, that's quite a drop. This made me curious enough to take the question to ChatGPT and what I learned was fascinating. The feedback contained too many URL's to allow me to post this as a single comment, so I'll break it up, in case anyone is interested int he sources. Hers' what ChatGPT said:
Great question—and there’s a pretty clear “stack” of things happening in ’57–’58 that would have made selling a \$300\* multi-purpose machine a lot harder:
1. A short, sharp recession (Aug 1957–Apr 1958) clobbered durable-goods spending
Industrial production fell \~13.5% and unemployment nearly doubled. Durable goods (cars, appliances… and shop tools) took the brunt, while nondurables held up better. That kind of macro shock reliably dents discretionary shop purchases. ([EBSCO][1], [BEA Apps][2])
2. Housing slowed—fewer new garages and basements to outfit
Higher mid-50s rates cooled homebuilding; new construction slipped by 1957. Housing is a powerful driver of DIY tool demand, so fewer starts = fewer new home shops being set up. (Contemporary summaries and long-run housing-starts series both show the late-’50s dip.) ([Wikipedia][3], [FRASER][4])
3. Sears & DeWalt were pushing dedicated machines hard
By the mid-50s, single-purpose tools—especially the radial arm saw—were heavily promoted to homeowners. Sears’s 1957 power-tool catalog featured DeWalt RAS models; Popular Mechanics ran how-to and accessory pieces on radial saws in 1958; DeWalt advertising was everywhere. That rising tide of affordable, specialized machines undercut the “one tool does five jobs” pitch. ([blackburntools.com][5], [Google Books][6], [eBay][7], [Vintage Machinery][8])
4. A telling retail signal: no Sears power-tools catalog in 1958
Sears (a huge channel for home shop tools) didn’t even issue a standalone power-tools catalog that year—consistent with a soft market. ([Internet Archive][9])
5. Ownership/organizational turbulence around Shopsmith itself
Magna Engineering (originator of Shopsmith) was acquired by/merged into Yuba in the late ’50s. Transitions like that can disrupt sales ops, dealers, parts supply, and marketing cadence right when the market is getting tougher. ([Vintage Machinery][10])
6. The Mark 5’s price point didn’t help during a downturn
The Mark 5 was about \$298.50 in 1957 (roughly mid-four figures in today’s dollars), a big-ticket ask when households were postponing durable purchases. Dedicated tools and hand power tools from Craftsman/Black & Decker often looked cheaper and “good enough.” ([ShopSmith][11], [Stanley Black & Decker][12])
What probably didn’t move the needle yet: the famous Greenman v. Yuba case. The injury occurred in 1957 and the suit followed, but the landmark strict-liability decision wasn’t handed down until 1963—so it’s unlikely to explain a sales drop specifically in 1958. ([Scocal][13], [Wikipedia][14])
# Thumb-rule summary
* Macro: recession + housing slowdown = weaker tool demand. ([EBSCO][1], [BEA Apps][2], [Wikipedia][3])
* Market: strong push for affordable, dedicated machines (especially RAS) pulled buyers away from multipurpose platforms. ([blackburntools.com][5], [Google Books][6], [eBay][7])
* Company: Yuba’s takeover years likely created internal friction just when buyers were skittish. ([Vintage Machinery][10])
\* Mark 5 price example: \$298.50 advertised in 1957. ([ShopSmith][11])
Great question—and there’s a pretty clear “stack” of things happening in ’57–’58 that would have made selling a \$300\* multi-purpose machine a lot harder:
1. A short, sharp recession (Aug 1957–Apr 1958) clobbered durable-goods spending
Industrial production fell \~13.5% and unemployment nearly doubled. Durable goods (cars, appliances… and shop tools) took the brunt, while nondurables held up better. That kind of macro shock reliably dents discretionary shop purchases. ([EBSCO][1], [BEA Apps][2])
2. Housing slowed—fewer new garages and basements to outfit
Higher mid-50s rates cooled homebuilding; new construction slipped by 1957. Housing is a powerful driver of DIY tool demand, so fewer starts = fewer new home shops being set up. (Contemporary summaries and long-run housing-starts series both show the late-’50s dip.) ([Wikipedia][3], [FRASER][4])
3. Sears & DeWalt were pushing dedicated machines hard
By the mid-50s, single-purpose tools—especially the radial arm saw—were heavily promoted to homeowners. Sears’s 1957 power-tool catalog featured DeWalt RAS models; Popular Mechanics ran how-to and accessory pieces on radial saws in 1958; DeWalt advertising was everywhere. That rising tide of affordable, specialized machines undercut the “one tool does five jobs” pitch. ([blackburntools.com][5], [Google Books][6], [eBay][7], [Vintage Machinery][8])
4. A telling retail signal: no Sears power-tools catalog in 1958
Sears (a huge channel for home shop tools) didn’t even issue a standalone power-tools catalog that year—consistent with a soft market. ([Internet Archive][9])
5. Ownership/organizational turbulence around Shopsmith itself
Magna Engineering (originator of Shopsmith) was acquired by/merged into Yuba in the late ’50s. Transitions like that can disrupt sales ops, dealers, parts supply, and marketing cadence right when the market is getting tougher. ([Vintage Machinery][10])
6. The Mark 5’s price point didn’t help during a downturn
The Mark 5 was about \$298.50 in 1957 (roughly mid-four figures in today’s dollars), a big-ticket ask when households were postponing durable purchases. Dedicated tools and hand power tools from Craftsman/Black & Decker often looked cheaper and “good enough.” ([ShopSmith][11], [Stanley Black & Decker][12])
What probably didn’t move the needle yet: the famous Greenman v. Yuba case. The injury occurred in 1957 and the suit followed, but the landmark strict-liability decision wasn’t handed down until 1963—so it’s unlikely to explain a sales drop specifically in 1958. ([Scocal][13], [Wikipedia][14])
# Thumb-rule summary
* Macro: recession + housing slowdown = weaker tool demand. ([EBSCO][1], [BEA Apps][2], [Wikipedia][3])
* Market: strong push for affordable, dedicated machines (especially RAS) pulled buyers away from multipurpose platforms. ([blackburntools.com][5], [Google Books][6], [eBay][7])
* Company: Yuba’s takeover years likely created internal friction just when buyers were skittish. ([Vintage Machinery][10])
\* Mark 5 price example: \$298.50 advertised in 1957. ([ShopSmith][11])
