Anyone turn on a Shopsmith?

[Mark Hubbs]

I have a chance to bid on a almost new shopsmith in an adjcent town. Does anyone here turn on the shopsmith lathe? Does that part of the machine do as well as a purpose built lathe? Does it take Morse tapers?

The distance over the bed and the horsepower look good, but curious about actual use.

Thanks!

[Bill Wyko]

I have a shopsmith with a bunch of attachments that I've never turned on. I'll sell it cheap. Make a rediculous offer and come and get it.:D

[Dennis Peacock]

It will be hard to find accessories for the various turning setups for a ShopSmith. You can find a lot of SS's on the used market. I looked at one a long time ago...glad I never spent that money. ;)

[CW McClellan]

I have one with about all attachments --have turned some on it -- I make pens and small stuff--fair --I bought a small 10 X 18 which I now do most on --SS will not take Morse taper as it uses set screw to lock tools to the power shaft-- SS made for man with limited funds and shop room --I bought mine from widow --yes I gave her the asking price which was also fair--if its real cheap might be worth a starter . Its a good multi purpose .

[Bernie Weishapl]

I would look at a Jet Mini or a Rikon. You can get these on sale from about $200 up. The Rikon is $249. My brother had a shopsmith and I thought it was worthless as a lathe but that is just my opinion. On his he couldn't use just any accessory..

[Mark Hubbs]

I have a nice mini-lathe already. I was considering the shopsmith mainly because of its other additional capabilities. Right now it is at about $500. If it goes much higher I'll lose interest completely.

I've always realized that the new SS are way overpriced. But if the price is right....

[CPeter James]

I don't have one, but there are hundreds of them out there, most are for sale. It is a jack of all trades, not good at anything according to the the lucky ones who sold theirs. As others have said, save your money and get something better, a lathe designed to be a lathe.


CPeter

[Wayne Bitting]

Mark,

I've been using a SS for about 2 years now (my father passed it on to me). You can buy adapters from PSI to convert to a threaded spindle for about $20, but only the tailstock is MT2. I've done about 80 pens, 20 bottle toppers, and 10 bowls on it. I don't like the tool rest much. I do like the fact that I was able to fit it in my workshop and now be able to have the sanders, bandsaw, etc. Stand alone tools are better then multi-function, but since space was a concern it was served me well.

[Michael Robertson]

Try as I might, I just do not like my Shopsmith! It is a lousy lathe, try spinning a 10 -12 inch piece that isn't perfectly balanced and you will be chasing your SS around the shop or running from flying debris. It weighs less than my Jet mini and twists along the tubes. If you want to turn, get a real lathe, not a Shopsmith.

Also, think about this, when you want to use your tablesaw to cut a bevel, do you tilt the blade or the worktable? I'm not a real big flatwork person but there is something just not right about your work sliding toward the blade under force of gravity.

In my book, the following grades apply

Design - C-
Construction - D-
Customer Service - F!

Mike (sorry to offend all you guys who own and love your SS)

[Ken LaSota]

I started turning about two years ago on my shopsmith and when the wood is off balacne you do chase it around the room. I have a chuck for it and all the acessories but when I bought my jet it now just gets used for honing my tools. The main thing I found out that I didn't know till I got my jet is that the turning is to low and catches were more then with the jet.

[Bill Wyko]

I'll take 500 with all the attachments for the one I have. I have absolutly no use for it. It was a gift to me (I think they wanted to get it out of their garage) but I've never turned it on.:(

[Geoff Crimmins]

I have a Shopsmith 10ER with a variable speed DC drive that I added to it. I've found it to be a terrible table saw and lathe, but a great disk sander and drill press. A Shopsmith works find for spindles that are turned between centers. But in my opinion it's horrible for faceplate and chuck work. The spindle is not threaded, so a faceplate or chuck just slides on and is secured with a set screw. This makes it almost impossible to eliminate play between the chuck and spindle. Also, if it's a Mark V, the minimum speed is probably too high for many turning projects. I finally bought a used Unisaw and a Jet 1642 lathe, and the Shopsmith is on it's way out. Couldn't be happier. If you're looking for an inexpensive lathe I would suggest you look at the Jet Mini EVS, or the EVS version of the General International Maxi Lathe. I believe that either one is a much better lathe than a Shopsmith.

regards,

--Geoff