Shopsmith Forums

It is possible that WBB created his nom de plume from that skit.

FWIW he (WBB) had a habit of consuming martinis(?) prior to posting which tended to release his 'inhibitions'.

He was warned and then banned by Admin finally, but later returned as ERLOVER.(moderators did not exist back then)

He truly was a good woodworker but sadly he has passed on from this life(RIP Bob).


Look up some of his posts.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=15271

Thanks JPG. Sorry to hear about WBB, but that name just made me laugh because of that skit. I needed a good laugh today. Much appreciated.

I guess we all have a right to our opinions but sometimes it is better to temper how we express them. The post from Burlhunter here and in the post RFGuy referenced are over the top in my opinion. Of course, that is my opinion. For the record I am not, nor have I ever been a Shopsmith employee. I believe I have learned a great deal about the Shopsmith tools and their history which I am happy to share here in hopes of helping others. I have made incorrect statements here on the Forum and when I find I have, I do I try to correct them. For some of those incorrect statements I thank my fellow Forum Members for pointing out my errors. As for the Shopsmith employees they are human and not infallible. Most are fairly new as long time employees have now retired. There are changes that have occurred over the years to the tools and with those changes come references to have to look through to find the correct information. In some cases there have been many changes. It also depends on how you ask the question. I have told this story before but it is a good example of how to ask a question. I bought a used 1998 Bandsaw at an online auction almost 12 years ago. It was my first Shopsmith Bandsaw and was damaged during shipping. Because of that I was refunded the money and got to keep the damaged Bandsaw. The Main Frame (rear case) was damaged and I wanted to replace it. I contacted Shopsmith about it and asked if there are any differences to the Main Frame of the Bandsaw over the years. The answer was no. I bought a used 1978 Main Frame Assembly from an online auction but found there was a difference between it and the damaged 1998 Main Frame Assembly. Now notice the how I asked Shopsmith about the Main Frame as opposed to what I needed which was the Assembly. At that time the Main Frame Casting was the same but the Assembly had changed going from pressed in bushings for the table bolts as part of the Assembly to slip in bushings as a separate part. Each require different mounting hardware as some of you know. The only actual change to the Main Frame is the addition of two threaded holes for mounting the Power Shaft Cover/Guard. Simply put it is how we ask a question that can get us the correct answer or not and pictures do help, As for the length for the Bandsaw Blades it is not a secret that they are 72" long and that size can be found from other suppliers.

EDIT: I was just getting ready to copy the original 1956 Bandsaw Manual and on page 5, figure 10 it gives the blade length of 72" long.

Blade length is listed in the newer bandsaw manual too. Page 7

As RPD shows above the Bandsaw Blade length is not a secret. That page can be found in the Online Manual available right here on the Shopsmith website. Thanks Ron. The original Manual I reference above has it and I have looked through other Bandsaw Manuals made over the years and found it. It just takes a little reading to find the information.

Missing is the ±1/2" tolerance.(does not have to be 'exactly' 72" but must be within a half inch). The tension arm range is the limiting factor.