Should we be concerned?
Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2023 9:05 am
I started my woodworking hobby with a borrowed Mark V for about a year (back in 2012 to build nursery furniture for my first kid), went to other tools, and eventually my wife got me a Mark 7 + planer in early 2020 (pre-covid).
Since getting my Mark 7, I have noticed a slow but steady decline in the number of products, mainly accessories and SPTs, offered by Shopsmith. I think the first thing I noticed go away was the molder head and profile blades, then the shaper bit options were greatly reduced. I think after that there was a SPT that was removed from the lineup, but can't put a finger on what it was. And now, we have the removal of the planer from the website.
Also, during this same time period (1/1/2020 - 11/29/2023), I have seen the introduction of a new control panel for the Mark 7 with, as I understand it, no real new features, only a new HMI (human-machine interface). So a mostly minor update to one product, but no other real new products being offered. They also offered a few different ways of packaging currently shipping machines, but I see that as a marketing/market offering thing more than actual new engineering.
I'm an electrical design engineer who helps to develop new and innovative technologies for a company who most people think still make computers, is rather old, is referred to by three letters, and is associated with the color blue (hopefully that spells it out pretty well without violating company policies about making my post be associated with the company name, because I definitely don't speak for the company). I have seen a handful of posts on here stating that most of the customers of SS are older and set in their ways. I'm 40, so not necessarily older, but not exactly young anymore, so take this as you will. I state all of this to give as much background into my thinking as I can.
It just seems to me that over the last few years there has been more of a shrinking of the product offerings with only minor updates to existing products. I even think that some of those product updates, like the touch screen, were likely driven by the obsolescence of components that were integral to the old interface, or were likely designed by/through/with a third party. From the product offering side I don't see a lot of new and innovative products coming down the line, only a company who is just trying to produce and sell the same product that they have been making for the past decade+. In the field I work in, if you stagnate on your new offerings, you die. I know this isn't quite true for the power tool market, but it seems to me like SS is definitely in decline.
So, in the end, should we be worried about the future of the company? Hopefully the new owner can get some new engineering in the company and come out with some cool, new offerings at decent prices for us. It also would be nice to see most of the products being offered through Woodcraft and Rockler. I wouldn't go as far as having them stocked in the stores, but listed on their sites would go a long way. I think this makes more sense than being listed on Amazon, but that's just me.
Since getting my Mark 7, I have noticed a slow but steady decline in the number of products, mainly accessories and SPTs, offered by Shopsmith. I think the first thing I noticed go away was the molder head and profile blades, then the shaper bit options were greatly reduced. I think after that there was a SPT that was removed from the lineup, but can't put a finger on what it was. And now, we have the removal of the planer from the website.
Also, during this same time period (1/1/2020 - 11/29/2023), I have seen the introduction of a new control panel for the Mark 7 with, as I understand it, no real new features, only a new HMI (human-machine interface). So a mostly minor update to one product, but no other real new products being offered. They also offered a few different ways of packaging currently shipping machines, but I see that as a marketing/market offering thing more than actual new engineering.
I'm an electrical design engineer who helps to develop new and innovative technologies for a company who most people think still make computers, is rather old, is referred to by three letters, and is associated with the color blue (hopefully that spells it out pretty well without violating company policies about making my post be associated with the company name, because I definitely don't speak for the company). I have seen a handful of posts on here stating that most of the customers of SS are older and set in their ways. I'm 40, so not necessarily older, but not exactly young anymore, so take this as you will. I state all of this to give as much background into my thinking as I can.
It just seems to me that over the last few years there has been more of a shrinking of the product offerings with only minor updates to existing products. I even think that some of those product updates, like the touch screen, were likely driven by the obsolescence of components that were integral to the old interface, or were likely designed by/through/with a third party. From the product offering side I don't see a lot of new and innovative products coming down the line, only a company who is just trying to produce and sell the same product that they have been making for the past decade+. In the field I work in, if you stagnate on your new offerings, you die. I know this isn't quite true for the power tool market, but it seems to me like SS is definitely in decline.
So, in the end, should we be worried about the future of the company? Hopefully the new owner can get some new engineering in the company and come out with some cool, new offerings at decent prices for us. It also would be nice to see most of the products being offered through Woodcraft and Rockler. I wouldn't go as far as having them stocked in the stores, but listed on their sites would go a long way. I think this makes more sense than being listed on Amazon, but that's just me.