Shopsmith Forums

[quote="algale"]Well, I decided to see what it might really cost to buy the five comparable stand alone tools to the 5 basic tools that Shopsmith comes with (table saw, lathe, disc sander, drill press, horizontal boring machine) plus the standard accessories (safety goggles, push stick, push block, feather board, drill bits, lathe tools, carbide saw blade, disc sanding paper). Hard to find everything exactly comparable in terms of motor horsepower, speeds, lathe/drill press swing, table size, variable speed, etc. Excluding shipping/freight, I came up with $3,039.80 at Grizzly. For comparison purposes, a new Mark V 520 with its standard accessories currently costs $3599. Considering the gain in some functionality (tilting arbor) but loss in other functionalities (variable speed for all tools, large 520 table/fence system can be used in boring, disc sanding, drill press) I'm not sure which represents a better value, and that's without getting into questions about quality and durability, but I think this shows that there's not so large a difference in price as some believe between a new Shopsmith and new stand alones.


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In all fairness you could probably remove the disk sander from the standalone list because you could use either the Table Saw or Lathe to do basically the same work the SS disk sander does.

In fact many could say you could also remove the horizontal boring machine either by buying a radial arm drill press or by using the lathe.

But the the real point is even using the list you did, it is cheaper to go standalone. Now add in SPT machines like a Bandsaw, Jointer, Beltsander, Plane and the difference in price becomes even greater and if you add in Power stands there isn't much of a contest.

Again no one is denying that Shopsmith requires much less space. But to argue it is a better value is nonsense.

Again I have a Shopsmith for two reasons when i bought mine is was the best value and because it requires much less room. I love my shopsmith but I'm not so blinded by it to argue that it is better value than standalone machines today.

I would answer that mechanically they worked fine. My benchtop bandsaw was a bit flimsy and didn't seem to adjust well. I was constantly fiddling with tension adjustments. Who knows, it might have been me. Regardless, the Shopsmith seems to work just fine.

I purchased an older Craftsman jointer only to find out parts were not readily available. I needed some items for the guard. Not really a problem as I sold it for a slight profit to a guy who wasn't interested in a guard.

My older Wards drill press works great but it is sure nice to have variable speed control. It is 60 years old so I am sure there are no parts available but other than a headstock bushing whats to wear out.

I think the benchtop stuff is pretty good but probably not in the same class as Shopsmith.

I know my Delta contractor saw with the internal motor/drivebelt set up has been flagged in other forums as a bad set up that requires regular motor replacments. Mine has always operated great, so who knows. The salesman at the time told me it was the way to go.

Bob