Any new reports on Shopsmith

[JPG]

SS Inc. has become RLF Tools. At the moment they look quite good. The Power Pro and Mark 7 are signs of continuing success. That makes the fifth corporate entity to produce them. IIUC, they restructured after considerable down sizing etc. RLF are Robert Folkerith's initials. No guarantees, but the future looks ok! There have been dark clouds in the past.

[mgbbob]

I just purchased a used belt sander but I will order the belts from SS. I plan to do a Power Pro udate within the year. I don't order everything from SS but I try to do what I can. My Xmas present was new casters from SS#2. Hopefully the company will stay afloat.

[backhertz]

The word on the street… I started picking up cheap Shopsmiths and buying some internal headstock parts to rebuild 3 headstocks and have a source of part spare parts just in case the company was unable to survive back in 2007/2008. It was difficult to find old Shopsmiths as the Shopsmith "choppers" were buying them up before people like myself could.

Well, Shopsmith persevered and is still here. I'm honestly am not sure what the health of the company is. Last Memorial Day, I went to a Lowe's Demo. There were only 5 or 6 people there- all people who already owned Shopsmiths and not one new person interested in buying anything. We were located at the Lowe's contractor entrance & as I recall I had to ask Lowe's customer service where the Shopsmith demo was & they had no idea what a Shopsmith was…

I believe if Shopsmith had a way to reach new customers, there may have been more people there but we were at the contractor side of the store and almost hidden. I was the youngest there & I'm retired myself and the other guys were 15-20 years my senior. I got a deal on a PowerPro upgrade I couldn't resist. I bought one & then another guy did after the Lowe's manager announced an 18-month free financing deal- something he said was only the second time Lowe's had ever offered it.

Today, if I was serious in buying a new Mark 7 or PowerPro, I'd speak to the Lowe's manager to see if he could make a phone call or provide me a 18-month interest-free special for using a Lowe's credit card in case the free financing wasn't being offered. After doing the math, the DIY upgrade I purchased through Lowe's with a 10% military discount cost me about the price of a cup of coffee each day.

Many moons ago, my father went to a mall demonstration as I needed a good set of running shoes. He wasn't able to do much walking, so he watched the demo back when Shopsmith did demos in malls & caught the bug. In those days, Shopsmith even offered financing which wasn't cheap, but a 510 sold for about $1800 and the SPTs added to the cost. I was in the service and went overseas. Upon my return on leave, he had it all- including a stand-alone Pro Planer he had put together. I unpacked and assembled the rest of it for him and remember the bandsaw cut through wood like a hot knife in butter- I was sold.

What I don't see is/are article/ads in magazines like Popular Mechanics or any woodworking magazine like Magna/Shopsmith used to have full page ads in back in the 1950's. I think Shopsmith might be surviving primarily on sales to the many members of the forum- that's a good thing. But to get sales up, it's going to take marketing & the Webinars are, I believe, a good start in reaching people who the demo guys are unable to simply because there are so few of them and they seem to focus on the Southern & Western states. That makes sense if that is where the potential new buyers are. The more systems sold might help in bringing the price down. But Shopsmith has to compete with Chinese made duplicates like the Ryobi portable table saw which resulted in a serious accident that I do not believe would have been possible had the guy been using a Shopsmith. But some people do some really stupid things when using woodworking tools. An accident with a Shopsmith back in 1950's helped to change U.S. liability law:
http://shopsmith-tool-hunter.blogspot.c ... ility.html

After reading that link, I believe I better understand why Teknatool/Shopsmith provided people with the improved larger adapter for the Nova G3 Chuck at no cost when set screws were coming loose. Last year I visited Teknatool in Florida and met with the vice president who is the son of one of the founders. We talked for a while and he told me his company chose Shopsmith to introduce their DVR motor based on Shopsmith's reputation and longevity. The DVR motor also fits as if the Mark V headstock was designed with the DVR in mind 60 years later.

