shopsmith owners help.

[tinytim1458]

Hi I have friend who wants to sell his shopsmith Mk 5.

He has all the extras on it even extra extension tables to go with it.

I have a couple of machines but they are very restrictive on the things they can do.
no room for a tablesaw my bandsaw can only cut 3 inches of thickness.

if it easy to move from 1 set up to the next like from turning to table saw.

would it be good for the hobbyist like me rather than a professional wood worker.

what is the max depth (thickness) of cut does the bandsaw and tablesaw parts cut so they keep square or do you have to square it up every time you use them.

Do you know what the thread is on the lathe part.

Hope you can help and any other info you think I might benefit from would be great.

thanks Tim

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The thread isn't. it's a plain shaft, 5/8th" (iirc) with a tapered flat on one side on which a grub screw tightens. They're a useful machine but as with all multi purpose machines they're not especially good at any one thing. They're too low for a lathe, too high for a bench saw, too slow for a router. Again iirc the saw will cut about 2 3/4", I can't speak for the bandsaw, I didn't have one. The saw doesn't drift far from square, but obviously it needs checking if you change from use to use. Overall it's a useful tool so long as you don't expect too much of it - at the right price, of course.

 

[doctor Bob]

Expensive new, cheap secondhand, for a reason............

 

[tinytim1458]

Expensive new, cheap secondhand, for a reason............

He bought it from new but has had it in storage since he moved to a canal boat, so he had all the manuals and the bits that come with it.
He did not get much use of it he said.
he did say it included a shaping machine part of it as well as a router.
I think the shaper uses the table saw arbor from what he said.
I don't know what he paid for it but he would like to get the most from it as he was paying £100 per month to store it, sadly he had his storage unit full of Woodworking equipment but let all go to auction and wanted to keep this but not at £100 per month.
so he wanted to know if I wanted it or knew someone who did or he was taking it to the auction house.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Fwiw I got £150 for mine on evil bay a couple three years ago, but being down the pointy end of Cornwall holds the price down a bit. I didn't have a bandsaw or any major extras just the face plates, drive centre, tail centre and a couple of saw blades and arbors.