Shopsmith question

[Greg Urwiller]

Just wondered how the Shopsmith was as a horizontal borer/drill press? Accurate? Just wondering if there was one locally (there is), cheap enough (it is), if it would be better than my Taiwan bench top drill press with a lot of runout? Not going to jump on it, just wondering. Biggest downside I would imagine would be the space it takes up, unless it could be rigged to wall mount with out the base. Greg

[Ronald Blue]

I actually have two 510 models which have bigger tables then the 500. I think it's a pretty fair horizontal borer and also upright drill press. There are support legs to stiffen the table if needed. There is some compromise because of the multi function aspect of course. The disc sander can be handy as well. Just my two cents.

[Mike Heidrick]

The positionable table makes both the horiz boring and the drill press quite functional. I like mine well enough. The easu to adjust variable speed makes it handy to drill alum and steel with as well.

[Paul Cohen]

Just wondered how the Shopsmith was as a horizontal borer/drill press? Accurate? Just wondering if there was one locally (there is), cheap enough (it is), if it would be better than my Taiwan bench top drill press with a lot of runout? Not going to jump on it, just wondering. Biggest downside I would imagine would be the space it takes up, unless it could be rigged to wall mount with out the base. Greg
If you are worried about run-out you are going to want to look for a dual-bearing quill. With that is is extremely accurate, there is an optional (inexpensive) collar that allows depth adjustment to 1/1000" and there are free plans to add a digital depth guage for <<$30. Plus you can't beat the variable speed.