I suspect that we don't know all of the facts and probably never will.
Did Mister Young have a viable service to offer? I want to believe, Yes. All of us need to know more about our Shopsmith and how to maintain it and how to use it properly and safely. I think that was what was being offered.
But isn't that what the Shopsmith National Woodworking Academy offers?
Not exactly. Shopsmith makes no offer to come to our homes but they do come to some of our neighborhoods in the form of the Traveling Academy. Why just last month the TA was here in Tucson.
All four of us that attended enjoyed it very much. Not hardly enough participation to call it a feeding frenzy but I enjoyed it and greatly benefited from it.
Back in Dayton, Shopsmith has suspended classes at the National Academy. I
suspect that lack of participation had something to do with that. If I had $799 to pay for tuition, I would prefer spending it at the Dayton facility. But I have not attended the Academy for purely financial reasons. I
suspect I am not alone in this decision.
Well then, why did Mister Young think that he could show up and make a go at this? I guess it is all part of a dream and we all have the right to dream.
But then there are Trademarks and Copyrights and Intellectual Property Rights and the like. This website, that has so rapidly disappeared,
sure did look like it was sanctioned by Shopsmith but maybe it wasn't. Since we don't have the right to ignore Copyrights and Trademarks, even in pursuit of a dream, I
suspect that is what we have just witnessed - the crumbling of a dream. Maybe it was the crushing of a dream???
Quite frankly, I am very content with what we already have. The Sawdust Sessions, this forum with its open line of communication, The Traveling Academy, Hands Online Shop Tips and a few local get togethers to discuss the craft - what more could we ask for.
The only things that I can think of right now are a
bug free Online Sawdust Session every other Saturday and "The Shop Journals by Rick Davis" at a shipping/handling price I can afford.