I think the best value is buying a used 510 and upgrading or just rebuilding the headstock. The result? A brand new headstock as everything except the quill spring stuff. I think a person can save a lot of money if they do their own PowerPro upgrade on a used 510, depending on the cost of the 510.

An old Mark V really doesn't take much to bring it up to almost new condition with an old 3/4 HP or the 1 1/8 HP motor. Align it & use sharp thin-kerf blades and you're in business. There are always other parts needed available for sale from Shopsmith, as well as, on Ebay or Craig's List. Keep your eye open on Shopsmith's specials and you can save. Once you have the need or means to get a DVR motor upgrade, you can do it sometime down the road if you're so inclined. Just keep your eyes open. The DVR motor is sweet, but is it absolutely necessary? No. Will it make your wooding working experience better? That's up to you, but for me the answer was yes.

I don't have any solid facts to back any of that up other than my own experience. I was given my father's 510 & stuff when he retired. I was too busy working to use it up until I retired, but I would buy something here & there when the Shopsmith sales catalog came out. I had to get a set of casters for the Pro Planer as it weighs a ton & doesn't slide easily. Then I upgraded to a 520 and ultimately a Mark 7 over a period of years.

I'm in the 'baby boomer' generation. I figure we might be the last group with memories that include our father's using their Shopsmiths. Back as a kid in the 60's I believe there wasn't much of a choice of buying woodworking equipment: Shopsmith, Sears, and perhaps the other huge catalog stores. Those companies too have stopped publishing catalogs and have gone out of business or are struggling to survive.

So we're "it" with respect to keeping Shopsmith alive. I know Bill Mayo would set up a booth or something at wood shows to promote his Shopsmith rebuilding services and he has done well outside of Tampa. I remember I was at the Oklahoma State Fair one year & Shopsmith had a tent and one of my FAA Academy classmates bought a system. I know Jacob Anderson has a small headstock rebuilding business in Virginia and he also sells a couple of DVDs on Ebay which are quite good. I see Shopsmith offers rebuilding/repair services. Gone are the days when Shopsmith had retail locations around the country. Other woodworking chains have since gone out of business as well. But Shopsmith is still here, kinda.

I'm not sure if there is just one thing that can be identified as to the reason why. It's like the controversy over many other issues in this country which have a large number of reasons as to why businesses are closing. One only needs to look at Detroit and see a once giant manufacturing city is barely able to survive and is considering on bull dozing empty neighborhoods down and shrink the city size as they simply can not afford to maintain it.

As long as Shopsmith continues to evolve, I believe it will survive. The Webinar is the latest example of something new & permits the company to reach people who might have to wait a year or two for a Lowe's Demo. Watching Doug Reid on the You Tube videos isn't as good as seeing it in person, but all I can say is wow when I watch him demonstrate the power of the PowerPro on his YouTube videos. Or you can watch some of the old Saw Dust Session videos produced by Nick Engler & Drew in 2007/8.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... TqHi8IDhqg

I think the few people left at Poe Avenue deserve a lot of credit for not jumping ship and taking a giant risk in developing/releasing the DVR motor & the Mark 7. Shopsmith deserves an award in my humble opinion as most companies were not able to survive these hard times. People have invested a lot of money in Shopsmith over the years and their machine is maintained, it will last another generation or two. Shopsmith's prices are considered high by many, but it's like the show Pawn Stars on HBO. They can't offer people what an item at a loss or else they'll go out of business. There is overhead that has to be paid or else, so Shopsmith's prices on some items are high in comparison to other places.

Only time will tell. I am dealing with some health issues myself or else I would probably be in my shop instead of writing this novel…

Shrtslvs- I tend to write chapters…:rolleyes: Welcome to the forum. You might go to YouTube and watch the Shopsmith videos. There are a bunch. On the Shopsmith website are videos as well with excepts of Nick Engler's Saw Dust Sessions. The word on my street is I noted Shopsmith published a holiday catalog. First catalog since 2008 that I've received. It has to be a good sign & I just might buy something that my wife will kill me if she finds out.

