i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

OK if you are short on space. Not nearly as handy as separate tools. On
many projects you bounce from drill press to bandsaw to tablesaw. Do you
want to have to switch back a setup just to drill one hole?

Maybe you have two projects going at the same time in different stages. You
cut some wood, drill some holes, the do a glue up. Now you want to bandsaw
something on the other project but you still have drilling to do on the
first. Do you wait? Do you change setups again?

Just my opinion, they have a place but not in my shop.
Ralph Engerman

i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?


I think it is a "nifty" tool, but I see too much of it being dumped on eBay, and I
figured out why. It is too much to constantly change the machine over to another
function, one after the other in order to get one project done. The band saw
attachment is to small, the table saw attachment is too small as well. Everything
in the work of changing it becomes redundant and rediculous when anyone would
far rather drift over to a stationary machine and turn it on and use it as needed.
I think it would be a pain the butt, frankly.

Personaly, I am setting up to do "neander" woodwork on a classic bench, and the
only stationary electrical tool I will use is a small drill press on another work area.
For a "table saw" I will make my own sawing box that uses a large backsaw, it will
have 1/2" handled screw clamping going into two sides. it will also have stilts on
the bottom to fit into the benches dog holes for stability. G

Alex

"roger garber" wrote:

i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or
opinions on them?




1. Do not buy a new one. They frequently turn up used at prices less than
half the new price.
2. If possible, attend a SS demo/class before purchasing. Class schedules
are on the SS web site.
3. Check out some of the online resources including the SS web site at
www.shopsmith.com, the SS users group at www.ssug.org, and any available
yahoo groups.
4. See if you can find the book 'Woodworking for Everyone' at your
library or a used bookstore. It is essentialy a SS manual and how to.
Read it carefully paying particular attention to swapping between
devices.
5. Look at the cost of the add on equipment and parts at the SS web site.
Unless you can find used parts or add ons, you'll be paying those prices.
6. Think about your own working style. If you can plan a project to the
extent that you are working like a production line (doing all cuts, then
all sanding, then all drilling), the SS may be for you. If you can't do
that, you may become frustrated.
7. If you are not space limited, compare the price of a SS to reasonable
quality stand alone tools.

I bought a used SS about 12 years ago for less than $400.00. Here is a
summary of my experience (note that I am 5'6" tall - this fact will make
sense later):

1. Table Saw - I found the tilting table very annoying. Anything crosscut
on a bevel had to be clamped solidly to the mitre gauge. For shallow
rips, the table is quite high (the table moves, not the blade). In fact,
after watching a kickback go past at chest height on me I gave up using
it as a saw.

2. Disk Sander - Relatively OK.

3. Horizontal Boring - Never had the need.

4. Drill Press - Pretty good, but a stand alone drill press would have
taken less space and after #1 I now have a separate saw.

5. Lathe - I learned to turn on it. Problem was that even for me the
spindle height was too low and I usually ended a turning session with
back pain.

At present I use it as a drill press and have a stand alone lathe mounted
on the SS ways. The SS retractble casters on the stand allow me to move
the lathe around until I can get the shop sorted out and build that
permanent lathe stand - real soon now. When I get my act together the SS
will go and I'll use the proceeds to buy a decent drill press.

All said, I'd buy it again. It is space saving and it did let me find out
what I *really* wanted to do for comparatively little cost.

If you do nothing else, do more research first.

LD

A friend of mine had one for many years..... he churned out some wonderful
projects including many with tambour doors. He felt the machine was very
nice but in no way did it replace individual machines. Set up for an
operation and realize that you need to back track to do some previous
operation to more stock..... Those that love their ShopSmiths are much
better at organization than I am....


"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

I've never owned one, but here are a couple of items I have read:

I recall an article in a WW mag in which a guy who makes chairs used the SS
as a drill press. He said that people would laugh when they saw it in his
shop, but because it had two rails that were separated rather than one post,
it was the best choice for drilling into chair legs - the pieces fit between
the two rails nicely.

I have heard that ripping a sheet of ply is dangerous because the table is
small and too high.


