One of the biggest complaints I hear when the word “Shopsmith” is brought up is cost. It’s true SS products can be a little on the pricey side, but being the cheap bastard I am I can’t bring myself to send the cash down the $80-a-pop hole that is the Shopsmith saw blade product line. That’s where the 5/8” Saw Arbor comes in.
I mentioned a bit of a problem with my Shop Smith band saw that sprang up this weekend. The rubber tires that hold the blade on the wheels basically disintegrated after about 20 years or so, and the bottom one popped off the saw.
I called Shop Smith and was impressed with the service which was both prompt and knowledgeable. The very nice lady on the other end identified the model number of my saw and told me how I could save some cash by ordering a little differently and sent me on my way.
Judging solely from what I can gather from the serial number on the headstock, my father’s Shopsmith — now pulling duty in my shop — was built in August of 1984. Almost exactly twenty-five years later it’s still going strong.
I mentioned a while back that my dad’s Shopsmith Mark V came to live with me on super-extended loan from the old man. Read: he’ll have to pry it out from under me to get it back. I left it be for a little while and started to read manuals and figure out what everything did.
I’ve been cleaning up all the tools for the ShopSmith, and it’s an uphill battle — however, the process got a little more interesting when I got to the scroll saw and found out it’s the only attachment that’s not SS-branded. It was obviously made to work with the ShopSmith since it sports the telltale driveshaft that hooks into the headstock, but this is the first time I’ve run across a Dunlop brand power tool.
While looking into the Shopsmith band saw question the other day, I happened upon this awesome image from Life magazine — it has to be from the forties or fifties, when the unit was new. This family of four, with the help of what certainly looks like the ShopSmith 10ER (the one sold in Montgomery Wards), are getting a few “projects” done.
Reader Mike is in the market for a Shopsmith band saw, and he asked us how we like it. It’s a great question, and some folks have already rung in on this one in the positive.
I might be a little biased, but I’d say if your Shopsmith was made in the last 30 years and you want a band saw, it’s a no-brainer. The saw features a 6″ depth of cut; the table tilts 5 degrees left and 45 degrees right; and the blade spins from 700 to 1,050 RPM.
As others have said, you’ll have to tune it and spend a minute or two setting it up, but it’s a small price to pay as far as I’m concerned. Retail price is in the neighborhood of $500 — but the one I just started running in the shop is on its third decade, and it doesn’t have a single issue.
Shopsmith 11″ Band Saw [Shopsmith]
To follow up on the aforementioned sad state of affairs: I have the home shop up and running again. It’s not perfect yet and there’s still a ways to go, but I did manage to make room for two big pieces of gear — Chuck’s big Delta planer and my father’s ShopSmith have both come to live with me.
It’s a super-sweet turn of events, but I quickly found out I know precisely zip about setting up the eight tools the ShopSmith’s got going for it — so I’ve been poring over manuals to learn how to calibrate this hunk of wood-mangling hotness. Also, I need to drop a 240 plug in the shop for the planer.
Speaking of the planer, here’s a handy tip for you folks setting up your own home shop: Suggesting to your other half that you’ll just run an extension into the laundry room and unplug the dryer when you need it — not a good plan. Who knew?
The ShopSmith Mark V 5-in-1 woodworking system has been around since the ’50s — and hasn’t changed much since then. Recently I had a chance to work with one, and the results were surprising. It’s obviously not built for pros, but it’s simple to use and can handle almost any basic function — like cutting, sanding, or turning — in a multitude of formats. I can’t fault it for being what it is: a good starting point for hobbyists who don’t have a great deal of space and want a shop.
They are a bit pricey, but this, too, is mitigated by their longevity. My dad, for example, has had his for almost 30 years, and it’s never broken once — even after helping us build countless projects with values far outweighing the $2,000 he shelled out for it back in the day.
So is the hardy shop-in-a-box method worth it for the home hobbyist, or is it just better to save up and buy what you need in pieces? Let us know what you think in comments.
Mark V [ShopSmith]
Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
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