Shopsmith Question

[bungadiri]

My Dad has recently had to leave his home and move to assisted living, largely as a result of injuries incurred while jumping out of airplanes for the Army that started affecting his ability to walk round about the age of 70.

At his request (we were initially considering selling it, I’ve taken his Shopsmith ( http://www.shopsmith.com/index.htm ) power tool system to my home (it was something he always wanted to keep in the family).

Does anybody out there own one of these? Are the training courses the company offers worth the money and time? Is it worth the time and space to set up even if you don’t plan on using it to make furniture?

[bostonsoccermdl]

my dad has recently picked up this hobby (about 2 years ago), and owns a shopsmith with other related machines.

He actually just back from a shopsmith (i beleive it was shopsmith) convention in Ohio last week. I dont know the first thing about it, but let me know any questions you have and I will do my best to get answers.

I will check with him soon about the ones you asked about in your inital post.

[bungadiri]

my dad has recently picked up this hobby (about 2 years ago), and owns a shopsmith with other related machines.

He actually just back from a shopsmith (i beleive it was shopsmith) convention in Ohio last week. I dont know the first thing about it, but let me know any questions you have and I will do my best to get answers.

I will check with him soon about the ones you asked about in your inital post.
Thanks a lot.

My brother and I spent a lot of time gathering up all the parts we saw (he must have had close to $10k worth of equipment in his garage) and I picked up all the books on the Shopsmith machine itself. But as you know this is a damn big machine and it's not really intuitive as to how it works. I know my way around the usual suspects (table saw, chop saw, etc.) but this thing freaks me out a little.

Let's keep it simple: Does your Dad recommend a basic class in using it (is one available, even) or is it just as good to use the manual to get started?

Beyond that, I'm sure I'll eventually have questions about the jointer, drill press, lathe, etc., all of which come with this thing (it's an amazing product, really), but first things first.

Thanks again, ahead of time.

As an aside: It's kind of amazing to feel the little jolt I get from possessing this thing. I mean back in in my teenaged days, when I was spending endless hours holding plywood while he sent endless streams curses wafting around his workshop, the last thing I pictured myself doing as I got older was choosing to use power tools in my spare time.

[bostonsoccermdl]

okay, spoke to him this morning. Basically he rsomended either (or both of 2 things).

First the convention he went to in Ohio, which he loved, was geared to more specific tasks (creating picture frames, bowls, wooden boxes etc) rather than overall usage.

He did say you have 2 basic options to start off with:

1) get the manual. It is about $90.00, and very helpful...
2) go to a class near you. locations are on the website. he didnt know the price though.

both can be found on www.shopsmith.com (there is a tips section you can subscribe too also)

As far as WHICH to do he didnt really say. I guess start with the manual and if you can find time or the interest go to the class.

HE said you should first identify which model you have. THe older one (he has this one) is the 10ER, and has 2 tubes that support the machine..

Newer ones have 4 tubes and are of the Mark 5 variety. If it happens to be a newer one, the company offers video tapes of lessons, but not teh older 10ER variety.....

He also suggested to go to the YAHOO! user group section for shopsmith. He said they give out about 30 tips a day, and are very informative..

If the above info is incomplete, let me know and I can get more details, I might have missed..

Hopefully this gets you started in the right direction. let me know what else you need.

[bungadiri]

Looks like I've got one of the Mark 5's.

This will do me for now. Thanks boston, I really do appreciate it. Please also send my thanks to your dad for me--tell him he's a gentleman and a scholar.