Shopsmith Forums

This might interest you guys. I bought it a few months back off craigslist in Tucson. It is a German mini-tool called a "Bosch Combi-Tool". It is actually the very first one they ever made (1957) and must have been imported by a US serviceman or something like that, as it is wired for 220 and instructions are all in German.
It comes in a full cabinet (which I had to rebuild nearly from scratch) and offers the following tools all powered by the same motor.
Drill press
Bandsaw (4 inch table, 31 inch blade)
Table Saw (5 inch table) takes 4 inch /100mm blades
Belt sander (1.25x20 inch belts)
Lathe
Planer (basically just a rotary cutting wheel an inch wide mounts on the belt sander platform)
Disc sander
Horizontal boring
Box Joint maker (with two blades, one for 1/8 joints, the other for 1/4, along with a mechanism with pins which lets you move the wood along for each joint.)

I have been restoring it, have managed to have bandsaw blades, belt sander belts manufactured to my specs, found saw blades online that will work, and have rebuilt the machine pretty much from scratch, including having to 3D print one part. I still have about half a dozen parts out being powdercoated, but it will be finished soon!

Pretty cool!

Some years back I had a chance to buy an Emco Star combination machine. Circa 1970, it was brand new, it had never been uncrated. Wasn't the best time to spend a few hundred bucks but I should have found a way to swing it. Here's some info about these devices:
https://woodgears.ca/reader/paul/emcostar.html

Every time I see one of these old timey multi tools I realize how much of a mechanical genius Hans Goldschmitt was. We are all to be thankful for his persistence.
Bill V