I have used a stand-along horiz boring mach to do some doweling and that
feature looks nice on the SS, but I have no idea how it would work in
practice. It is one of the questions I would ask of an experienced SS user.

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 02:09:41 GMT, "roger garber"
calmly ranted:

i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

I've always preferred discrete machinery so I can do a
production run successively through them after setting
each one up for its function. If you have one machine, you'll
be spending a lot more time tearing it down and setting up
another function. And when one discrete machine breaks, the
rest continue to work. If they're all in one housing, you're
SOL.


--
"Given the low level of competence among politicians,
every American should become a Libertarian."
-- Charley Reese, Alameda Times-Star (California), June 17, 2003

"Colleyville Alan" wrote:

"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or
opinions on
them?

I've never owned one, but here are a couple of items I have read:

I recall an article in a WW mag in which a guy who makes chairs used
the SS as a drill press. He said that people would laugh when they
saw it in his shop, but because it had two rails that were separated
rather than one post, it was the best choice for drilling into chair
legs - the pieces fit between the two rails nicely.

Yeah, that would work!


I have heard that ripping a sheet of ply is dangerous because the
table is small and too high.


I have used a stand-along horiz boring mach to do some doweling and
that feature looks nice on the SS, but I have no idea how it would
work in practice. It is one of the questions I would ask of an
experienced SS user.

Given the other limitations of the SS and the price, you're better off
with the boring machine.

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 02:09:41 GMT, "roger garber"
wrote:

i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

I've owned 2, so I have varied and not objective opinions..

First of all, if you can afford one (good used one is well over
$1,000) and don't have space for a table saw, sander, etc., they're
very good...
the quality is excellent and they last forever... very well built and
easy to work on... good support on the web from SS and SS users
groups..

the saw is fantastic for small, detailed projects due to it tilting
and the saw arbor being attached to the drill press quill, so that you
can make small adjustments...
it is NOT good or safe IMO for anything bigger than maybe 2'x3'
sheets...
Even using both tables and a rolling stand, I never felt good about
cutting sheets on it... a skill saw and guides were safer and faster..

The drill press is wonderful, the lathe is very good, but I'm 6'2 and
was tempted to use it sitting down.. I used to do most of my drilling
with it in the lathe position..

The 12" disk sander is a great way to destroy a lot of wood until you
develop a gentle touch and learn to use it on the back, so you can
still use the saw..
You get really tired of swapping blades, bits, disks, etc. and
changing the setup, but with limited space, it's a good trade off..

The router is good for what it comes with.. straight bits.. I use it
for a lot of edge routing, but I wouldn't recommend that to a new
user..

Now that I have room/time/some times bucks for more tools, I find that
not using the SS for a saw lets me have it set up as a drill
press-router most of the time, which is very handy.. I still use it
for cutting picture frames and things like that, because it does such
a great job at compound miters..

Post or email any question, I'll help all I can..

"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

I've never owned one, but they seem to come up for sale in the local
classified ads quite frequently. Much moreso that any other piece of
equipment with the exception of the Craftsman radial arm saw. You can draw
your own conclusion, if any, from that. The conclusion I draw is that
people have them, don't like them, and want to get rid of them.

todd

Are you woodworking in a closet? If so, they'll make do. NONE of the
operations are the equal of a medium priced stand-alone tool, and, as noted,
the primary tool, the tablesaw, is underpowered, inconvenient and unsafe for
much over jewelry boxes.

Other than that, I use a vertical clamping jig on the DP for line boring,
any saw can take a sanding disk, and the lathe is a back-breaker unless you
jack it up.

"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 04:38:44 GMT, Lobby Dosser
wrote:

Given the other limitations of the SS and the price, you're better off
with the boring machine.


It's hard to get excited about boring machines.

