Setting up a new shop

first time i heard about a shop smith, i thought, “great idea”. when i finally saw one up close and personal, it made me glad i never bought one. IMHO, not worth anywhere near $750. spend $700 on a good 14” grizzly BS and $150 on a HF 2 hp DC. wait to get a good lathe.

-- there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.

Check out the projects and posts of “shipwright” here on Lumberjocks.
He has a couple of ShopSmiths and thinks very highly of them.

-- Michael :-{| Diapers and politicians both need to be changed often; and for the same reason.

Love my two shopsmiths! Great tool because your also getting a big drill press and thee options to grow with them are limitless. Also Incra makes some great upgrades and i have been well pleased with them. Lots of people will try and talk you out of it and have bad things to say but I always notice for the most part they have never owned one or used one. And the dust collector is awesome by the way. As long as your not a production style shop this is a great investment. The customer service is terrible at shopsmith and I recently canceled a back order item because I waited almost 4 months and it still was on back order BUT Ebay has everything you will ever need and craigslist can be a great source too. That is an okay deal as far as price but I see much better deals in the states for much less from time to time. Not here in Alaska since everybody thinks that whatever they are selling is somehow worth more then retail. Hope it works out for you. Here’s my designated table saw. I bought the Incra 5000 sled too. Sweet set up!!!

-- Kenny

Really depends on what you plan to do in your new shop? The tools you are describing can fill your needs. But maybe not your future goals in woodworking. I also think it really depends on how much space the shop has? My friend who describes himself as a “tinker” has a shop smith. Dust collection is an issue, but it seems to fill his needs.

Whatever we do we realize we should have done something else….LOL

-- Cau Haus Designs, Thomas J. Tieffenbacher

Scot – I was where you are a few years ago. Fortunately, I was able to design and build my shop from the ground up And was able to make some of the major equipment purchases in the process. Along the way I made some notes and used them in my shop description included on my Lumberjocks page. If you would go to my web page You might be able to use some of the ideas that I have included in my writeup and photos. Good luck and let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Personal note: Based on a couple of your projects I am not sure I would recommend the Shopsmith unless you are very limited on space.

-- Roger M, Aiken, SC

Well I don’t want to argue with anyone because everyone has a right to their own opinion. I am curious about your last piece of advice on the limited space issue and his projects. I have not been able to find a board that my Shopsmith cannot process and my motor has never been bogged down. At any rate I looked at your workshop think that you missed the whole idea of him buying a Shopsmith.

-- Kenny

I really appreciate everyone’s input.

I know that the Shopsmith is always one of those “can of worms” that can be dangerous to open but I do appreciate people’s feedback. I find that people feel as strongly about SS as Festool owners feel about their Festools. I’m a happy Festool owner but also know where to draw the line when it comes to their line.

The Shopsmith interests me because I will want two bandsaws in time. The SS will be a medium detail tool and later I’ll get the 19” Grizzly or maybe the Rikon. Having the ability to have the SS bandsaw set up at the same time as the lathe also seems like a good idea.

This is my livelyhood and I’m well aware of my needs and limitations. I’ve been spoiled when I started my business because I joined a woodworking co-operative here in Toronto and they had all the machinery you could wish for but now, well, gotta start somewhere!

Spending too much up front will sink me but wasting money on a cheap tool that will hurt productivity and workmanship would be just as bad. That’s why I’m looking for people’s experience with the SS machine.

Thanks again all!

Hey Scott, welcome from a fellow Canuck, don’t forget to check www.canadianwoodworking.com , lots of good tools available and super advise. these 2 sites are the best. keep smiling John

-- retired and smiling