After reading our discussion on Multipurpose vs. Dedicated Tools, Redmond Blair shared his experience with a Shopsmith. He found the table saw to be the weakest component, especially for cutting angles. But he liked the pistol grip miter gauge, appreciated that he could move the disc sander in and out against the piece, and thought the drill press was easy to set up, especially for drilling a series of dowel holes or drilling at an angle. He also had a jointer and band saw attachment & and the latter did a reasonable job. The lathe only does a fair job and is a bit unstable. He enjoys his Shopsmith, but overall, he’d advise getting separate tools. David Hoffelder feels that any multifunction device is a compromise and lessens each component’s functionality. If you can afford it, he advises buying separate dedicated machines.
In reference to Freshly Cut Logs, Roger Richards cautions against exposing stored logs or lumber to sunshine.