Barry

If you have a small shop, the Shopsmith can be the answer to your needs. My
shop is 13 x 23, and with the router table, scroll saw, planer, and a
sharpening center, I don't have the luxury of a lot of room. The Shopsmith
works great for me, and the current table on the model 510/520 makes a world
of difference, as it is huge compared to the old model 500 table. And as a
bonus, on nice days, when I want to work outside, it rolls through the
doorway to my back patio very easily.
1) Planning is essential, but that is the case with any project, with any
tool.
2) Accuracy - properly set up (using the same amount of time and care that
stand alone tools would require), you can achieve the same accuracy as you
can with quality stand alone tools.
3) Do pros use the Shopsmith? - you would be surprised at the number that
do, and if you look at old shows from The New Yankee Workshop, you will find
one there before the expensive tools got donated. I'm told that Shopsmith
was not donated, but purchased by Norm, and according to the person who sold
them to him, he purchased a second for his own shop. Obviously he doesn't
use or advocate the Shopsmith now - he owes too much for the use of the
sponsors tools. I know of a cabinet shop in California that is looking to
add a 2nd Shopsmith, they have one, along with two Unisaws, and the
Shopsmith gets plenty of use - and requires virtually no maintenance.
4) Yes, there are used Shopsmiths out there - many are ones inherited after
many years of faithful use by a parent or grandparent - and they still run
great. Others are those that see a demonstration, decide they want to do
woodworking, buy it, and never use it (I have seen Shopsmiths for sale that
had never even been uncrated - obviously the inconvenience of the setups was
not the issue there). I am on my 2nd Shopsmith - what happened to the 1st?
After an expensive divorce, and losing everything else, I had no choice but
to sell the Shopsmith just to make ends meet. Did I want to - no, and I
vowed to get another as soon as I could, which I did like 8 years later.
5) In another post someone made the absolutely great suggestion of doing
one of the Shopsmith all-day traveling academies - that would give you a
chance to really see what the Shopsmith can do and a chance to talk with
owners. ( http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/t...demy/index.htm )
Shopsmith also does multiple day courses at their headquarters in Dayton
where you use a Shopsmith to make a specific project and come away with a
finished project. This would allow you to actually use the machine. They
offer a wide variety of courses from beginner on up, at a reasonable
price.( http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/n...my/classes.htm )
And attendees at either option receive great discounts on purchases. The
schedules for either are available on the Shopsmith web site (
www.shopsmith.com ) or by the use of the links above.

The usual disclaimer, I am not a Shopsmith employee or stockholder, just a
happy Shopsmith owner

As usual, YMMV,

Fred
Port Huron, Michigan

"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

In article ,
says...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?




Have one, for a very large number of years it was my major woodworking
tool, still use it every day.

Most of the negatives you'll hear are from the "me too" crowd who have
probably never seen one outside of picture but have heard that such and
such is a problem.

Even the most radical change over can be measured in seconds, As with
ANY tool it is as accurate and repeatable as the user makes it, the
quality is excellent and customer service is world class.

All in all it is an outstanding tool for someone with limited space.

The major complaint with the tool is the small table saw width foot
print. A sliding cross cut table, something that is handy with even a
cabinet saw, pretty much takes care of that.

A non issue that some try to make a big deal of is that, due to change
overs, you have to carefully plan the job to avoid too many of them. I'm
here to tell you, even if you had Norm's shop, if you don't carefully
plan every job you are in for a lot of frustration.

Yes, there are necessary compromises made to make it a combination tool
but they aren't in the quality of the tool or it's ability to do the
job.

There is no question that individual stand alone tools would be
preferable. As my work requirements have changed and my shop grown I've
added a cabinet saw and larger jointer to my shop but the Shopsmith
still gets used daily as a drill press, standing station, lathe, boring
tool, bandsaw, etc.....

Keep in mind that a table saw requires at least eight feet both on the
infeed side and outfeed side, at least four feet on either side of the
saw is nice also. A jointer would need at least one and one half times
it's bed length on the infeed and out feed side of the table. Then you
have a work bench to consider, stock storage, gluing up and finishing
area, hand tools storage, maybe a miter saw, finishing supply storage,
hand power tools and probably a router table area, and on and on.
Individual tools take up and make dead space when they are not being
used.

