Shopsmith Forums

pinkiewerewolf wrote:I also bought the OPR and 520 conversion because of the internet and archived videos.

Me too

pinkiewerewolf wrote:Nick, Drew, I am praying for the best for both of you and your families.

Me too!

Paul

To Nick and Drew, I want to extend a sincere THANK YOU for all you have done the past several months at Shopsmith. It was an honor to meet you at the Owners' weekend and then spend nearly a week working under your direction at the Academy class. I hope for all of the members of this forum and those who watched the Sawdust sessions, that you (or Shopsmith) will produce the DVDs with ALL the Sawdust sessions and Video Tips that you recorded, and more important for you that you get some royalties on the sales of those DVDs. I had already ordered the first 6 volumes when they were offered, but apparently, there has been some "problem" with their production. I certainly plan to get a complete set if/when the remainder of the Sawdust sessions and video tips become available on DVD.
God Bless you and your families.

There is a really old quote that I like. "Tough times don't last, tough people do". Folks have to remember that. I doubt that Shopsmith is going to fold it's doors overnight. They might downsize for a while, like a lot of businesses, but Shopsmith occupies a niche in the industry that will sustain it for some time. I am very sorry to hear that Nick and Drew were laid off. The on-line program was a interesting marketing tool and a great educational program. Both Nick and Drew appear to be talented folks and I suspect that they will bounce back soon enough. For the folks that are thinking about holding off on purchases, I wouldn't. In fact, I've made a few more that I normally would not have made. First, the sale prices of the items I bought are reasonable compared to other retail establishments in my area. Second, those purchases might help the company stay afloat and recover. If the company recovers, maybe they'll bring back Nick and Drew.

Can't help but feel that Shopsmith has lost a good part of its soul by doing this.

blockhead-mark-v wrote:Can't help but feel that Shopsmith has lost a good part of its soul by doing this.

They certainly have and what worries me is that I don't expect Nick and Drew will be available when Shopsmith wants to return to normal.

dusty wrote:They certainly have and what worries me is that I don't expect Nick and Drew will be available when Shopsmith wants to return to normal.

The whole situation is discouraging. No one likes it. Knot the forum members, knot Nick, Drew, et al., and knot the ShopSmith company. I fully expect that Nick, Drew and all others effected by this event will persevere. That will undoubtably include them acquiring other jobs. With all that being said, I sure get the feeling that Nick is really involved with his ShopSmith equipment. He made mention that it was he that wrote some (if knot all) the SS tool manuals and maintenance procedures. Were knot those written before his involvement with the recent educational efforts that SS was making? Nick made mention of some of the projects that he was involved in (not as a ShopSmith employee/associate/whatever-he-was) using the Mark V and SPT's to create things like airplanes. Nick authored woodworking books, that included direction of Mark V use, while not an SS employee/associate/whatever-he-was. I personally believe (without any proof, just a feeling), that Nick will always be a ShopSmith fan, and if the opportunity opened up, once again, he wood join the ShopSmith Company family. I hope that is/will be the case.

Nick has been with Shopsmith in the past, then left, and then come back - at least on one other occasion. He was the original editor of "Hands on" magazine.

Now with his internet educational program experience, I hope that he can establish his own woodworking school, and perhaps include special classes for Shopsmith equipment as well. He is certainly well known and respected throughout the woodworking industry and this would seem to be a natural progression.

I have seen, on at least one occasion, where Nick has signed on to the forum after his letter of good-by. I hope that he reads the great comments in this thread.

Yes I have seen Nick several times lurking on this forum. Even though he is no longer with SS he should still be able to say hello on the forum as a member like us. For now we will just wait. I am sure he or Drew will stop by and say hello to us.

kd6vpe wrote: I am sure he or Drew will stop by and say hello to us.

I hope so.

Wow, I haven't been on the site for a while. Now, I find out about this! I started the Dave Ramsey plan in February, so I haven't been making any purchases outside of basic living so that I can get out of debt. When that happens, I planned to start saving for some needed add-ons. I wonder now if they will even be available when the time comes. This is a real bummer!