Does anyone have a ShopSmith ?

[Ulma Doctor]

I have owned 2 of them and i was wondering who else uses them.
i currently own one and i'm starting a discussion on what you have used your Shopsmith For?

i don't have all the attachments for mine,
but i have the 10" saw
the 12" sanding disc (works beautifully as a sander!!)
the dado set, router bit set, & the horizontal boring set
the lathe chisels and fixtures, centers, etc


i'd love to have the Band Saw attachment , but those seem out of reach by themselves

here is the picture of the first thing i made when i got my present ShopSmith, some 5 years ago.
it's made from reclaimed pallet oak.

let's see your machine and/or your projects

[woodchucker]

I almost bought one, a friend had one when I was young. But then I got to thinking of how I would hate to setup and teardown each time, so I opted for a full set of equipment. 
Glad I did. I think their lathe is the most valuable piece. Maybe as a drill press too. But past that for someone like me who works off designs in my head it would not work well.  I can see putting the jointer on off, tablesaw on off, jointer on off, tablesaw on off... yea not the way I work.

[Uncle Buck]

I do not own one, but once read that when used as a drill press they are a brute due to massive spindle bearings. I have no clue if that is true, just something I read about them years ago.

[Ulma Doctor]

I do not own one, but once read that when used as a drill press they are a brute due to massive spindle bearings. I have no clue if that is true, just something I read about them years ago.

I don't know if i'd call the bearings Massive, they are nice bearings but they do have a strange anomaly.
they have an imperial bore of 5/8" but a metric OD of 32mm
they are very nice drill presses, but i think i wanna do the 2 bearing conversion for even better drilling 

[chips and more]

I have the jigsaw attachment somewhere?? If you want it, come get it.

[Ulma Doctor]

I have the jigsaw attachment somewhere?? If you want it, come get it.

hell yeah! i'll come and get it!! 

[Terrywerm]

My brother has one, which he got from my Dad, who bought it from his father back in 1960.

Grandpa built a new house in about 1953 and he used the ShopSmith Mark 5 (brand new at that time) to make a few simple furnishings, gadgets and gizmos as well as cutting all of the finish trim for the interior. In 1960 my dad started building his first house and asked to purchase the ShopSmith since grandpa was done with it. He had the table saw, disc sander, jointer, drill press, lathe, and horizontal boring machine setups. Sadly, he did not have the bandsaw or jigsaw, but I used it an awful lot when I was growing up. Eventually he purchased a separate table saw, but the ShopSmith still saw quite a bit of use in its other capacities.

A couple of years ago Dad moved into an assisted living facility so the shop tools had to go. My brother had already taken over the table saw, which didn't bother me, as I bought one very similar to it a few years ago. I already had a drill press and a small disc sander so I really had no need for the ShopSmith, so I let my brother take it as well. It's still there if I need the use of it, and I don't even have to store it!

They are wonderful machines for those with limited space, and changeovers take place quite quickly, so they definitely have their place.

[brino]

I've got one with a few attachments; jig saw(the one with the bent-pipe arm), table saw, sander, drill chuck.

However, I really only use it as a wood lathe when the need arises as I have dedicated machines for the rest. Besides when I need it it gotta haul it out from against the wall behind the mill, behind the press, etc.

I do really like the infinite speed control. It sounds great as it winds up!

-brino

[NRC57]

I have the jigsaw attachment somewhere?? If you want it, come get it.

hell yeah! i'll come and get it!! 

I have the jig saw attachment also if you are interested let me know.
Nelson

[4GSR]

Just curious, is Shop Smith still in business?  Or did Grizzly buy them out?

[chips and more]

Good question. I see a ShopSmith website.