Individual tools are good but if you have a small shop the importance of
having all your major tools be of quality, all in one place and be able
to move it to the best advantage, if you get one get the casters, can
not be under estimated.

If you have the space and can afford the quality go with individual
tools, if not you can't beat the Shopsmith.

--
MikeG
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net

"Todd Fatheree" wrote in
:

"roger garber" wrote in message
...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or
opinions on them?

I've never owned one, but they seem to come up for sale in the local
classified ads quite frequently. Much moreso that any other piece of
equipment with the exception of the Craftsman radial arm saw. You can
draw your own conclusion, if any, from that. The conclusion I draw is
that people have them, don't like them, and want to get rid of them.

Or that they were aimed at woodworkers who no longer need them, because
they 1) moved up, 2) gave up or 3) passed away.

The Shopsmith is NOT a piece for people aspiring to be the next David
Marks. It WAS a tool that Norm used, before Delta, many years ago.

I made 6 or 8 complex projects on my Shopsmith, before moving up. I wish I
had paid used price for the system, rather than new, but we learn.

The Shopsmith is still here. The earlier suggestion about paying for a
day's training session is a good one. The suggestion about buying used,
should you decide that it is for you, is also excellent.

The important questions to ask are not 'Can it do X?', but rather 'Show me
how it does X, please.' Then evaluate what YOU want to do.

Patriarch

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:31:12 -0500, MikeG
wrote:

In article ,
says...
i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?




Have one, for a very large number of years it was my major woodworking
tool, still use it every day.

Most of the negatives you'll hear are from the "me too" crowd who have
probably never seen one outside of picture but have heard that such and
such is a problem.

Even the most radical change over can be measured in seconds, As with
ANY tool it is as accurate and repeatable as the user makes it, the
quality is excellent and customer service is world class.

All in all it is an outstanding tool for someone with limited space.

The major complaint with the tool is the small table saw width foot
print. A sliding cross cut table, something that is handy with even a
cabinet saw, pretty much takes care of that.

A non issue that some try to make a big deal of is that, due to change
overs, you have to carefully plan the job to avoid too many of them. I'm
here to tell you, even if you had Norm's shop, if you don't carefully
plan every job you are in for a lot of frustration.

Yes, there are necessary compromises made to make it a combination tool
but they aren't in the quality of the tool or it's ability to do the
job.

There is no question that individual stand alone tools would be
preferable. As my work requirements have changed and my shop grown I've
added a cabinet saw and larger jointer to my shop but the Shopsmith
still gets used daily as a drill press, standing station, lathe, boring
tool, bandsaw, etc.....

Keep in mind that a table saw requires at least eight feet both on the
infeed side and outfeed side, at least four feet on either side of the
saw is nice also. A jointer would need at least one and one half times
it's bed length on the infeed and out feed side of the table. Then you
have a work bench to consider, stock storage, gluing up and finishing
area, hand tools storage, maybe a miter saw, finishing supply storage,
hand power tools and probably a router table area, and on and on.
Individual tools take up and make dead space when they are not being
used.

Individual tools are good but if you have a small shop the importance of
having all your major tools be of quality, all in one place and be able
to move it to the best advantage, if you get one get the casters, can
not be under estimated.

If you have the space and can afford the quality go with individual
tools, if not you can't beat the Shopsmith.

I'd like to add that I, for one, would probably never have tried wood
turning if I'd had the space and money to buy a stand alone saw, drill
press, disk sander and shaper...
The lathe was something that I'd never considered and didn't think I'd
enjoy... but like a lot of SS owners, it was there and the face plates
and chisels were included, so I tried it and enjoyed it..

I'm still in the infant stage of woodworking, but for what I do, I
can't imagine anything in a drill press that I'd add..
For the last several months it's been dedicated as a drill press and
router, so I shoved it into a corner and hung material racks over the
tubes.. lol

Bought my first ShopSmith in 1951 (pre Mark V) and still have it. Back then
there were no factory stands, just a plan for the wood base. Acquired lots of
machinery since then, but very often the old brute does a tricky job just fine,
so there's no way I'd ever part with it.
FWIW, it's a good machine to start a shop with. Adding a decent table saw is
great if you have the room, then go for other machines when your projects
outgrow your SS. HTH

Joe

i thought about getting a shopsmith anyone have suggestions or opinions on
them?

