Fine woodworking survey

[paulmcohen]

Shopsmith owners who have had there machines for a long time know the value and don't need some woodworking magazine for their approval.

It's not about approval it is about accessories (jigs), so when Shopnotes does an article where they feature a jig for right tilting table saws will it work with my Shopsmith. Of if they provide a source for a miter slot bracket can I use it? I have built several of there jigs and to date they have all worked on my Shopsmith but some required modification.

It is also about more users to keep Shopsmith healthy so I can buy accessories from them for the next 50 years and they my kids and grandkids can after me.

[eldyfig]

Good reading, Woodburner. Thank you.

[woodburner]

To Tony, Your Welcome.

To Paul, most jigs that I have built have needed some type of modification, no matter what the tool is or who built/designed/sells it. All kinds of tablesaws have all kinds of miter slots, etc. Most of these jig plans featured in the magazines (you mentioned Shopnotes) are general plans and I'm sure the publishers realize that some modifications will be needed.

I think the magazine publishers have a tough time putting the Shopsmith in an article because they are in a class by themselves (multi-tool based). There are other companies (Laguna Tools for one) who sell multi-purpose/tool machines and I haven't seen those machines in any articles either. And they advertise in these magazines too.

But did you know that most of these magazines will publish articles from ordinary woodworkers like you and me? They do! Have you ever thought about writing an article about how great the Shopsmith is and how well it helps you with your woodworking, and sending it in for submission? I doubt many of us have. Maybe if some of us on this forum took the time to write something, maybe we can all read it in one of these magazines. Just a thought.

All you need to do is request an article outline form from the magazine to use as a guide to write the article. If you follow their outline, the better chance of being published. If you write an article that is well received, you will probably be invited to write more as a contributing writer.

For myself, I'm not to worried about whether Shopsmith is in a magazine article or not. I am happy with my tools, and I don't need someone doing a tool comparison telling me whether or not I should buy them. All these writers have their own opinions. Do you avoid a certain movie just because a newspaper critic didn't like it? It's the same thing.

Now if someone wrote an article about how to use the Shopsmith for certain woodworking operations, that is something I will be interested in reading.

[paulmcohen]

Creative writing is definitely not one of my strong points, maybe Nick wants to take up the challenge in his spare time:p