Shopsmith Forums

Nick, Drew and anyone else - I am very sorry to hear the news. The academy was very informative and creative. And it was a direct reflection of your creativity. I wish you the best.

To All Forum Members - You can take this with a grain of salt, seeing as how I'm a Shopsmith wannabee, but I have also been affected by this economy. Two years ago I worked for a company that had been affected by the Y2K downturn of 2001. They went from 3 offices nationwide to 1 office. Instead of running 3 shifts for production/assembly they had 1 shift. Personnel went from 160 to 15. They are still in business today. Are they what they once were? No. I left because I couldn't keep absorbing the pay cuts while working for them and doing part-time work also. A better opportunity came along and I took it. It lasted 2 months. That was over a year ago and I'm still looking for work.

This is all leading up to this point. The execs at Shopsmith are going to do what has to be done to ensure or prolong the companies survival as long as possible. You may not agree with their decisions, but not having access to the balance sheets, cash flow, and marketing projections, we are not in a position to point fingers and armchair quarterback this. That is not to say that every decision the exec's make will be right. But they will be the best that they know how to do at this time.

Nick and Drew have developed a very unique skill set. Online education with a woodworking emphasis and a Shopsmith focus. That can be translated into any number of opportunities. I firmly believe they will be okay. And when things are on the upswing again, it wouldn't surprise me if they return.

Shopsmith will survive in some shape or form, based on it's history. A company with a product based on a 1950's design, which was absent for 8 years and then returned will be around. Period. When things are better, money will start to be spent on hobbies once again. And those of you that can spend now to ease the strain I am sure are appreciated by Shopsmith.

As to this unfortunate turn of events, there are roughly 3400 of us here. Only a small margin participate. Everyone on this forum needs to step up to the plate ( no politics involved in this statement ).

Who would be willing to volunteer to moderate each individual forum? If you are willing, send a message to the Webmaster. He could probably use some relief.

The Shop Tips and Sawdust Sessions? We do have YouTube. Or we could possibly work something out for server space on the Shopsmith servers. To break this down into managable pieces, there probably should be a education committee, production, editing, and tech to keep these going. If the pieces are small enough and we plan far enough ahead it shouldn't consume anyone and keep this a hobby.

The Traveling Academy? That's tougher. The only thing I can see here is Shopsmith owners sharing time together in their geographic locations. I've never hauled one of the Mark V's around, but they seem to be portable enough. And if enough shopvac's were brought in by those attending, sawdust cleanup in library community rooms or park buildings shouldn't be a problem. Pooling resources for a ad, sponsorship by a woodworking store,lumber yard, etc. or community newspapers and fliers could bring in the general public. Charging a small stipend could cover or lessen expenses.

Backup for the ultimate disaster - Should the servers be shut down, there is the alternate website, or the creation of a new one. The thing here will be to work with Shopsmith to make sure the content is still available.

Okay, I've opened up this can of worms. Adios? I DON'T THINK SO. Not if we want it. And we can have it. As woodworkers foremost, we have a assumed obligation to pass on the hobby. As Shopsmith owners we have a unique toolset to showcase. If it helps to keep the company going, so much the better for all of us, and so much the better for future woodworkers.

The ball had to be put down. Let's join together and pick it up. Nick and Drew have shown us the way.

Are we going to pick it up?

Trust me People... this is the end of a true iconic product and brand.
Perhaps 30 years from now another John Folkerth type will need an arbor for his dad's old 520 , and resurrect an old machine, concept, etc from the early 2000s, hehehe

Wow. You guys are very kind. We really appreciate your kind words. Well, in the words of Jim Morrison, "The future uncertain, and the end is always near."



Drew

Nick & Drew,
I share the view of all the others, you have been a great teacher and my woodworking skills will be less because you are not present.

As an aside, I have spent a fair amount of money over the past 12 months solely attributable to you and your programming. I can only think that this was the same experience of others.

Finally, you have a marketable talent. You might consider looking for sponsors and moving out there similar to Norm at New England Workshop and broaden beyond SS.

Bill E.
Ravenna, TX

I am sorry to hear the cancellation of the Saw Dust Sessions program. I believe this is truly a short sighted mistake and the reasoning that it creates no cash flow is just not valid.

Saw Dust Sessions not only educate Shopsmith Owners on the use of their machines, they help generate the enthusiasm for wood working. They also increase an owner's motivation to buy that next accessory or part to get to the next level. The online lessons are available when I can enjoy them, a great advantage over trying to "fit in" a class, which would not happen.

If you are bored or frustrated you will not invest more in your Mark V.

Further, the various Shopsmith parts that are necessary for the jigs and setups, invented by Nick and Drew, have to generate more sales. Personally I have spent hundreds of dollars at Shopsmith this year as direct result of what I have learned through the Saw Dust Sessions and my desire to incorporate these improvements to my Mark V. Purchases I never would have made if someone hadn't shown me a better way.

I hope Shopsmith reconsiders their decision to end the internet lessons, they are hastening their own demise. Nothing sells a machine or accessory like seeing what it can do.

The creativity of Nick and Drew will sorely be missed.

Nick:

My heart goes out to you, Drew and the online group. I have enjoyed every one of yoru sawdust sessions and echo the comments of so many that I really hope you find a way to continue promoting woodworking via an online method. I have learned a lot from your sessions, to which I want to thank you so very much!