A very frequent question here. Personally I am not that acquainted with the
new machines but the older ones (20 years) appeared to be pretty nice and
high quality machines. If you are very short on space they work fine.

With that said, I also belive they compromise each of the functions they
offer. This is because of the tear-down, setup time required to go from
operation to operation. Also, seeing what some of them sell for now, you
could probably buy some pretty good quality stand-alone tool for the cost of
one shopsmith.

I bought a ShopSmith in 1985. It was about the only tool I had room
for and I built many things around the house with it. I have since
bought a Delta table saw as the table saw is the weakest part of the
ShopSmith, especially ripping. I have a Dubby cross-cut sled that I
use on the ShopSmith. I do all my other cutting on the Delta. It is
nice having two table saws. I don't use the disk sander or drill press
very often so I don't do a lot of switching back and forth.
If I had to do it over again and I had lots of room, I would probably
purchase the individual tools rather than the ShopSmith. But if you
can pick one up used for a reasonable price ($800 or less), and you
don't already have a drill press, sanding disk or lathe, I don't think
it would be a bad purchase. However, I still think you need a
stand-alone table saw as the ShopSmith is just too limiting.
I have not had any problems with my ShopSMith and I have used it quite
a bit over the years.
Rich Durkee

I bought a ShopSmith in 1985. It was about the only tool I had room
for and I built many things around the house with it. I have since
bought a Delta table saw as the table saw is the weakest part of the
ShopSmith, especially ripping. I have a Dubby cross-cut sled that I
use on the ShopSmith. I do all my other cutting on the Delta. It is
nice having two table saws. I don't use the disk sander or drill press
very often so I don't do a lot of switching back and forth.
If I had to do it over again and I had lots of room, I would probably
purchase the individual tools rather than the ShopSmith. But if you
can pick one up used for a reasonable price ($800 or less), and you
don't already have a drill press, sanding disk or lathe, I don't think
it would be a bad purchase. However, I still think you need a
stand-alone table saw as the ShopSmith is just too limiting.
I have not had any problems with my ShopSMith and I have used it quite
a bit over the years.
Rich Durkee


For ripping on the SS, ya havta make an outfeed table.

Alex

In article , george@least says...
the tablesaw, is underpowered, inconvenient and unsafe for
much over jewelry boxes.




Gee, whish I had had that "expert advice" before I built two shops,
several kitchens, dozens of cabinets of various shapes, sizes and types,
and innumerable other things with mine.

Did you try to build anything bigger with yours?

--
MikeG
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net

Yep, that's why I now have standalones!

You can make do or make hay as you please, me for full-size.

"MikeG" wrote in message
ews.com...
In article , george@least says...
the tablesaw, is underpowered, inconvenient and unsafe for
much over jewelry boxes.




Gee, whish I had had that "expert advice" before I built two shops,
several kitchens, dozens of cabinets of various shapes, sizes and types,
and innumerable other things with mine.

Did you try to build anything bigger with yours?

--
MikeG
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net

On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 10:16:20 -0500, MikeG
wrote:

In article , george@least says...
the tablesaw, is underpowered, inconvenient and unsafe for
much over jewelry boxes.




Gee, whish I had had that "expert advice" before I built two shops,
several kitchens, dozens of cabinets of various shapes, sizes and types,
and innumerable other things with mine.

Did you try to build anything bigger with yours?

I've done tons with a Ryobi 10", but would rather have had something
more solid, less of a hobby tool. I'd not mind a Shopsmith at all,
but can't afford all of the attachments. Convenience can be an issue
for some who prefer to move from tool to tool in a well set up large
shop. The Shopsmith is possibly a best buy for a smaller shop. From
what I've seen, tool and production, it's not a toy. It's not
industrial, but not too many hobby woodworkers need that heavy sort of
equipment. A few Tim the Toolman types might want more power, but
that's not common. If one fell off a truck nearby, I wouldn't shove
it on the front lawn with a "FREE" sign.

