Shopsmith Forums

For those of you who know me on the forum, I have spoken often about my father here. As a kid I helped him build his 12' x 18' woodworking shop. We did everything from building the concrete forms, framing it, cutting and putting rafters on and roofing it. We even built a wide custom door for entry into the shop. The only thing we didn't do was pour the concrete and float it ourselves. In this shop, I learned woodworking, both alongside him but also exploring on my own. We started on his Craftsman tablesaw which was NOT a good iteration from Craftsman. A few years later he got the Shopsmith bug and bought a 510 from the Shopsmith store in Norfolk, VA. At least, I think it was in Norfolk, but it could have been the surrounding area. I was a kid so I really wasn't paying attention to anything other than that it was an hour drive away to go to the Shopsmith store. My Dad and I learned A LOT on that 510 and it was vastly superior to that particular Craftsman tablesaw that he had. He built a lot of projects in that shop, usually for family, including furniture. He even remodeled the outdated kitchen, building custom cabinets, in that original Jim Walter home...those of you on the East Coast might remember that homebuilder. In fact, I should point out that before he ever built that shop, he remodeled our home, more than doubling the square footage of that tiny Jim Walter home. He even added a 2nd story. While he did hire construction crews for some of it, he did A LOT of the work himself when I was very young. No architect was needed as the plans were in his head for what he wanted to build. I should point out that he learned how to do all of this himself working alongside construction crews as an Electrician. He built the bed that I grew up on as well as the floor, roof and walls around it. When my sister built a new house, he built custom bathroom vanities and other projects for her. Bringing it back to his shop, as a kid I built wooden toys to start with - well really anything I found interesting in Wood magazine that month. Thanks to it, I even learned how to shape and build boomerangs. I mean what teenager doesn't want to build and play with those? When I went off to college I came home in between to build a cherry jewelry box and a keepsake box with a carved rose inset in the lid. Both for my soon to be wife. While getting married, I made it back home to work in his shop to build a 6' long Red Oak dining table with leaf and china cabinet for my lovely wife. Both of which we still have and use in our dining room today. We chose to buy unfinished chairs and I stained them to match this dining set. Sorry but I just have never gotten around to trying chair construction in woodworking. Maybe one day. I have tackled many other furniture projects and other woodworking projects over the next three decades, even purchasing my own 510, but this story is NOT about me, it is about my father. He instilled in me his work ethic, his passion, his love of working with one's hands, his ability to dream big and then go and build it. There are many, many things that I learned from my father, but keeping it focused on the target audience for this forum, I learned a love of woodworking and a love of Shopsmith from him. Sure I grumble from time to time about Shopsmith and things I would like to work better or differently from these tools, but remember I still have a love for Shopsmith and how it brought me and my Dad closer together. So, today I choose to celebrate him even though he left his human body eighteen days ago at the age of 81. Please don't be sad. I love him and I miss him, but I choose to celebrate him here today, to honor him. Some of you will think I am crazy, but I have spoken to him since his passing. He is back on his home planet and in a new body and is healing right now with the Venusians. For those of you, who choose NOT to believe this, who don't believe there is intelligent life outside of Earth or don't even believe in science, then I will simply ask you to embrace a religious explanation instead and trust that God can and does connect me with my father allowing me to talk telepathically to him since he is no longer in a human body. I miss him, I love him, but I know he is alive and well as he is eternal. I talk to him every day and I will see him again soon.

To all, I say I wish you a very happy father's day. Please take time to share love and joy today and perhaps my story will trigger fond memories for you as well.

Crazy, no. Unusual, yes.

BTDT(sorta).

JPG wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 12:42 pm Crazy, no. Unusual, yes.

BTDT(sorta).

JPG,

Thanks. Unfortunately, another 510 sits idle now...I wonder how many there are out there like this. Maybe my sister will take interest and it might see use again. Too much to move it across country for me and I have no space in my shop for it.

I Wish a Happy Fathers day to your Father.

I have a similar raising with my Daddy.

My Daddy rented the other shop to a Great Mechanic that I learned a Lot from.

After years of mowing the yard as a small child with a push mower.

Daddy bought some Riding mowers.

So, We worked out of a small shed to get the repair stuff done.

{By The Way I do remember Jim Walters homes.}

My Daddy and I planned a 30 X 30 shop and built it similar to your experience

It is currently be updated to make me a CNC metal working and Shopsmith wood working shop.

GetterDone wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 11:09 pm I Wish a Happy Fathers day to your Father.

I have a similar raising with my Daddy.

My Daddy rented the other shop to a Great Mechanic that I learned a Lot from.

After years of mowing the yard as a small child with a push mower.

Daddy bought some Riding mowers.

So, We worked out of a small shed to get the repair stuff done.

{By The Way I do remember Jim Walters homes.}

My Daddy and I planned a 30 X 30 shop and built it similar to your experience

It is currently be updated to make me a CNC metal working and Shopsmith wood working shop.

Dwayne,

Thanks. I appreciate it. Yeah, below you can see what he built. The original Jim Walter home was on the right and is single story. ALL of the left with the 2nd story is what my Dad added - doing most of the construction himself. He wanted it to look like a barn, so that is what he built. I might add that he did this architectural style before it became popular, at least in that part of the country. Second photo below is Dad's modest 12' x 18' shop. We did A LOT in that small shop. Of course we both wish we had built it larger. With a dedicated workbench against the back corner, a Mark V 510 in the middle, a small assembly table workbench in the front, it fills up really fast and it can become awkward to even move around in it. It really is special building something like a shop or home or other building by yourself. I was just a kid, but old enough to help him swing a hammer and do many things to build that shop so I am incredibly grateful that he shared that with me. Also glad you got to enjoy a similar experience with your father. We also built a shed to hold the lawnmowers, etc that is also on the property but I didn't include a pic of it. I wonder today how common these experiences are for Shopsmith customers? I mean we didn't build the shop with a Shopsmith because he hasn't purchased it yet, but my Dad and I bonded over the building of that shop that would become a Shopsmith shop. Both he and I did A LOT of work out of that tiny shop and this is where a Shopsmith tool can shine. When I graduated and moved away for career, as soon as I could afford it, I bought a 510 for myself and it had to fit in a one car garage space (approximately 10' x 22'). Without all of this experience with my Dad and sharing that love for woodworking which extended to be a love for Shopsmith, none of this would have been probable. I do hope that today, there are still kids out there having similar experiences to what you and had with our father or any other loving family member. I say this not just for Shopsmith's sake, but for woodworking in general. These experiences and memories for me have been priceless.

Modified Jim Walter Home: The Shop That Dad Built:

I appreciate the story of your father and his work, the home anddi and the shop look very nice. I am not sure that anybody’s shop is ever big enough.

larryhrockisland wrote: ↑Mon Jun 16, 2025 8:19 pm I appreciate the story of your father and his work, the home anddi and the shop look very nice. I am not sure that anybody’s shop is ever big enough.

Larry,

Thanks. I appreciate it.