Shopsmith Forums

Hello all,

This is my first post to the forums. I have a question for some of the gold members out there. So here goes.

I inherited my grandfathers SS about 8 months ago. It is a Mark V upgraded to 510. The Serial number is 27184 which I can't figure out what year that is off the chart on Shopsmith. With it came the 20" free standing scroll saw, Dust collector, belt sander, scroll saw attachment, Magna Bandsaw and jointer, and lots in the boxes. My guess is the machine is 25 years old but runs like a champ.

Yesterday I found a listing on craigslist for a complete shop set up. The guy was moving to California and never used the SS he bought. It was a 50th anniversary addition Mark V Pro (520) dated 2-22-02. It still had the plastic on it for the most part. It came with a bandsaw, jointer, belt sander, lathe duplicator, dust collector and a delta planer for $1600.

I turned the machine on and it was sluggish. He had it tensioned all the way to the highest speed and let it sit for a year or two. I think the belt is just stretched out. Played with it a bit and got it to cut a 2x8 with no issues.

The question now is what to do with my inherited machine. I think I want to keep the headstock but really do I need two jointers, bandsaws, belt sanders, and dust collectors?

Thoughts on this would be well received. As well as tips to get the sluggish motor running like a champ.

Thanks for your time.

Alan

It is very difficult to give valid advise for questions such as this. The correct answer depends a lot on emotion attachment.

I would probably keep both if I had them but then I have been told I have a hoarding problem.

If you bought the setup for $1600 - you got a good deal, in my opinion.

There is very little value, in a one person shop, to have some of the duplicates that you have. With emotional attachments in mind, I suggest that you list the duplicates for sale on ebay, craig's list, etc.

For me, Shopsmith items that are brand new or nearly so would be very hard to part with as would an inherited Mark V.

Final thought. Keep it all:eek: until you find that you don't use it or it is in the way.

Thanks for the response.

As for emotional connection, there is some but I look at it this way. My grandfather was my grandfather and this is just the machine he used and got me hooked on woodworking with. During his life he bought 2 SS and upgraded his machine once. So things change and upgrades occur.

I agree that having it all would be nice but this is also a basement shop. I am just not sure I could get much out of the individual pieces like the Magna bandsaw and jointer. They are old as is and without a powerstation running them, most likely not worth much. Luckily, I am not pressed on cash. I have some time to think about it.

I also agree I got a steal on the new machine. I priced it out and if I got everything new from shopsmith, it would cost me about $6500. I will take the $1600 any day.

spiderclimber wrote:Thanks for the response.

As for emotional connection, there is some but I look at it this way. My grandfather was my grandfather and this is just the machine he used and got me hooked on woodworking with. During his life he bought 2 SS and upgraded his machine once. So things change and upgrades occur.

I agree that having it all would be nice but this is also a basement shop. I am just not sure I could get much out of the individual pieces like the Magna bandsaw and jointer. They are old as is and without a powerstation running them, most likely not worth much. Luckily, I am not pressed on cash. I have some time to think about it.

I also agree I got a steal on the new machine. I priced it out and if I got everything new from shopsmith, it would cost me about $6500. I will take the $1600 any day.

With this approach, you can easily end up with a reasonable shop and no out of pocket expense. The duplicates will easily bring $1600 on the market.

You could consider trimming/cutting the bench and way tubes on your grandfather's machine and making a mini or midi Shopsmith for driving those Special Purpose Tools. If you run a search here on the forum you'll come up with a number of options for converting that extra Shopsmith into something akin to a power station on steroids.

How about "passing it on" to the next generation. When I ended up with some duplicate Shopsmith's and SPT's I equipped two nephews with Shopsmith's and accessories.

Thanks for the advice on the mini SS. I will have to look those up.

As for passing on the SS, it would be difficult as I am only 26. I don't really have any nephews that I could give it to. I just don't want it to sit and rust. It needs to be used well.

Please post your location. There may be help closer than you realize.

apologies. I thought it was listed in my avatar.

I am in Olmsted Falls Ohio, which is basically Cleveland.