Shopsmith Woodworking Stations? Anybody know about them??? (1 Viewer)

[Gideon]

Hey all,

I've looking on craigslist at used shopsmith stations. They seem really awesome as they are 6' by 2'-3' and you can arrange the tools on them depending on the configuration.

Looks like I can get one with a table saw, joiner, bandsaw and 36" lathe combination pretty reasonably priced.

My questions for any of you have this set up are the following:

1. Weight of the stand and of the tools?
2. Does the motor provide enough rpm's for a dado stack to cut cleanly through?
3. How do you expand the width of the table saw to rip through wide sheets/stock and what kind of infeed/outfeed tables are needed? Such a small table saw kind of worries me
4. Is the lathe able to rev up to 2500 + rpm?
5. How easy are the machines to maintain and repair?
6. What is the overall quality of these units? American made, yes but, again, what are the maintenance considerations?

Thanks for any input you can provide?

 

[theBaron]

On the weight, and reliability, I can say that a friend of mine bought one second-hand, and I helped him pick it up and take it home with my truck. It was disassembled, of course. It took the two of us to lift each of the sections, but we were able to do it. And they are very well-made and stand up to the wear and tear. I can't speak to your specific technical questions, though, because I haven't used the tool.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Gideon]

Thanks for the info. They look very well made from the photos I've seen.

I'm really not sure about the table saw. I don't trust that it can rev to what I need but the fact that I can mount a band saw, jointer, sanders and a lathe to it make it very attractive.

 

[DCN1898]

I don't know all of the technical answers either, but my dad did wood working as a hobby. He had a Shop Smith and liked it all right in the beginning. He wound up getting a drill press, band saw and table saw from Sears. He said that it worked better for him. I hope that this helps.

 

[Gideon]

The sears stand alones worked better for him or the shopsmith?

My issue is with space so having one power supply for a selection of tools is really appealing.

Still sketchy on that table saw tho.

 

[DCN1898]

My dad passed away a long time ago and I never had an interest in wood working. Sorry that I can't give you any more information.

 

[4th Hussar]

Check out some of the woodworking forums and you will find evaluations on Shopsmith. Seems they are a little underpowered but the space savings are a plus.

 

[Gideon]

Being underpowered is something I've heard before. I was thinking that a combo with a lathe, band saw and joiner might be a good thing. I would have a separate table saw above 3 hp.