Should I trade my atf 55 w rail for shopsmith 500?

fesfrank

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May 16, 2010
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I had a guy offer to trade me his used shopsmith 500 for my used atf 55e and 55" rail.  The shopsmith is in great condition with extra, brand new router bits.  I dont have any experience with shopsmith so i wanted to ask around first.  Thanks in advance. 
 
Why would you want to do that. The Shopsmith is an alright machine but nothing compared to Feztool quality.
 
I had a Shopsmith Mark V years ago.  Excellent drill press and horizontal boring tool.  Solid disk sander and an OK lathe.  but I never liked the table saw.  And it tok a lot of space in a small shop.

If you have the tools that the  Shopsmith brings, probably not a good trade.  I do not think it replaces a Festool saw and rail.

I am not even sure if Shopsmith is still made or if spare parts are available.  It does bring a lot of compromises that separate machines don't have.

Neil
 
The decision to trade or not trade largely depends on what you intend to do with the Shopsmith or ATF55 and which machine you would get the most use and enjoyment from.  I purchased a Shopsmith 500 new (1980 vintage) and owned it for about 27 years before I sold it.  I also had an ATF55 that I gave to my son when I upgraded to the TS55.  Strictly from a dollar value standpoint, they are probably worth about the same.

Since you don't own a Shopsmith, I will limit my comments to that machine.  As with any multi-function machine, there are always trade-offs and the Shopsmith is no exception.  It does several jobs okay but, none with superiority.  As a table-saw, the Shopsmith is the absolute worst I have ever used or owned.  The table is small and the tilts instead of the blade which is an unacceptable limitation for me.  The fence is to put it politely, marginal.  As a drill press, it is pretty good but, don't even think about using a hollow chisel mortiser with the earlier version of the table as there is way too much flex in the support system.  As a horizontal boring machine, it is okay but nothing to write home about.  As a lathe, I would classify it as marginally acceptable primarily because the tailstock has way too much flex in it.  The disc sander works very good at two functions; 1) sanding and, 2) spraying dust all over the shop.

I don't regret owning the Shopsmith 500 as it gave me multiple functions at a time when I was just getting started in woodworking.  I also don't regret selling it as my needs grew such that they far exceeded the capabilities of that machine.

Hope this helps.
Steve
 
Thank you so much for all the great responses.  I will not trade and just sell to put toward my future Domino XL....
 
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