multi-funtion woodworking shop tools

[pegasus35]

Hiya Everyone,
I was just wondering if there were other companies besides Shopsmith that makes a 5 in 1 woodworking shop setup? It has a 34" lathe, 10" table saw, 12" disc sander, a boring machine,and a 16 1/2" drill press.
The hubby is planning on buying me a setup like that in the next month but I want to shop around for the best quality for the buck. Female instincts I guess LOL The reason he is buying it for me so when I get ticked off at his mother or when she comes for a visit I can escape and I can take it out on the wood. He calls it "the Mother in law saving device." My view on it is maybe she won't dare to get that mother in law attitude with me if she sees me with running power tools in hand. If that doesn't deture her nothing will. lol


Thanks in advance,
Judi

[carla (Guest)]

hi,judi,

i don't know of any other combination woodworking machine thats readily available, other than the "shopsmith", but i'd say the shopsmith might be well worthwhile as an "entry level" sort of tool for light hobby woodworking......

if you get into serious hobby woodworking, you'll want to upgrade after awhile, to be sure, but the shopsmith will get you started.....you can do as good work on it as you could on much more expensive machinery, with the trade-off of some inconvenience changing it from one configuration to another, say from its table saw to its drill press function......

we had one of those, some years ago, and i wish we'd never sold it.....its "horizontal boring" function is a real convenience sometimes, and its a nicely arranged little lathe, when in that mode......

i've heard that there is a shopsmith collectors and users web site somewhere on the internet.......if you are able to find it, you could ask there about the desirability of the different models of shopsmith, etc., etc.

cheers

carla

[pampine]

There are some old machines that came in combo, like Fay-Egan; but they're kind of hard to find close enough to pick up (they weigh a ton) and are big, very big.

Pam

[JohnP]

Judi;I think the choise of a multi-function tool is about shop size, your organizational skills, and most important what are you going to do whit it.
If you main desire is a lathe and drill operations then the Shop Smith may be a good choice. But if you will spend most of your time sawing, planning, jointing, and band saw, you might be alot happyer with seperate tools or a multi-function like the Laguna Tools machines. http://www.lagunatools.com/
There is a Shop Smith type machine (same functions)out there but I can't find my catalog, nor remember its name. It's a much heaver machine, mostly cast iron, much larger motor thats rated for continues duty (I've been told the Shop Smith does not have a continues rating). Hope this helps.
My thoughts
JohnP

[jules (Guest)]

laguna, hammer,rojek, and mini max all make multi function tools the great thing is the sliding table saw ,large jointer, planer the units offer but last month one of the wood magazines did a review of them and though for the most part they were cool they did leave some things to be desired such as good fence, or ease of change over sorry I cant find the magazine the review was in maybe someone else here can recall

[Anonymous (Guest)]

>I cant find the magazine
>the review was in
>maybe someone else here can
>recall

Here's the article http://www.minimax-usa.com/W161CH.pdf

[Gary (Guest)]

Here's the site for SuperShop by Smithy, it claims to be a 10-in-1 combo. I've never had either but have heard that the SuperShop is a heavier duty machine than the ShopSmith. Anyway, give it a look.

http://www.smithy.com/WWdefault.htm

Good luck with your search.....

gary

[Smithy (Guest)]

Just what I heard and don't know for a fact, but that Smithy might not be around long and a person might investigate before purchasing because of parts problems in the future! Again it is something I heard and am just passing on in case...I believe I heard it on one of the other woodworking forums on the net. have owned 2 Shopsmiths in the past....good machines..but really gets old having to shop and change machine from one function to another! And the real drawback is when you change over then remember you had one more cut to make in the other function! But maybe your memory is better than mine lol

[Michael]

Hello,

I'm a newbie at this forum, and I accept guidance [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

I'm actually an long time owner of a Smithy SuperShop, and since I see some questions here about the tool, it's usefulness, and the state of production, I thought I'd offer to field questions for those interested.

- Yes, it is a heavy, multipurpose machine. Much heavier than the ShopSmith, but it's built on steel castors, with a simple "step-on" mechanism to recess the castors so it sets firmly on the floor during operation. With the castors down, I can easily move it around the garage with one hand. With the castors up, it's not going to move. However, it <u>is</u> intended to live and operate on a smooth solid floor. It performs fine on a single 15-20 amp single phase outlet.

- Yes, it appears that Smithy is going out of business. You can still purchase the tool at Harbor Frieght for ~$2,000. I've also heard the product is actually made in China, but I've never seen this in print.

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...t/?category=&q=Smithy


There are also several used SuperShops for sale online at places like "Craigs List".
I've also located a warehouse from which I recently purchased a set of extention tubes to create a full 24"x65" work surface, i.e. parts are still available, at least for now.

I purchased the tool years ago because it looked like It provided maximum functionality in minimum space. I see the term "five function" mentioned in the text. The base SuperShop provides a lot more than five functions, and is powerful enough to work metal as well as wood. I've recently retired, and now I'm designing all the usual jigs, infeed/outfeed, integrated full router table in the right wing [thus the additional extention tubes] in addition to the overhead router functionality, ... etc.

I'm <u>not</u> here to be an advocate of this tool versus any other set of tools. I will state that I believe it provides solid performance and more functionality per square foot of shop space than the traditional collection of woodworking tools, for a woodworker who is organized and doesn't mind reconfiguring the tool to utilize the full functionality.

I'd be happy to answer questions about the SuperShop and trade ideas for SuperShop extensions and/or minimum floor space shops with anyone who's interested. Hopefully, my future posts won't be so long winded [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Michael

[JMOHNIKE]

Have you had any experience with a Shopsmith?

I have all the stationary tools as well as a Shopsmith, and they all get used.

Not to get personal, how tall are you?

The Shopsmit table saw is higher than convential table saws, the band saw is likewise hi. If you are tall the lathe is low and it does bother my back when I use it, I do my pre-turning outside and finish on another lathe inside, faster clean up.

The drill press should not be any problem.

The tablesaw is a tilt top, which, in my opinion, is dangerous as it can pull the work into the blade, along with your hand, so always use hold downs and all the safety equipment required.

But with patience and an understanding of the tool, it should serve you well.

I would not invest into the optional equipment, like the band saw and joiner. Less expensive stand alone tools are available.

Just someting to think about

Good Luck
Joe