Comments on: It’s Just Cool: Life In The Future

By: Dennisb

Dennisb — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:12:31 +0000

I like it… it’s a hopper and a chopper…

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:30:53 +0000

Dear Peter,

Thank you very much for posting the link. I’ll be sending it out to get printed this evening.

Jim

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Here’s the link to the photo via Google:

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=96393f18e719f04a&q=shopsmith%20family&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dshopsmith%2Bfamily%26gbv%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20

If the link is screwed up due to line returns, go to Google, click on “Images”, then type this into the search box:

shopsmith family

It should be on the 2nd page. IF you want the best quality image, make sure and click the “View fullsize” button in the lower right corner.

By: rg

rg — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:04:41 +0000

Mom thinks, “WTF?! I keep buffing all this white overspray from the car, and it just keeps coming back!”

By: Steve W.

Steve W. — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:36:37 +0000

Jim, Google image search has the Life photos, including this one and several others with the Shopsmith.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:46:55 +0000

Would you please post the link to this picture. I would like to get a high quality copy to frame and put in my shop. If you know the Life magazine issue, that would be perfect even better. Thank you.

By: Mike47

Mike47 — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:19:18 +0000

Free-handing the cross-cut? Look closely at the end of the miter gage slide exiting the slot at the back of the table.

By: Joe C.

Joe C. — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:48:42 +0000

Safety-schmafety. I had 15 uncles counting both sides. All were in the trades in some way. Without thinking about it too hard, there were at least 9 missing fingers, a few lost toes, one half-gone foot, and a glass eye. They worked until they died, and they liked it!

This is a true story, except for the part about liking it.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:56:28 +0000

I still use my grandfather’s 10ER, one function at a time.

By: Toolaremia

Toolaremia — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:51:27 +0000

As for sawdust in the ice cream: When I was a kid at camp, the only way they’d let us have ice cream is if we made it. Sawdust is a good insulator. We’d fill the maker with ice, then a layer of salt, then a layer of sawdust. Then all the kids in the cabin would take turns churning like hell until it was done.

By: windycity

windycity — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:50:44 +0000

Yeah it looks like Dad’s free handing that cross-cut but worse, it looks like he’ll be cross-cutting his forearm next!

By: David Bryan

David Bryan — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:17:50 +0000

But the ice-cream making, that’s okay. If your ice cream maker gets sawdust in it, it’s going to get salt in it anyway and it’s time to do something about that.

By: aaron

aaron — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:59:19 +0000

“it sort of captures a spirit of family cohesiveness and inventiveness virtually lost in this country”

…as well as this weird futurism where all our needs are satisfied by a single, central machine. that shopsmith is set up like a rube goldberg device!

also, some would argue, including myself on some days, that that “spirit of family cohesiveness” is more myth that reality, and even when real is not necessarily beneficial. The spirit of inventiveness, i will definitely agree 100% is being lost. but thats another matter entirely.

that picture rules. thanks Sean.

By: Mike47

Mike47 — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:57:30 +0000

Even though the picture is obviously staged and unrealistic from a practical standpoint, it sort of captures a spirit of family cohesiveness and inventiveness virtually lost in this country. Whether or not safety rules of today were violated in the picture is fun to pick at, of course.

By: James

James — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:17:54 +0000

Oooh, this is fun.

5+) Everybody should be wearing safety goggles

7) The table saw blade is too high
Mom is not using the handle on the buffer. It could easily do something unexpected

By: russ

russ — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:36:16 +0000

Don’t forget about that sawdust getting buffed into that car’s paintjob. As to Ben’s safety comments — remember this was 60 years ago when safety was still a theory

By: KaiserM715

KaiserM715 — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:28:15 +0000

Not to mention Dad needs some help with his comb-over.

By: Benjamen Johnson

Benjamen Johnson — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:05:36 +0000

Mmmm… sawdust flavored ice cream.

It’s like one of those find what is wrong in this picture in Highlights
1) Is dad free handing that crosscut?
2) No blade guard or riving knife
3) The boys feet is tangled in cords
4) The girl isn’t wearing a respirator.
5) Dad isn’t wearing safety goggles.
6) Dad and son are wearing long sleeves (loose fitting to boot) around machinery.

By: Zach

Zach — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:44:15 +0000

That is great - and so safe!

But Sean, this is a tool blog - you should know that dad is cross-cutting, not ripping…