Shopsmith Forums

Went to a WW Show at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL. (just across the river from St. Louis) this past weekend Feb. 6,7,8 and everybody was there except SS. Was a little disappointed until I saw Norm. He was busy signed autographs and getting his picture taken with anybody and everybody.

Lots of great demo's and seminars especially regarding finishing and cabinet doors on router tables. It appears that all venders sold a lot of machines and tools.
Still disappointing that SS wasn't there

Hey, I was there Friday as well. True, SS wasn't there, but did you expect them to be?

I did though order a Forrest 9" WW2 blade to fit the 1 1/4" arbor. With the show discount, it basically made the shipping and special arbor size free.

Though, I was asking questions about the blades, and the guy just didn't seem like he wanted to sell me a blade or didn't think I was seriously going to purchase.

After a bit of prying answers out of him, I asked HIM how I start the order.

I miss the Mid West!
Ex Illinoisan here. Tazewell county, Mackinaw Illinois.

It sounds like a great show except for our favorite manufacturer not being there. I never did see one of the demos in person. I would have liked to though. I bet it is something to see the pros move through the changes while talking to the crowd.
I always love that "Expo" feel.

Kansas City show is this weekend. I will be there.

I hope NORM! is there. I have enjoyed his shows since I was in high school and dreamt of remodling/restoring old colonial houses for living.

I am hoping to get a deal on a Forrest WW2 blade at the show. We'll see. If the WW show is anything like the Sportsman/Hunting/Fishing shows, there's plenty to buy, not a lot of "deals".

The 9" 40T forrest was $89.99 before the custom/shipping.
Forrest lists this blade at $105.00 on website.

If your looking for the 10" with 1 1/4 arbor... show price was $109.99, but that was 1/8" kerf which is not thin kerf.

The 10" thin kerf was $84.99 with a 5/8" arbor.
The custom arbor size is an additional $7.50
Add $8 shipping, would make $100.49.

That same blade would cost $106.75 plus shipping. So, I would figure maybe a $10-15 savings.

My 14 year old son and I went to the Columbus (OH) show a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. Norm wasn't there, but we didn't care. He got to turn a pen for free. Now it looks like I'll have to get some kits and blanks!
Shopsmith wasn't there nor did I expect them to be. They are not listed as a vendor on the show website http://cms.thewoodworkingshows.com/
IMHO I don't think it would be a good venue for Shopsmith anyway. Most attendees are already into woodworking so they already have tablesaws, drill presses, lathes., etc,.
That being said, I think that Shopsmith has done a terrible job of marketing their machine. They didn’t when they had the money, and now, evidently, they can’t afford it. With the expertise and videos they have you would think it would be fairly simple to produce an infomercial, but it would be expensive to air.

Sincerely,
Ron

taquin wrote:The 9" 40T forrest was $89.99 before the custom/shipping.
Forrest lists this blade at $105.00 on website.

If your looking for the 10" with 1 1/4 arbor... show price was $109.99, but that was 1/8" kerf which is not thin kerf.

The 10" thin kerf was $84.99 with a 5/8" arbor.
The custom arbor size is an additional $7.50
Add $8 shipping, would make $100.49.

That same blade would cost $106.75 plus shipping. So, I would figure maybe a $10-15 savings.

Thanks for that info......

I currently live in IL and have been to 3 or 4 shows at Collinsville, IL (St. Louis area). Never have seen SS at the Woodworking Shows in Collinsville. I've only ever seen SS at one of the Woodworking Shows I've attended, in fact. -And that was at least 6-7 years ago in Denver (when we lived out in that neck of the woods.) I was pretty excited to see their booth, but they might just as well have been lepers, because everybody seemed to be gravitating to the "other" machines.

With that said, though, when I approached the booth and started to strike up a conversation with the rep., it was like pulling teeth. You'd think he'd have been excited to have a warm body there and maybe generate some momentum. At that time I wanted to see the planer in action, as I didn't (yet) have one. He wouldn't take it off of the display stand, much less fire it up on the SS. Needless to say, I didn't buy. (And if I didn't buy, as a SS "fanboy" - you can probably guess the marginally-interested didn't buy anything either.) Not surprising that they aren't attending expositions anymore.

kartoffelkopf wrote:I currently live in IL and have been to 3 or 4 shows at Collinsville, IL (St. Louis area). Never have seen SS at the Woodworking Shows in Collinsville. I've only ever seen SS at one of the Woodworking Shows I've attended, in fact. -And that was at least 6-7 years ago in Denver (when we lived out in that neck of the woods.) I was pretty excited to see their booth, but they might just as well have been lepers, because everybody seemed to be gravitating to the "other" machines.

With that said, though, when I approached the booth and started to strike up a conversation with the rep., it was like pulling teeth. You'd think he'd have been excited to have a warm body there and maybe generate some momentum. At that time I wanted to see the planer in action, as I didn't (yet) have one. He wouldn't take it off of the display stand, much less fire it up on the SS. Needless to say, I didn't buy. (And if I didn't buy, as a SS "fanboy" - you can probably guess the marginally-interested didn't buy anything either.) Not surprising that they aren't attending expositions anymore.

It costs big bucks to participate in one of those shows. With a tight economy and an even tighter corporate budget I guess I can understand their absence. What adverising do they do now. I used to receive a catalog ever now and then but that hasn't happened in at least a year. I don't even get the emails that I used to.

Those wood shows are full of customers. It's an absolutely great place to get a product exposed and get those customers all excited about your product. So is a Lowes, and paper ads in wood working magazines.

When a product has no advertising, it has no customers because the customers don't know it exists. It's a circle of death that many a good company has gone down. Most people today think Shopsmith is some long extinct tool that their grandfather used to use. They have no idea it's still made, and still a very good versitile tool. All because of no advertising.