SS Mark 7 - did I get a good deal at $50 ?

[Mike vonBuelow]

Was a CL find... guy said he had 3 (he did) so he was looking for a 'forever home' for his extra. He said he had a 'good vibe' when he called me back so he sold it for $50. I'm just happy I can get rid of the belt driven lathe I was given ($0) and not have to mess with changing the belt to adjust speeds.

Now I'm off to find a post about good lathe chisel starter sets...

[Tim Leiter]

That is a smokin' deal. I have a Shopsmith 10E made in 1952. Mine is a much earlier version than yours and is more suited to lathe work as it is very heavy. They are all USA made and will last more than a lifetime if taken care of. A lot of people start off with the better lathe tool set from Harbor Freight, they are a good deal for someone just starting out as you will also need a good sharpening system. You should join the Shopsmith Woodworking Forum for any information you may need for your new tool. Here is the link:

http://. www. shopsmith.net/forums/forumdisplay.htm?f=1

Good luck. Although you may have to add weight if using it for a lathe it is a very good machine.
Tim.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Is the "tailstock" on the top? Yours is more modern than mine. Yes, smokin deal. Be aware that the slow speed, is pretty fast, if it's similar to my vintage model. The lathe tool rest leaves much to be desired. There is an upgraded version, unless the new models come with it. Don't see a band saw. If you can get one, it's a good band saw. If you do turn bowls, the blanks need to be pretty round to begin with since the low speed is around 750. Lots of people trash the SS, but they are a good company and they are still around, and there is support for your tools.... Can't beat that.

I can second the cheap lathe tools from Harbor Freight. They are not the greatest, but they are pretty good for the price you pay. I still use most of mine. Invest in a good bowl gouge, if you intend to turn bowls.

[Marty Tippin]

If the previous owner didn't tell you already, NEVER move the speed control unless the motor is turning.

Think you did OK for $50, but that doesn't look like any ShopSmith I've ever seen - looks like it's been highly modified, that's certainly not the standard base and it appears that the rails have been shortened. If the guy you bought this from had 2 others, you can bet he cannibalized the best parts from all of them to make one good one. Especially since he was giving this one away for essentially a "junk" price.

You'll find pretty quickly that it works OK as a starter lathe and disc sander (and maybe a drill press) but is otherwise pretty useless - it may be a tool that does everything, but it really doesn't do any one thing well. I suspect you'll find it difficult to turn bowls, but spindle turning shouldn't be much of a problem.

[Mike vonBuelow]

'Starter lathe' was my main buying point... I inherited an old Poewr Kraft model with belt drive, but cringed at the idea of having only 4 set speeds, and having to change out mounts each time (and making the motor mount from scratch)

[David Delo]

If the previous owner didn't tell you already, NEVER move the speed control unless the motor is turning. Think you did OK for $50, but that doesn't look like any ShopSmith I've ever seen - looks like it's been highly modified, that's certainly not the standard base and it appears that the rails have been shortened. If the guy you bought this from had 2 others, you can bet he cannibalized the best parts from all of them to make one good one. Especially since he was giving this one away for essentially a "junk" price. You'll find pretty quickly that it works OK as a starter lathe and disc sander (and maybe a drill press) but is otherwise pretty useless - it may be a tool that does everything, but it really doesn't do any one thing well. I suspect you'll find it difficult to turn bowls, but spindle turning shouldn't be much of a problem.Marty,That's a Mark VII (7) unit and that's the way they looked versus the traditional Mark V (5) series. Think they only made it for a couple years or so. I forget the reasoning behind it but I think it had some plastic gearing in it that caused a lot of problems. Not really spoken that highly of over on the SS forum site but it is somewhat of a collectors item.