[fjimp]

As a retired business man who has purchased nearly every item currently offered by Shopsmith, my answer would include comments such as; If any American Company deserves to remain in business Shopsmith if they do not lead the list is very close to the top. Given difficult economic times Shopsmith had the guts to cut necessary expenses and products. If anyone asked why things were not available, the answers were honest and straight forward. I know of no other business in this world that still offers parts and advice for products long ago discontinued. Quality is job one and service is a very close second, (yes most days I could argue with myself on that order). I would recommend the purchase of the Power Pro. I have one and am thrilled with it. The only reason one should not own one would be if they have no need for it. Good luck and thanks for joining us. I suspect you will become a valued contributor. Jim

[backhertz]

Fjimp,
I thought I was the only one with one of everything Shopsmith ever made. Actually, I have almost two…even two PowerPros. I agree with every word you wrote- especially with quality being #1 and service being #1 too. I was one of the first 10 to receive the PowerPro back in August 2010. That was a good day!

I was fortunate to get a tour in February 2008 by Nick Engler himself. It was amazing to see the specialized 10E/ERs being used as machine tools to make parts for the new Mark Vs. 10E/ERs are still being used after being first made in the late 1940's. I have a number of them as well.

Tony

[Ed in Tampa]

As far as new customers I'm told by a source I haven't been able to contact to see if I'm at liberty to use his name or not. So this is pure hearsay take it or leave it.

Shopsmith views the new customer potential as very small not enough to sustain the business. However they see their existing customer base as ripe for the picking (manner of speaking). The idea was the Power Pro being sold to existing customers would produce enough profit that was sufficient to sustain them into the near future.

If that is true then advertising in something like Pop Mechcanics or other places is probably not going to happen. And what advertising is done will be designed to catch existing users eye to alert them to Power Pro.

[76winger]

Is ShopSmith doing anything to self promote through the use of social media? Some activity through those venues, are a great way to keep talk about the company and products alive and going. Things like Facebook and twitter are good examples where some companies, can spend almost nothing other than a little bit of time to generating this kind of activity (free marketing!).

I've seen at least one special interest group on Facebook, but it appears to more of something started by fans than by the company. And it seems mostly to generate activity between fellow owners. It would seem like a good opportunity to inexpensively spread the word.

[robinson46176]

Is ShopSmith doing anything to self promote through the use of social media? Some activity through those venues, are a great way to keep talk about the company and products alive and going. Things like Facebook and twitter are good examples where some companies, can spend almost nothing other than a little bit of time to generating this kind of activity (free marketing!).

I've seen at least one special interest group on Facebook, but it appears to more of something started by fans than by the company. And it seems mostly to generate activity between fellow owners. It would seem like a good opportunity to inexpensively spread the word.

Look at this.

https://www.facebook.com/ShopsmithWoodworking?fref=ts


.

[76winger]

Look at this.

https://www.facebook.com/ShopsmithWoodworking?fref=ts

.

Surprisingly I had that one "Liked" but I don't recall ever seeing anything in my news feed containing postings from it. Two or three postings on it from January 3, Then one from December 16, another on November 16, November 5, and then nothing until back on May 2 and April 30 of last year. A couple of postings daily, of a tool tip, a sale item, show listing, whatever highlights the product would help. Let fans post replies so their friends and friends of friends get to see the link & activity. I know it's not easy, I find it tough to get a posting or two a week on my own fan page, everything little bit helps though, and the price is right.

Have you seen this ShopSmith Owners group page?
http://www.facebook.com/groups/47017550889/members/
It's got half as many members and a lot more activity.

[76winger]

In a way, my own fan page is even a ShopSmith add:
http://www.facebook.com/wingerswoodworks