Gee I wonder why my Shopsmith (over 55 years old) is still going strong and
use it most days. Too bad we didn't have your evaluation then, we might have
bought individual tools that would be gone by now.

"Guess who" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 10:16:20 -0500, MikeG
wrote:

In article , george@least says...
the tablesaw, is underpowered, inconvenient and unsafe for
much over jewelry boxes.




Gee, whish I had had that "expert advice" before I built two shops,
several kitchens, dozens of cabinets of various shapes, sizes and types,
and innumerable other things with mine.

Did you try to build anything bigger with yours?

I've done tons with a Ryobi 10", but would rather have had something
more solid, less of a hobby tool. I'd not mind a Shopsmith at all,
but can't afford all of the attachments. Convenience can be an issue
for some who prefer to move from tool to tool in a well set up large
shop. The Shopsmith is possibly a best buy for a smaller shop. From
what I've seen, tool and production, it's not a toy. It's not
industrial, but not too many hobby woodworkers need that heavy sort of
equipment. A few Tim the Toolman types might want more power, but
that's not common. If one fell off a truck nearby, I wouldn't shove
it on the front lawn with a "FREE" sign.

On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 13:04:32 -0500, "Charles Callaghan"
wrote:

Gee I wonder why my Shopsmith (over 55 years old) is still going strong and
use it most days. Too bad we didn't have your evaluation then, we might have
bought individual tools that would be gone by now.

Try reading a little more carefully. I was not referring to my own
preference. See below. "some" does not mean "myself". The main
point was the convenience for the small area shop. Personally I'd
love one; could have had my FIL's when he passed on ...with all the
attachments, but didn't speak up. That's what I meant when I said I'd
not put it out on the front lawn. It's called dry humour.

Jeesh!

"Guess who" wrote in message
.. .
Convenience can be an issue
for some who prefer to move from tool to tool

MikeG wrote in
ews.com:

In article , george@least says...
the tablesaw, is underpowered, inconvenient and unsafe for
much over jewelry boxes.

Gee, whish I had had that "expert advice" before I built two shops,
several kitchens, dozens of cabinets of various shapes, sizes and types,
and innumerable other things with mine.

Did you try to build anything bigger with yours?

I built an entertainment center, and a bathroom vanity cabinet, with inset
doors, and shelves to go with everything.

What I hated was changing the infeed and outfeed rollers with every change
in the depth of cut. I hated trying to do a miter, with the table tilted.
A crosscut sled helped, when the blade was vertical, but was useless
otherwise.

It p#ssed me off that every dimension was different than the pieces I could
buy at the home center, or at the tool store. That everything that came
with it was some custom size, or worked differently. That processes with
the Shopsmith were different than were taught elsewhere.

And that, if every single possible thing that could come loose weren't
tightened and rechecked for measurement, every time a cut needed to be
made, something would slip, and ruin a piece of material, or push it out of
square, or scare me spitless....

Eventually, I quit using the thing. I don't have the time or patience for
the SS saw. My wife said, just buy what I want. Life's too short. So I
kicked the kid's Mustang out into the street, built a shed for the
gardening crap, called the electrician to bring in 220v, and bought a
Unisaw LT Limited Edition, almost two years ago.

I imagine you could cut dovetails with dental floss, and scrape flawless
surfaces with broken dishware. This hobby, though, for me, is supposed to
be fun. Using the SS wasn't. YMMV.

Patriarch

The main tool in my first woodshop was a Shopsmith 10E (made between 1947 and 1953) that I had inhertited from by grandfather. Projects did require significant planning, but the tool performed well, and since I was working hard and earning little at the time, the price was right.

If you are limited on space and $$$, and are patient and willing to plan the sequence of events for your projects, a Shopsmith may be a good fit.

Currently, my shop is outfitted with a number of dedicated task, stationary tools. The Shopsmith is still in use in the corner of my shop as a drill press.