How many use stand alone machines too?

[charlese]

How many Stand alone tools?

NONE HERE!

Everything is done with my 510! Don't need no stinkin' Stand Alone Tools , I have a Shopsmith

[JPG]

Are you acquainted with a Mark VII?

[charlese]

Are you acquainted with a Mark VII?

Nope! But one of these (VII) would be good for an Engineer or someone who loves tinkering .

[JPG]

Are you acquainted with a Mark VII?

Nope! But one of these (VII) would be good for an Engineer or someone who loves tinkering .

You snuck it while I was 'asking' Tdorey re his ratcheting headstock/carriage comment. The MVII already has a gear rack and crank and a 'connecting rod' to tie the headstock and carriage together.

[tdorey]

I have a 520 table/carriage with a 500 headstock.

How does it lock together on the VII?

[tdorey]

I was suggesting a gear rack and crank for the headstock and carriage side to side. Not up and down.

[Ed in Tampa]

My opinion, standalone is the only way to go UNLESS you don't have the space.
I have a standalone RAS (bought before my SS) and a Dewalt plane

If a table saw would fit I would have one, also a band saw and jointer.

Seriously considering selling the RAS, and plane, redoing my shop layout, cutting down on junk storage, selling many of my power hand tools and focusing almost exclusively on knife and hand tool making. My days of house building, furniture and cabinet making is about over.

[Bruce]

On a different topic, has anyone thought about a ratcheting system for the headstock and carriage? One of my frustrations is "sliding" the headstock and carriage back and forth along my well waxed tubes. They get stuck, I have to bend down, push form a different angle etc. It would be a great improvement to have them on a ratchet with a wheel adjust left to right. yes, some cost to have tubes geared etc, but it would really improve that experience of moving things out of the way, could all be down with out having to bend down.

Mine don't stick. Maybe there is something causing yours to bind.

[tdorey]

On a different topic, has anyone thought about a ratcheting system for the headstock and carriage? One of my frustrations is "sliding" the headstock and carriage back and forth along my well waxed tubes. They get stuck, I have to bend down, push form a different angle etc. It would be a great improvement to have them on a ratchet with a wheel adjust left to right. yes, some cost to have tubes geared etc, but it would really improve that experience of moving things out of the way, could all be down with out having to bend down.

Mine don't stick. Maybe there is something causing yours to bind.

I don't think there is anything wrong, its just physics. The 520 Tables are top heavy and the natural instinct is to use the table to push the carriage over, but that just puts preasure of the tube and slightly pushes the carriage off true, so it binds at which point I bend down and move the carriage with my hand and table comes along for ride.

[robinson46176]

I enjoyed a good chuckle at the mention of a rack and wheel to move the table and headstock horizontally... as I am sure JPG did too.
Old Mark VII...
I would also mention that Shopsmith does keep an eye on this forum and is aware of most opinions. Whether it is possible, feasible, or they just don't want to... is always their decision.

The table saw is about the only function that can be a bit of a pain with set-ups in that you may plan all of your cuts but then find that you need an "adjustment" to a piece later. I like to remind people that hand tools do still function.
Additionally even with limited room it is usually possible to find a spot for a small bench model table saw even if it needs to be stored under the bench. Many decades ago when I was a freshman in high school and taking a woodshop class we had a lot of machinery but one of the most used pieces was a small but good quality bench model table saw used for many many "adjustments". It was seldom used for initial cutting to size except on smaller projects but it got very frequent use. Barely measure and cut 6 times was pretty common.
I'm not a big fan of change-overs but I am a big fan of being able to make them.
If I could only have one machine it would be a Shopsmith. Since I have the room I have others as well. Some of us here admit to being tool freaks.
An additional table saw and a dedicated drill-press make a big difference. After I built the Push-me, Pull-me double drill press I no longer ever have a need to tilt an SS to vertical. I made it a double so that I can keep some particular set-up intact and still drill holes as needed without changing stuff from my set-up.
When you have multiple Shopsmiths (I have a half dozen) you don't just have a half dozen Shopsmiths... You have a half dozen Table-saws, a half dozen lathes, A half dozen drill-presses, a half dozen disk sanders and so on... The combinations are almost limitless.
For non tool freaks I think that 3 is probably a good number and the third can be a mini.