You never know............

[8iowa]

You never know when you feel a tap on your shoulder, turn around, and standing there is an angel to take you home.

I just purchased a Shopsmith 510, upgraded to 520, on eBay. It was advertised as a 510 with the usual poor quality pictures that didn't show much of the machine or accessories. The purchase price was $713. Since it was here in Gainesville I drove over to the house to pay and pick it up - not really knowing what to expect.

Arriving there I found out that the lady was a recent widow, and that actually I had met her husband at the Shopsmith Traveling Academy back in February. We had a great class and all of us had a lot of camaraderie and fun together. He was 53 years old - went to the hospital expecting to be home in a day or two.

I was surprised to find a 510 upgraded to 520 with an upgraded bandsaw, a joiner, and two jig saws, plus a lot of great accessories, many still in the original boxes, and two boxes that he had ordered before going to the hospital, which included an Incra 5000. I purchased a few more miscellaneous tools gave the lady another $500. It was still a good deal.

Fortunately, I have a son and a son-in-law who are also members of the Shopsmith family. This machine will eventually be placed in my son's workshop when he finally gets around to building it. I know that the tools that I love will find a good home when it becomes my turn to wade across that eternal stream. It would be distressing to think that my Shopsmith tools would be sold for a mere pittance to someone who rejoices in cheating widows.