Shopsmith Forums

This is one of my rare post as I usually have very little to say but recently I have been wondering as the forum membership approaches the 4000 mark, just who we are and where we are and what do we have in the way of equipment. No, I am not being nosy, however, as Shopsmith owners and many who are not Shopsmith owners, we as a whole are a very unique group amoung tool owners.

There are only a very small group of us who say a bit about ourselves, where we are located in general terms and what equipment we may have and use. Almost on a daily basis, we have new members to join our group who never display where they are or what they may have or use. To me, it does not matter if you use machinery from Harbor Freight or Delta or Shopsmith, I'm just interested in what others use and find valuable in their hobbies. I also live in a small town in Thomaston, Georgia and there may be a half dozen other Shopsmith owners here and I would never know about it. People with similar equipment, especially Shopsmith owners tend to congregate and share ideas and knowledge.

There are a handful of you on this forum who has, through your postings, shared volumes of personal experiences and information about Shopsmith and non Shopsmith alike. How about the majority of you out there telling us more about what you use and where you are. No one is out to get you or judge you about your personal preferences. I find it extremely informative on what others actually own and use because it gives me somewhat of an insight on the good and the bad.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Am I being too intrusive?

Arno

Hi,

I always find forums interesting, and I see patterns much like this forum has, that being a lot of none posting members. I see nothing wrong with that as it is a personal choice and we do have a lot of posts to read. I fear the 3793 member number might be misleading as anyone that signs up I think is left in the count even if they have never visited since or have stopped visiting for what ever reason. It would be interesting to see how many people have say visited in the last month or last 6 months... that would be a better way to know how many reasonable active members we have.

What we can know by checking the members list is that we have a total of 862 members who have at least posted once. That amounts to about 23% of our total number of members. These are all rounded numbers and given at a single point in time when I did the math so it will change...

@ least 2 posts 16%
@ least 10 posts 5%
@ least 100 posts 1%

At present only 8 people have over 500 post and 4 over 1000 with one outstanding poster reaching for the 2000 mark!

So this is about how these forums go.

As far as location or other personal information that is up to what people want to put, a personal choice. I know the location is a nice thing to know because it can help you locate people close by but unless they are posting often it would be hard to find them... not a search item on the members list so it might be a while before you can seach the 3793 individuals to find someone located near you.

As far as tools owned... or other facts about a person it is the same deal, there is no way to search for that information so unless you post often people are not going to be able to find this information out without a lot of effort.

I see nothing wrong with your ideas but as the forum is now setup I don't see how you will be able to find the information stuck in the data base. I know it could be done if shopsmith were to make some changes and allow other seaches but other wise????

Ed

Who are we, just who are we that would want to read about what others do in their woodshop and what equipment they use or wished they could use and what they want to build or have already built or the mistakes they made while doing so.

I think there are a lot of us out there but many of us do not feel comfortable putting a lot of personal information up on line. I do understand that though I do feel that there is very little risk associated with filling out the personal profile that this forum uses.

It is not necessary to give mailing addresses, telephone numbers or even email addresses. Emailing can be done by Private Message (PM) and no one knows. However, I have given out my name and numbers to many from the forum, some of whom I contact regularly. I have had no a single incident that makes me regret.

Quite the contrary, I have established some very close "long distance" relationships with people I know only because of their association here on the forum.

I feel that knowing something about another persons hobby and their level of expertise in that hobby makes it much easier to communicate. Some of us are in it as a hobby while others of us are more like professionals with still others being just a want-a-bee. Knowing this allows communication on a more personal and applicable basis.

However, if you don't want to share that info and prefer to just lurk in the background - that is fine to. Just don't be hesitant to come out on ask a question when you have one that you think might get answered here.

If you are going to post and especially if you plan to do it often, think about using that digital camera you own a lot more. I think pictures say what we want to say so much better. Furthermore, from the background in many of your shots will come some fabulous ideas for how to improve my own work area.

Please, step out there and let us all know you are there and that you are interested in participating. We would love to have you join us.

I'll start by adding my signature below.

I live over here in Folkston, not too far from Thomasville.

As far as my 20x20 detached shop goes:

Shopsmith 510
SS bandsaw on a SS power station
SS DC3300
Ryobi 30gal shop vac
Delta belt/disc sanding station
PortaCable routers (2)
PortaCable portable belt sander
Fein Multimaster

Tony:

Its Thomaston, not Thomasville. Thomaston is near Macon. I do however want to come to your town really bad. I was watching GPTV the other night and discovered its a train watchers paradise. When it comes to trains, I return to my childhood. When my wife and I are down that way, I plan to sit on the watching platform for several hours.

Arno

Living in the Giant Redwoods for the time being but probably moving to So. Oregon in a few years.
SS Mark V "Greenie" converted to a 520 with a newer headstock.
SS Mark V "Brownie" "Shorty Base, with the "Greenie's" headstock.
Cornfusin eh?:D
OPR, newer edition.
SS Band Saw, Jointer, Jig Saw.
Triton and Porter & Cable routers.
Porter & Cable Biscuit joiner (*)
Porter & Cable Random Orbit sander
Hitachi circular saw.
Delt 55-280 planer. (*)
(*)=new or untried at this time.
Various hand tools, but I am a beginner when it comes to furniture grade pieces. I've helped build a few log homes, refinished furniture, worked some other construction but fine measurements are new to me...and a bit intimidating to an old "eyeballer".
I just ordered a 510 carriage to mount the OPR on the shorty. If that doesn't pan out I'm going to convert it back to full length.
I'm a permanently disabled (30%) firefighter and going back to school for my 2nd life.
I also just signed up for beginning woodworking class at my community college where I go full-time as a culinary student.
P.S. All my tools were stolen when I moved from Il. to Ca., so I'm in a bit of a rebuilding mode.
Tools I lust after, Delta Radial Arm Saw or Incra Miter Sled 5000, and the Incra or Jointech system for the 520. I guess I lean toward having a seperate RAS so I can dedicate the SS Mark Vs to other functions.

pinkiewerewolf wrote: Tools I lust after, Delta Radial Arm Saw or Incra Miter Sled 5000, and the Incra or Jointech system for the 520. I guess I lean toward having a seperate RAS so I can dedicate the SS Mark Vs to other functions.

John, You might want to consider an old DeWalt RAS, like a GWI ,1030, 1500 or a 7790. These are 10" saws that were among the best ever built. The Delta center pivot models are also good. No matter what you get you will need a copy of the "Mr Sawdust" book and build the table in the book for the saw. Also get the correct blade for the saw.

Go to http://forums.delphiforums.com/woodbutcher/start for more info. All your questions about RAS will be answered here. It is a forum for old DeWalt RAS. Good luck.

Thanks for the information Dick!
I have admired the older DeWalt RAS but I'm still a bit afraid of getting an older model that I can't use correctly. My Dad bought an older Craftsman RAS and the thing was so far out of whack that I wouldn't use it...I think he stopped using it.
My mech skills have improved, maybe its time that I gave the older DeWalts a change to breathe new life.
I'm certainly happy with my restored 50's Mark V.
I'll peruse the link and forum at length during winter break from school.
Thanks again.
John