Shopsmith Forums

oldiron wrote:They can become so addicting, you can't settle for just one or two!!!

Mike

Oh yes I can. I've had one and only one for more that 30+ years.

In my area in WI here is the senerio, Dad bought one in the late 50s early 60s just b4 retiring, used it a bit, died, his wife still lived at home, now she needs to go to the Home or dies, the kids need to clean out the house, and there is this SS and SPTs in the basement, BAMM on CL for 200-400$ depending on SPTs with it. Some things still in there boxes.
I got a large 2 car garage here at moms, and a the beast in it, 740il Bemer in it, and still plenty of room for my shop.
Plus Mr Big Heater keeping it at 55*, it is insulated except the north wall.
Funny thing, I have a weather station on my metal use work bench, after the BMer beast comes in, the temp in the garage goes up 3-4* within 1.5 hours, heater and out side temps staying the same.
53-55* is comfortable out there with just a T shirt with a quilted Flannel shirt on. Hands are find, cement slab but foam floor pads where I stand.

Mike,

I think you and John may be on to something here. To be honest, she's never indicated an interest in using my tools. However, she is very creative and I've never had cool woodworking equipment like this before. Now is as good of time as I can think of to see if she wants to try it out. I put a new blade on the bandsaw today, so I think I'll see if she wants to try it tomorrow.

I certainly wouldn't object if it was her idea to get another Shopsmith!

If there is a craft that she does enjoy now, figure out some simple things that she could make to go with that hobby. If she decides that she does not like it or not to do them but wants them, you can finish them relatively easily. Like all crafts there is a learning curve to woodworking and to using a Shop Smith so take your time and practice. Welcome to the forum.

ERLover wrote:In my area in WI here is the senerio, Dad bought one in the late 50s early 60s just b4 retiring, used it a bit, died, his wife still lived at home, now she needs to go to the Home or dies, the kids need to clean out the house, and there is this SS and SPTs in the basement, BAMM on CL for 200-400$ depending on SPTs with it. Some things still in there boxes.
I got a large 2 car garage here at moms, and a the beast in it, 740il Bemer in it, and still plenty of room for my shop.
Plus Mr Big Heater keeping it at 55*, it is insulated except the north wall.
Funny thing, I have a weather station on my metal use work bench, after the BMer beast comes in, the temp in the garage goes up 3-4* within 1.5 hours, heater and out side temps staying the same.
53-55* is comfortable out there with just a T shirt with a quilted Flannel shirt on. Hands are find, cement slab but foam floor pads where I stand.

ERLover,

It's good that you live close by your mother so you can be there to help her. It sounds like you got a great deal on equipment and have a large, relatively warm workspace to use while you're there. 53-55 degrees in the garage sounds pretty good for this time of year. It's nice that you have woodworking equipment in both places. Enjoy!

thunderbirdbat wrote:If there is a craft that she does enjoy now, figure out some simple things that she could make to go with that hobby. If she decides that she does not like it or not to do them but wants them, you can finish them relatively easily. Like all crafts there is a learning curve to woodworking and to using a Shop Smith so take your time and practice. Welcome to the forum.

Hi Brenda, thanks for the welcome and for the great suggestions. Combining her hobbies/interests with woodworking may be just the ticket.

I'm having fun learning how to use my Shopsmith. I started going through the SS course today. I think I'm going to enjoy using it.

I very often advise folks starting in woodworking to build bird houses.They can be fun and are natural candidates for some out of the box imagination. Also nothing covers errors like a rustic bird house. All manner of salvage materials can be used which can keep cost down while practicing.
I have a brother in law that makes some nice furniture but for fun he makes bird houses. After he retired he started a market garden operation and they sell produce at farmer's markets and he sells many of his bird houses there.
I have been doing this stuff for a long time (I'm 74) but I don't class myself as a fine woodworker. I am more of a shop and tool fanatic. Any woodworking is just a good excuse to have a lot of tools.
I wanted a Shopsmith for 28 years, mostly from watching demo's at our state fair and other shows. Life kept getting in the way but I finally bought my first SS new in 1988, a 510. I have a few Shopsmiths now.



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See, another fine example if you've got enough room, you may very well end up with multiple machines. Years ago, one of my customers gave her husband's 10E to me after he had passed on. At first I thought to myself, that thing is prehistoric looking but hey, it was free. It sat in the back corner of my shop for 6 or 7 years and one day I needed to drill a 5/8" hole through 2-1/2" square tubing with precision for a ball mount. The 10E performed flawlessly with an accurate hole and at that moment, I was sold on the old cast iron machine. I still have that machine which is serial number 6834 and it works just as good now as it did back in 49.

Heck, how many manufacturers can lay claim that they pulled multiple finished machines from the assembly line and used them to manufacturer more of their own kind? What a testament as to the quality of the SS....

Building bird houses is a great starting point and they are fun to do!

Mike

robinson46176 wrote:I very often advise folks starting in woodworking to build bird houses.They can be fun and are natural candidates for some out of the box imagination. Also nothing covers errors like a rustic bird house. All manner of salvage materials can be used which can keep cost down while practicing.
I have a brother in law that makes some nice furniture but for fun he makes bird houses. After he retired he started a market garden operation and they sell produce at farmer's markets and he sells many of his bird houses there.
I have been doing this stuff for a long time (I'm 74) but I don't class myself as a fine woodworker. I am more of a shop and tool fanatic. Any woodworking is just a good excuse to have a lot of tools.
I wanted a Shopsmith for 28 years, mostly from watching demo's at our state fair and other shows. Life kept getting in the way but I finally bought my first SS new in 1988, a 510. I have a few Shopsmiths now. .

Hi Francis,

Starting out with bird houses is a great idea! My son is 9 1/2 and seems interested in my SS. We could design them together. Then he could help me assemble them after I cut the wood. Seems like a good way to introduce him to woodworking. I mentioned this to him this morning after reading your post. He's seems excited about it. It's great that your bother-in-law found a good way to help support his hobby.

Francis/Mike,

I am detecting a definite trend on people collecting Shopsmiths! Based on what I'm seeing, I'm sure I can expect to acquire more SSs for myself in the future! It is really cool that you can buy and use these remarkable machines that are so old. They definitely dont't build them like this anymore. There is something really neat about using older tools. I've never seen a product that you can still buy parts for 40+ year old equipment. That is really cool. I'm glad to own something that I will be able to pass down to my son. Time to get started on his Pinewood Derby car and some bird houses!