# the passing of John Folkerth



## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

John Folkerth, Shopsmith's founder and chairman, passed away last Friday in Florida. In the Early 70's, with a lot of personal sacrifice, and the American spirit of entrepreneurship, he founded shopsmith Inc., bringing back and invigorating a product that had lain dormant for two decades. Thanks to his drive, and interest in promoting woodworking, thousands of woodworkers got their start in this wonderful hobby. This includes some big names, such as Marc Adams, owner of one of the country's premier woodworking schools.

For my own almost insignificant part, the comaraderie in woodworking with my son cannot be measured merely in board feet. Goodspeed John!


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## matt1970 (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks for letting us know!!! I for one am glad that he brought the company back…I hope the company can continue…all of us Smithys know how good his tools are…


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## pinkiewerewolf (Mar 14, 2008)

Mr. Folkerth will indeed be missed. I'm fortunate that his company brought me back into woodworking and I'll always have a Mark V in my shop.
+1, Godspeed Mr. Folkerth.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Prayers for him and his family. †


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## SST (Nov 30, 2006)

He was a man who had the courage to pursue his dream and, in so doing, helped a lot of woodworkers to pursue theirs. After a long run, the company is facing difficult times and may not survive, at least not without significant changes.

The world of part time handymen and woodworkers who made the Shopsmith the largest selling power tool in its heyday, has moved on, and a lot power tool purchasers today simply can't appreciate a tool that will last a half century with little more than a bit of lubrication every now and then. (Show me a $99 table saw that'll do that)

I own a bunch of these machines (see my recent blog on my "disease"), the oldest built in about 1952, and the newest in 1957. I believe them to be true engineering masterpieces.

John will be missed, but definitely not forgotten -SST


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

I started with ShopSmith and still have one in my shop. It still does it's job. John will, indeed, be missed.


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## rikkor (Oct 17, 2007)

Adding my prayers for him and his family.


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