Shopsmith Forums

On Saturday I placed an order for some small parts and among them were 3 carriage stop rings. The carriage stop rings are needed so that I can proceed with my research on table set up with regard to insert centerline.

This morning I realized that I had wanted to order headstock wedge locks but did not. I called Shopsmith hoping to add to my order but was not able to. It has already gone to shipping. However, there is a back order involved. Guess what is back ordered.

Yup, you guessed it. The very items that caused me to place the order in the first place - the carriage stop rings - are on back order.

dusty wrote:On Saturday I placed an order for some small parts and among them were 3 carriage stop rings. The carriage stop rings are needed so that I can proceed with my research on table set up with regard to insert centerline.

This morning I realized that I had wanted to order headstock wedge locks but did not. I called Shopsmith hoping to add to my order but was not able to. It has already gone to shipping. However, there is a back order involved. Guess what is back ordered.

Yup, you guessed it. The very items that caused me to place the order in the first place - the carriage stop rings - are on back order.

Yes, I believe...


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Yep. Keep the faith, though.

Ya, I ordered a new speed control dial and assembly last week, along with some washers.....was told that it would take 7-10 days to ship because some of the items were back ordered and would need to be assembled. Huh?

I love shopsmiths products.....guess this is the price we pay for supporting a buisness that produces American goods and is trying to survive and thrive in a down economy. May be a bit inconvenient at times....but would rather wait a bit then to have it come from China and be a piece of crap.

I "try" to have most of what I might need on hand if one goes down. Quite a few small parts (including one of those spacer rings I believe) and a couple of vee belts, a poly vee and a Gilmer. Most major stuff I at least have good used ones. On the other hand I can't really imagine any of mine going down and being a real problem. I have enough of them to be like The Mad Hatter... "Clean cup, move down"...
I really need to do an inventory especially of tiny bits like all of the set-screws, miter gauge screws etc. It is hard to remember to order something little after I use one.
I "really" miss the factory store. I used to browse around there and find all kinds of stuff I didn't even know that I needed.


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pessen wrote:Ya, I ordered a new speed control dial and assembly last week, along with some washers.....was told that it would take 7-10 days to ship because some of the items were back ordered and would need to be assembled. Huh?

I love shopsmiths products.....guess this is the price we pay for supporting a buisness that produces American goods and is trying to survive and thrive in a down economy. May be a bit inconvenient at times....but would rather wait a bit then to have it come from China and be a piece of crap.

Shopsmith has been using what management calls "Just in Time" manufacturing for several years. This reduces the inventory (idle costs) to a bare minimum, so many times, they may wait for several orders for the same item before buying and shipping the item. Shopsmith is mostly an assembly plant these days. You can always return any crap part for a refund.

Agreed, that is what I meant when I referenced them trying to survive in the bad economy of the last several years. While it is inconvenient to have to wait for basic parts at times, at least they are a company you can truly feel good about supporting.

billmayo wrote:Shopsmith has been using what management calls "Just in Time" manufacturing for several years. This reduces the inventory (idle costs) to a bare minimum, so many times, they may wait for several orders for the same item before buying and shipping the item. Shopsmith is mostly an assembly plant these days. You can always return any crap part for a refund.

Costly, seldom used items I understand. This rubber spacer I figured would be a stock item but maybe the new units don't have it. That would explain low inventory.

Just my luck though. Thankfully it is not a show stopper. Actually, I have been running one Mark V without one for over a year now.

BUT would you believe that it has not shipped YET? I could not add to the order yesterday because it had gone to shipping already and yet today it has still not shipped.

I really want those wedge locks but I'll not pay $6 shipping for a $16 order.

PS: Aaah but it is in shipping and it looks as thought there is no back order. That is good news. I really want those rubber bumpers.

After ordering a new speed control assembly and speed control handle two weeks ago I still had not received notification of my order being processed and shipped. Finally called in today and asked for an update and was told it would probably be another 2 weeks until the parts were shipped. I was originally told it would only take 7-10 days.

I really want to support ShopSmith, but waiting a month+ for a couple of parts that keep me from doing anything else is a bit of a drag. Guess I could just go to fleabay and see if I can find one, but you never know what the true condition of the part is going to be.

pessen wrote:After ordering a new speed control assembly and speed control handle two weeks ago I still had not received notification of my order being processed and shipped. Finally called in today and asked for an update and was told it would probably be another 2 weeks until the parts were shipped. I was originally told it would only take 7-10 days.

I really want to support ShopSmith, but waiting a month+ for a couple of parts that keep me from doing anything else is a bit of a drag. Guess I could just go to fleabay and see if I can find one, but you never know what the true condition of the part is going to be.

We must all realize, like it or not, the demand for many parts in a Mark V has gone down dramatically.

Example: Speed Control parts. Fewer of these are required to support new production because of the changes that we all call "PowerPro".

It would sure be comforting to know that the non PowerPro Shopsmith is not going the way of my 1993 Ford F250. I have been forced to visit a local junk yard for parts to keep it running.