Clearance Sale on Harbor Freight 10 in 1 Tool/Lathe

[Bree]

I was browsing the Harbor Freight site today and noticed a clearance item that was interesting. They have cabbaged the Shopsmith Mark V and have their own version on sale for $1799.00. The Shopsmith costs about $3,000. So someone might be interested as it is substantially lower in price. Here is the link.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=96067

 

[rjwolfe3]

Drool but alas I is broke!

 

[Bree]

I have just about all these machines this thing is supposed to replace and they take up a LOT of space!! Sometimes I kinda wish I had one of these all in ones. What I really would like is one of those big 10-16" Jointer/planer combos. That would knock off one machine's footprint and give me a wide board jointer instead of the 6" I have now!! I would love the 16" but I would be very happy with a 10 or 12".

 

[diamundgem]

don't forget You get what you pay for.. Every body has to make a profit

 

[Buzzzz4]

I'll take your Delta Lathe if you need to clear some space :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:. I'm trying to find a good price on the model you have right now.

 

[Daniel]

Bree, From everything I have ever heard the Shop Smith does it all and does it well. not something you find all the time in a do it all type set up. By the time you sell all those dedicated machines you could probably come close to paying for the SS. Just some primer for future thought. I personally like all my toys. we have a rather good working relationship going. I get ideas and they don't break. so far it is working out pretty well most of the time.

 

[hilltopper46]

I have one of these machines in the OP, sold under the Smithy brand. FYI it will not turn pens without some modification. You cannot bring the headstock close enough to the tailstock to turn the mandrel (let alone close enough to TBC) and it has no MT2 drive in the HS, just R8 collets.

I do use mine to make pens - I built a tailstock that bolts to the worktable and drive the mandrel with a 1/4-inch R8 collet. It turns the most accurately of any of my three lathes.

 

[Bree]

Bree, From everything I have ever heard the Shop Smith does it all and does it well. not something you find all the time in a do it all type set up. By the time you sell all those dedicated machines you could probably come close to paying for the SS. Just some primer for future thought. I personally like all my toys. we have a rather good working relationship going. I get ideas and they don't break. so far it is working out pretty well most of the time.

I doubt very seriously if I will ever part with my stationary machines. I remember once thinking about going to route of Shopsmith many years ago. I chose to buy individual machines.

I once had to move and give some machines away. I had a very nice Sprunger lathe with a 3/4 HP GE motor as well as a nice Delta table saw and a Craftsman Radial Arm saw. I had to part with them and I have missed them all terribly. :-(

Eventually I got new machines but I never forgot my old ones or my old tools. I still have two Frog Tool Company Long and Strong Deep gouges. Now those are some SWEET gouges!! And once I ground off the gunk of 25 yrs of sitting around the English steel is good as new!
:embarrassed::embarrassed::embarrassed:

 

[jleiwig]

The problem that I hear with everyone around here who has a shopsmith is that the setup and tear down time is enormous! Every time you want to do something different you have to change things and redo your setups. They frequently sell for between $350 to $750 here, as they are based here in Dayton and it seems everyone and their mother has one.

 

[Lenny]

The Shopsmith fills a niche but like everything there is a trade off.
I always thought they made a decent drill press/lathe, but as a tablesaw:bad:
I believe the jointer and bandsaw are attachments that just use the main tool as a motor...???

Much better off with seperate machines IMO, unless room is REALLY limited!

and i know about limited spaces :biggrin: