Shopsmith Forums

The catalog prices and the email special prices are confusing

I have mixed emotions about both versions of the Power Pro.

On the one hand, price aside, there is a real appeal to the Power Pro's increased power, greater speed range (with no increaser/decreaser attachments), the ability to reverse the rotation of the quill for occasional operations, and the built-in menu driven system that in theory chooses the best speed based on the operation and wood.

On the other hand, I like the simplicity, clean looks and tactile feel of spinning the trusty mechanical dial on my mechanical head stock to set the Shopsmith's speed. By now I know what speed to set for most operations I do routinely.

If I could design a future Power Pro 3.0, it would come with the best of both worlds. The head stock would have a speed dial that looked on the outside and and felt like the classic speed dial we all know so well but that was just connected to a stiff potentiometer (or whatever) necessary to adjust the speed of the Power Pro motor. But the electronics inside the head stock would be blue tooth enabled and would connect the Shopsmith to a smartphone/tablet app for those wishing to have a screen-driven/menu drive experience or to access the less frequently used operations (speeds above or below the classic mechanical speed range, and reverse).

I love my Mark V Model 520 and there will never be a Power Pro (any version) in this shop. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

dusty wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2023 8:07 am I love my Mark V Model 520 and there will never be a Power Pro (any version) in this shop. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

No apologies necessary, in my opinion.

I doubt there will ever be one in my shop, either, given the price of buying one new and my reluctance to buy used electronics.

Sorry for the confusion on the prices. The website page has been corrected. (a mistake in the item number got coped through to the email as well).

dusty wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2023 8:07 am I love my Mark V Model 520 and there will never be a Power Pro (any version) in this shop. Sorry, that is just the way it is.

I feel the same way. I'm still in the camp that the time proven simplicity of the old headstock outweighs the advantages of the PowerPro.

I have two mark 5's upgraded to 520's and both of them have been working flawlessly for 30+ years. Don't mess with success. If I do ever upgrade one to a PowerPro, I will buy a complete headstock so I'll be able to revert easily if/when the PowerPro fails.

I don't use the Gen 1 speed chart very much because the small display and limited buttons make it kind of clunky. I use it if I don't know the speed I want. The Gen 2 is evidently much improved, appears to give me 12 options at once rather than 12 things I have to scroll through. I suspect this improvement would instantly convert me to using the speed chart for most operations.

I'm curious about the 4000 RPM preset for mounted planer (which I don't own). The Gen 1 speed chart uses 4000 RPM Reverse for the planer. A Reverse preset seems like a bad idea, especially for users that don't use a mounted planer. But a 4000 RPM FWD preset labeled Planer seems like a bad idea for those that do.

While running, the Gen 1 display is limited by its size to displaying RPM measured. A selling feature to me would be what the Gen 2 displays. Temperature(s) and Amps come to mind as useful parameters.

- David

algale wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2023 7:30 am I have mixed emotions about both versions of the Power Pro.

I have mixed emotions about any PowerPro version as well, but also adding in the original Mark V headstock that I own for comparison sake. The mechanically inclined part of me likes the mechanical speed dial and easy/relatively cheap repairs on the original headstock. The electrical engineer part of me likes the new touchscreen interface and opportunity for more info/control options possible with a new interface via the Gen 2 PowerPro. Also like the increased power available with it. Honestly, for TS and most other modes, I really don't need an electronic control like the PowerPro offers. I don't do router/shaper on my Mark V, so I know all speeds by heart for what I need and go on feel/sound more than anything. One area where I really like the possibility of a touchscreen Gen 2 PowerPro is doing something analogous to what Nova already offers with their Voyager DVR drill press. It has the Striatech DVR motor but has more control of depth and speed settings specifically for drilling operations. I have drooled over it in the store a few times and IF I had a big enough shop I would probably have already bought one of these for a dedicated drill station. To me, that is one area where I think the Gen 2 PowerPro could excel is in mimicking or exceeding what the Nova Voyager DVR offers in the market, but I don't even know if the Gen 2 display auto-rotates when in vertical (drill press mode) - talking about internal software rotation and scaling, i.e. I don't expect the HW (touchscreen) itself to rotate in vertical mode. This is really important and I would like to know in vertical mode if Shopsmith expects me to cant my head sideways to read the display on it or whether the internal SW auto-rotates and appropriately scales the image so that I can view it normally when in drill press mode? Lastly, the accountant in me has a hard time coughing up that many pennies (279,500) to afford one of these, so I am conflicted but would like to see it in person to make a better determination.

Anyone know when/where demos will be? Can't find anything on this on the website like it used to be.

https://www.teknatool.com/products/dril ... ill-press/

RFGuy wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2023 11:18 am Anyone know when/where demos will be? Can't find anything on this on the website like it used to be.

Seems like SS has migrated the meaning of live demos to mean via web. As far as I know they stopped doing the Lowe's roadshow style demos in the early days of covid, and if they haven't resumed by now I suspect that's not the plan. Which is unfortunate, but suggests the company doesn't see them the way I do. I attended two just before covid, one to look and one to buy. They seemed highly successful, major sales in each one, but perhaps were not as profitable.(?) I would expect the web demos that Doug and Mike do to rapidly transition to the Gen 2 TS PP. I have not attended one of these, but it is described as 'live' so presumably the audience can ask questions.

Personally, I could talk myself into one of the PP1 to PP2 upgrades IFF it includes the dust tolerant position/RPM sensor. That seems clear in the description but not in the picture. I'm not worked up about some of the "improvements," I don't recall SS ever releasing new software, don't need/want a second thermal shutdown mechanism, and if I thought I needed a fuse I'd add one. But the TS, improved interface to the speed charts, user defined presets, are all things I'd like and use.

- David

DLB wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2023 2:12 pm Seems like SS has migrated the meaning of live demos to mean via web. As far as I know they stopped doing the Lowe's roadshow style demos in the early days of covid, and if they haven't resumed by now I suspect that's not the plan. Which is unfortunate, but suggests the company doesn't see them the way I do. I attended two just before covid, one to look and one to buy. They seemed highly successful, major sales in each one, but perhaps were not as profitable.(?) I would expect the web demos that Doug and Mike do to rapidly transition to the Gen 2 TS PP. I have not attended one of these, but it is described as 'live' so presumably the audience can ask questions.

Personally, I could talk myself into one of the PP1 to PP2 upgrades IFF it includes the dust tolerant position/RPM sensor. That seems clear in the description but not in the picture. I'm not worked up about some of the "improvements," I don't recall SS ever releasing new software, don't need/want a second thermal shutdown mechanism, and if I thought I needed a fuse I'd add one. But the TS, improved interface to the speed charts, user defined presets, are all things I'd like and use.

- David

David,

Thanks. Yeah, I was hoping to see it in person, but I would settle for seeing an online demo or even just a YT video where it is taken through its paces. I know it is still early since this only just dropped in the new catalog, but if anyone sees more info especially videos please post a link to it. IF live demos with Mike Young are gone for good that is definitely sad. Only met him a few times but he was always super helpful and informative to talk to. Not to mention a really nice guy.

Yeah, I was wondering as well about that comment in the catalog description with regard to the sensors being more dust tolerant. I am just wondering if that is a Gen 1 -> Gen 2 change or if this is just a new description of what was perceived to always be there on the Gen 1...though I know many Gen 1 users report occasional issues with those sensors due to dust infiltration. Appreciate your feedback.