Good luck to you in the future and I hope to find your sawdust wisdom in some forum in the near future.

SeaWolf wrote:I am sorry to hear the cancellation of the Saw Dust Sessions program. I believe this is truly a short sighted mistake and the reasoning that it creates no cash flow is just not valid.

Saw Dust Sessions not only educate Shopsmith Owners on the use of their machines, they help generate the enthusiasm for wood working. They also increase an owner's motivation to buy that next accessory or part to get to the next level. The online lessons are available when I can enjoy them, a great advantage over trying to "fit in" a class, which would not happen.

If you are bored or frustrated you will not invest more in your Mark V.

Further, the various Shopsmith parts that are necessary for the jigs and setups, invented by Nick and Drew, have to generate more sales. Personally I have spent hundreds of dollars at Shopsmith this year as direct result of what I have learned through the Saw Dust Sessions and my desire to incorporate these improvements to my Mark V. Purchases I never would have made if someone hadn't shown me a better way.

I hope Shopsmith reconsiders their decision to end the internet lessons, they are hastening their own demise. Nothing sells a machine or accessory like seeing what it can do.

The creativity of Nick and Drew will sorely be missed.

This thread (and frankly several others) are just crammed full of speculation and supposition.

Shopsmith is not going away. They are experiencing the same problems that many other companies are during these hard, hard economic times. Credit is hard to get every where and Shopsmith, like so many other operations, are dependent on being able to finance the daily activities of the business. They may emerge with a new address but they will emerge from all of this.

The Sawdust Sessions will emerge too. I strongly believe that. They were in the process of becoming Shopsmith's other strong suit. These sessions are an asset and are required to advance the product line. Therefore, they shall reemerge bigger and better than ever. Who knows. Maybe they'll become part of the DIY educational series (and I am not kidding).

Remember back a while, on this forum, we were chatting about a new, state-of-the-art Shopsmith. Some referred to it as the Mark V 520 and others as the Mark VI (there might have been others]and built in outfeed table[/I]. Watch out Powermatic - here comes the Shopsmith Mark X.

SAVE YOUR MONEY - THIS PUPPY IS GOING TO GENERATE SALES BIG TIME.

I am one of the "owners" of Shopsmith, ie, a shareholder. The numbers I quote here are taken from public sources, MSN Money and the 2006 Shopsmith annual report. In the past 10 years Shopsmith sales topped out at
$19.55 million in their 2000 fiscal year by 2006 the figure had dropped to $11.12 million. Shopsmith went private in Dec 2005 and has not provided any financial reports since the 2006 one that I am aware of. In 2002 SS employed 130 full and part time personnel, by 2006 that number had dropped to 74. One of Nick's posts stated there were 22 people left if my memory is correct. In the latter 90's SS was a profitable concern with steady sales and a presence at woodworking shows and constantly demonstrating the product. The woodworking shows got smaller in the past 5-6 years, SS dropped out due to the high cost and the big show almost disappeared two years ago. For anyone that took the factory tour in July it was apparent that only 50-60%of the factory floor was in use. SS has been trying to sell the building or lease portions for the past year or so. I hope they are sucessful with that, the long term debt that the building represents holds them back in my opinion. I hope the company is sucessful in surviving but things must be nip and tuck at the moment with this bad economy and the ww hobby slowing down. I blame no person and have nothing but praise for the company and the MK V. Thats my two pennies worth, it's off to the mountains for a week.

chrispitude wrote:Wow. Everything I've purchased for my neglected 500 that sat unused for years (including my 500 to 520 upgrade) was a direct result of discovering and watching the Hands On videos. These videos have reawakened in me an interest in woodworking as a hobby. Nick and Drew were Shopsmith to me. What worries me is that I'm sure the folks at Shopsmith know this, and yet they were forced into this position.

I guess all we can do is keep our fingers crossed and buy what we need to keep on keeping on.

Nick, Drew, I hope you guys can find the time to be an active part of this community. Best wishes,

- Chris

+1 Chris. I also bought the OPR and 520 conversion because of the internet and archived videos. I plan to adapt the OPR like Nick showed in one of the Sawdust sessions. This forum is the reason I have a shorty Mark V and my first Mark V (a 1950's) model, which I've ordered many parts to repair and upgrade.
The internet forum is the future (my community college is proof of that with many classes being offered online now) and I'm sure that the company is aware of this. I moderate another forum and we have gone through crisis there with the discontinuation of our base interest. We have tried to adopt new interest and that has only developed mild interest which makes it hard to justify several hundred dollars a month for server fees. I have researched with some IT professionals and know that server fees can be had for less. Still, we have managed to stay viable after almost three years after the production run of our product stopped. We purchase parts and modifications that are discussed and found by members all over the world. I would hope that this forum would manage to be a viable option for Shopsmith as it maintains the company's presence on the internet.
I've written several papers for my college classes featuring Shopsmith as my focus over the past year. I trust that they are doing only necessary belt tightening at this time.

Nick, Drew, I am praying for the best for both of you and your families. We here on the forum care about you both and feel like you are part of our families.
Tough times don't last, only tough people do.

pinkie aka John

First time I've popped in to the forum in weeks and...


...crap. This sucks...