Shopsmith is your lifetime partner on your woodworking journey. We offer innovative, high-quality tools that inspire confidence and creativity, enabling you to elevate your woodworking skills without the cost or space requirements of a full traditional shop filled with single-purpose tools.
Our belief is simple: if you have space for a bicycle, you have all the space you need for woodworking excellence. Shopsmith provides multi-function woodworking equipment that rivals the performance of dedicated, single-purpose tools, all while fitting comfortably within your available space. We are committed to empowering woodworkers of all levels to create exceptional outcomes, making woodworking accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
My dad bought one back from the US when he was in the merchant navy, being a on board shipwright it was ideal, When he left he past it on to me still going strong that was 40years ago.
Just discovered this and I'm already in love with it. USA mistake was to offshore it's industry believing that the quality would be somehow retained. Hopefully we will be able to see this change in the next few years.
Truly fantastic, old school production, IN USA, by an American company, BUILT FOR LIFE. I would prefer an analog dial for setting the speed in lieu of a touchscreen.
This upgrade is not as easy as the video shows. First of all, they gave me the instructions for the metal housing version with my plastic housing upgrade. I decided to just follow this video and I would be fine. I had a hard time "dropping" the new unit in the housing with the vacuum standing upright like the video shows (notice that the video showing the new unit "drop right in" was edited out). I looked at the instructions, and it shows the vacuum lying down on a table (but that version, you remove a leg and the entire metal housing to replace them with a new leg and the plastic housing). When I went to install the round coupling piece on the new unit, there was a screw in the way of it going on. There was no mention of it in the video, but at 8:20, you can see the screw hole. The hole is at the 1 o'clock position just inside the round opening of the unit. The screw was not holding anything and there was no hole or clearance slot for it on the coupling. I removed it and marked the location and measured the distance of it from the cover plate so I would know where the hole is after I put the coupling on and hiding it. After installing the unit, I pried the coupling up against the housing and drilled a hole in it where I marked where the screw hole was. I replaced the screw, securing the coupling on the unit and keeping it snug against the housing. At 9:30, the 2 screws at the back of the vacuum are installed in the new unit. I had to pry on the front of the unit to move it back to line up the screw holes. I had them lined up, but couldn't get the screws to start. I ended up having to remove the new unit back out of the housing so I could pre-tap the holes with the screws. I discovered that the pre-drilled holes were so undersized that you could not get the screws to go in. I had to drill the holes out bigger to get the screws to even start. At 10:40, the capacitor cable is fed through a hole in the leg (you can't see it because it is out of frame). The vacuum's handle covers almost the entire hole. I might have been able to squeeze the cable in, but it would be a very tight fit. Besides, you should NEVER run a cable through a hole in metal without a rubber grommet or a cable gland to protect the insulation from being cut and possibly shorting a wire to the metal.(there's a gland where the power cable goes into the leg to the switch).
I had Shopsmith email me the correct instructions for my upgrade. I see that they do the upgrade with the vacuum upright the entire time like the video. The instructions also do not mention the screw you have to remove to get the inlet coupling fully on the fan unit. As for the capacitor wires, the instructions show a photo of the wires going in the hole in the leg. They show the vacuum handle has been removed yet they never tell you to remove it. I still would not have done it that way being concerned the cable would get damaged going through a hole in the metal leg. I also had to tell Shopsmith to send me the date label since there wasn't one in my kit. Notice too that the exploded view diagram in the front of the instructions show the old fan and motor unit, not the new style replacement one.
The only problem with ShopSmith’s is they almost NEVER break. Mine is 35 years old and still as good as new. My father’s was 60 plus years old when he died. The reason that’s a problem is that ShopSmith does not really get much repeat business. Just the accessories, blades, and the occasional knob or other minor part that might break.
I have just been introduced to these Machines. I have purchased 7 units in a small amount of time. I hope to see this company stay true to the Roots that made the Product (Awesome machine) I hope to see the New Owner stay true to the history of the machine that started the Trend of the best All-in one machine still available.
@@kylestan2250 I rebuilt mine because it came out of a shed in Florida and was completely rusted. Everything was covered in rust including the chrome rods. I sandblasted and painted all the steel and cast iron parts, polished the aluminum parts, sanded and waxed the rods, replaced the motor ( didn’t try the motor because of the rust and crud in it). I didn’t replace any bearings they were still good. This is a great machine. I think the new owner of the company is wrong in one point, I don’t think a tornado or a hurricane could truly destroy one of these things.
one of the neighbors I grew up with had an er. My father bought a model 500, 1957 production run. I still have it. It is in my storage locker currently, but hope springs eternal.
I THINK the three things you'd need to upgrade to current spec are the 510 to MK 7 table upgrade kit, the double tilt upgrade kit (with possibly new bench tubes depending if yours started as a 500 and got upgraded to 510 spec) and the DIY PowerPro Upgrade Kit. I'm starting from a Model 500, and I'm snagging a 510 upgrade kit off of ebay because I can't afford the full 500 to mk7 table kit right now.
I bought a used shopsmith in 2019 I have used to make more projects than I can count. Love it, so much in fact I think in 2025 I will purchase a new mark 7.
That is true, and I own, and use and love, a 1950 10ER. 53 and onward is what Shopsmith provides parts and support for. So the 10E and 10ER is a sort of pre-history for them.
If you are thinking about getting a Shopsmith, you should know that they do not use standards. The miter slot is under sized (.73 instead of .75 used for other tool miter slots), which locks you into using their accessories, and the table is aluminum, which means you can't use magnets for jigs.
Wouldn't it be much safer to arrange one of your tables directly behind the path of the blade when cutting smaller pieces? That way you wouldn't have to reach around to the back of the blade to catch cut offs rather than letting them fall. I think that would be much safer technique.
There you are! I have been wondering about you Mr. Young. I would drive to any demo you did within my area. I treated my Mark 5 to some new accessory that way for years. It is fully loaded now. Glad to see your face! Thanks for teaching me your bandsaw flower.
I bought a Shopsmith Mk 5 in 1983 in San Antonio (they had one of many stores throughout the country catering to a lot of military people. I added the accessories over the years. Service with the company was outstanding with service people calling me back even it it was after (their) working hours. I built my garage the inside of my house with this unit and hand tools. I did not require rebuilding it. Now I am getting a Mark 7 to benefit from the added power, the small space taken while keeping my Mk 5. This is an American tool company, a rare one! Let us support them - "They" are our people and they are "old school", i.e. they stand by what they sell. Peace be with you all, Ciao, L (Veteran)
Where did they find an honest to goodness Jim McCann in that condition. My Dad had one of the early mccanns with most of the attachments including the much sought after follicular head unit cover . It think my uncle has it now in his barn. I should ask him about it. This one looks pretty good considering it's a greenie.
