Now what!

[Bruce Volden]

My nephew brought his grandpa's lathe/table saw over to me yesterday to get it out of his garage.
It's an "old" 1981 Shopsmith Mark 2.
I "get" it because I'm the only one he knows in the family who enjoys ww'ing.
Off hand it looks like junk to me (stamped steel frame, tubular accessory mounting...).
It looks like all pieces are there and it's clean.
I'm not a turner and have most ww'ing tools (stationary) already.
I told him to sell it and that I have no interest in it, I figured he could/might get $150 out of it on a good day.
I'm not good at hurting feelings.

Sometimes it sucks having a 36X60 shop.

Bruce

[Zachary Hoyt]

I would have thought by 81 that it would be a Mark V, but I don't know. I paid around $400 for each of the two ShopSmiths I've bought, and each had several accessories. It may be regional. For what I do (building banjos) the one I use is very handy and I wouldn't want to be without it.

[Jim Becker]

There are some things that the Shopsmith is appreciated for, such as horizontal boring, etc. They are a different animal, but folks who own them tend to love them for certain functions, even if they get a more capable table saw, etc.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Yes indeed. For me it's horizontal drilling and variable speed 12" disc sanding. I have a better tablesaw and drill press, and I hope to get a better lathe someday, but I'll always want to keep a Shopsmith on hand for those two jobs it does so well.

[David Dockstader]

Unfortunately, the Mark 2 is not the same as the Mark V. The V means it has 5 tools (horizontal borer, disk sander, saw, drill press, and lathe). The Mark 2 has only 2 (saw and lathe). The Mark 2 was only made from 1958 to 1960. So if it's from 1981, it's a Mark V. And those tubular mountings make it as solid as a brick outhouse. That being said, if it's a model 500, it is probably only worth about $400 - $500 and maybe not that much in South Dakota. But they are still a solid, reliable machine, which is why it's 40 years old.

[Ronald Blue]

What Dave said is spot on. The drill press feature makes it worth having around. Better stroke than most drill presses. Whether you use it vertically or horizontally. They have their benefits. Post a photo and we can confirm what model it is. Or go to the Shopsmith website and plug the serial number in.