Shopsmith's new website is up....

[adrianpglover]

What got me about the planer box is that it had pictures of the planer on the outside, so it was the box they invented it to ship in, but the internal material looked like it was packed as if you were to delicately place it on a store shelf, and not be handed off to a shipper. I always view what happens to something you ship the same as that '60s Samsonite commercial where they placed some bananas inside a suitcase and put it in a cage with a gorilla or ape.

[algale]

Even in the relatively short period of time I have been a Shopsmith customer (14 years) the quality of the internal packing on shipments has gotten noticeably worse.

[JPG]

Even in the relatively short period of time I have been a Shopsmith customer (14 years) the quality of the internal packing on shipments has gotten noticeably worse.

Not a SS only phenomenon.

[RFGuy]

I agree many companies ship delicate items these days in ways that will ensure damage. Amazon is a prime example (pun intended). It has been a while since I purchased my Shopsmith gear, but what I remember was the Mark V was packaged well and I think there are pics around the internet showing how they are packed. It came by freight, which honestly is often safer than a service like Fedex. Most freight drivers are really careful and do their best getting each item to their destination unharmed, provided they are properly secure on a pallet or have a suitable sturdy box construction. What I seem to remember for the SPT's is they came in boxes and had foam inserts around them - you know the expandable foam stuff. No way they were going to move around and lots of cushion to protect from exterior box damage. Perhaps someone else can confirm this is how they received theirs as well in the distant past? Switching to an open box construction, no padding, for items like the planer or UTR is just crazy IMHO. ONLY explanation I can come up with is cost cutting at Shopsmith and just rolling the dice each time they ship hoping for no damage claims.

[adrianpglover]

From what I remember, when the planer came in the box had a hole in it and was partially crushed. Inside the box, it wasn't just empty space, but it wasn't well packed either. There were the hardboard corner braces running up the vertical corners, and some kind of brown paper padding - more than just the wrinkled packing paper that Amazon uses, but clearly not enough to keep a ~45 lbs object centered in the packaging when rolling the box over to move it onto and off of shelves/conveyors. I don't remember there being any kind of form fitting molded cardboard, styrofoam, or even the expanding foam in a bag type of packing material in the box. Since the MK7 had come in in such a wonderful condition on the pallet, already setup to start cutting wood with the blade mounted and everything, I started testing out the planer right away and didn't realize for a while that I needed to align/adjust it and make sure it was all working before going further.

[RFGuy]

From what I remember, when the planer came in the box had a hole in it and was partially crushed. Inside the box, it wasn't just empty space, but it wasn't well packed either. There were the hardboard corner braces running up the vertical corners, and some kind of brown paper padding - more than just the wrinkled packing paper that Amazon uses, but clearly not enough to keep a ~45 lbs object centered in the packaging when rolling the box over to move it onto and off of shelves/conveyors. I don't remember there being any kind of form fitting molded cardboard, styrofoam, or even the expanding foam in a bag type of packing material in the box. Since the MK7 had come in in such a wonderful condition on the pallet, already setup to start cutting wood with the blade mounted and everything, I started testing out the planer right away and didn't realize for a while that I needed to align/adjust it and make sure it was all working before going further.

Adrian,

Yeah, this is my point, there should have been. It has been about 2 decades since I received my SPT's and Mark V, but that is what I remember for my Mark V mounted planer. It came in a sturdy carboard box but with spray foam inside and around it. I couldn't imagine receiving an item like that planer in any kind of box that isn't well packed and protected. More recently though, my UTR was also packed poorly similar to your planer. I have pics around here that I can post. It was just a bunch of loose parts thrown in a box with a sheet of packing paper. It is sooo heavy that when Fedex threw the package around, the long arm section of it flew out one end of the package. What does Fedex do? Push it back in, tape it up and deliver it to me. I had so many missing parts and it took multiple contacts with customer service and failed attempts to get me the correct parts that were missing. I am sure they filed it on an insurance claim with Fedex, but the error was Shopsmith for thinking they could ship such a heavy item as a UTR inside of an open box, i.e. no padding or protection inside.

