On 3/28/2018 10:48 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 3/28/18 10:13 PM, Leon wrote:
On 3/28/2018 8:40 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 28 Mar 2018 14:52:37 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Mar 2018 10:15:03 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 3/28/2018 5:55 AM, BillinGA wrote:
I bought one in 1978. I was limited to keeping my woodworking
equipment in a 4x 8 carport storage room. When needed, I would
roll it out onto the carport and cut/turn away. Shopsmith offered
classes at a very reasonable rate and the training projects made
one familiar with the different configurations. The variable speed
motor is plenty strong and doesn't rely on expensive electronics.
Still runs well after all these years. The ease of dado adjustment
comes to mind as the blades are right there and you lower the
table over them for use. I've never taken 20 minutes to make any
setup change and that includes going from a "table saw" (not much
table) to a drill press....more like 5-6 minutes. Since then I was
able to have a larger shop and , like most others, acquired a
table saw, radial arm, router tables, etc. The Shopsmith met my
financial and space needs at the time of purchase. It doesn't do
any one function particularly well when compared to dedicated
tools but I've never
regretted the purchase.



IIRC in 1978 the Shop Smith was about 1/3rd the price it is today,
maybe
a bit less, I was thinking $800 or so.Â* Like everything else it has
gone
up in price.
But not as fast as the average wage, or the price of Gasoline, or
beer.

Gasoline is cheaper now than it was then.Â* Beer?Â* Dunno haven't bought
any in over a decade.


In 1978 $800 was a pretty sizeable chunk of cash!! A good 2 weeks pay
for an average laborer.

I think your wage estimate is high.

Â*Â*1979, I was making about $1125 every two weeks, double that 5 years
later.

That was darn good money back then.


I could not complain, I also had the perk of a new demonstrator vehicle
every 6K miles, gasoline, and insurance.

Having said that I was in my early to mid 20's at the time and my
equal's, at other dealerships, were in the 6 figure range. Dealerships
in Houston back then paid their very managers well.