[RFGuy]

So, in 2019 this is how my UTR (lathe universal tool rest) arrived. Those of you who know the UTR and its components can try to spot what components are missing. Think of it like the inverse of Where's Waldo? The first pic shows ALL that I received on my initial shipment. It took several follow-up shipments, NOT one, to get all of the parts from Shopsmith AND an engineer support phone call because they didn't send a matched Support Base and Top Support (have to be machined together). A LOT of hassle over such a simple accessory to order and SIGNIFICANT delay in getting a working UTR eventually. Fedex lost the parts that went flying out of the original shipment because there was no padding in the box. This box was also too low of a grade, i.e. thin and flimsy carboard. You can see all of the box damage and how they taped it back up. It is Fedex's fault for taping the box back up like nothing had happened, but it was Shopsmith's fault for attempting to ship such a heavy item as loose parts flailing around inside of a carboard box with NO packing protection inside. In recent years, this is the Shopsmith that I see. I try not to be negative on this forum, but who wouldn't be frustrated with this kind of customer experience???

Spoiler: UTR parts diagram below for anyone that wants to compare what actually came in my shipment to what it is supposed to have.

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UTR_box2.jpg (80.16 KiB) Viewed 661359 times

UTR_box3.jpg (77.51 KiB) Viewed 661359 times

UTR_box4.jpg (89.31 KiB) Viewed 661359 times

UTR_diagram_small.jpg (153.98 KiB) Viewed 661348 times

[DLB]

My last purchase of an item that required significant packaging was the DC3300 upgrade kit. It came well protected; wrapped in a very heavy paper cardboard wrap. No complaints here. Shopsmith did not cut corners on this shipment.

DLB received a DC kit at about the same time. Hope he comments on this as well.

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Yes, My DC-6K kit was well packaged. As discussed in another thread, mine had some severe air leaks and I had to return it for rework, so my packaging was used 3 times. I also recently bought a UTR and it was either packaged much better than RF Guy's or did not experience the same rough handling. I figured it was too heavy to toss around. Actually I think it was in a much better box, one of those heavy-duty tri-wall cardboard types. I'll see if I still have the box to confirm after it warms up a bit.

- David

[DLB]

So, in 2019 this is how my UTR (lathe universal tool rest) arrived. Those of you who know the UTR and its components can try to spot what components are missing. Think of it like the inverse of Where's Waldo?

Wow! I think I got it, but no spoilers. Yeah, I've actually received things a couple of times (not SS that I recall) where the carrier had put the demolished box inside a new box with a new shipping label. Missing numerous components. And once I was expecting some shock absorbers from Amazon, the truck pulled into my driveway but the driver never got our and drove away after a while. I received a refund that noted shipping damage and had to reorder.

- David

[RFGuy]

I also recently bought a UTR and it was either packaged much better than RF Guy's or did not experience the same rough handling. I figured it was too heavy to toss around. Actually I think it was in a much better box, one of those heavy-duty tri-wall cardboard types. I'll see if I still have the box to confirm after it warms up a bit.

- David

David,

Thanks. The silver lining, I guess, is Shopsmith learned their lesson, at least on shipping a UTR, from my bad, bad experience. The UTR was the most egregious shipping problem that I had from them, but I had a few others of lesser severity but still annoying and component damaging. That was back when I was accumulating the last of Shopsmith accessories that I wanted, in case they went out of business. By the way, that box label for my UTR shows a 29lbs edge crust test rating. I don't really know cardboard box ratings and the Shopsmith website doesn't list the total weight of the UTR, but I am guessing due to the construction of that particular box that it was underdesigned to ship an item like a UTR. Would be interesting to know the box label on the bottom of your box, i.e. what it's edge crush test rating is for comparison. I'll bet you received a higher quality ($$) box than I received my UTR in.