Shopsmith vs drill press

[CalsXS2]

Me and my son are setting up a small shop in my basement. We need a drill press. He wants a Shopsmith so it will have a drill press and a lathe. But I have a 80" ceiling height. Will something like a Mark V even fit there.

I on the other hand want something like an old Craftsman drill press with the 3rd pulley so I can drill steel. Will a Shopsmith drill steel the same size compared to what the drill press I described will.

Would the Shopsmith be any better than a regular drill press. He seems to think it would be a lot better because of the table and different things you can do with it in drill press mode.

But I am ignorant about Shopsmiths. Just seems like it would not be as good. But what do I know. That's why I'm asking,,,lol. Thanks

EDIT TO ADD:

I want opinions from guys that have actually used a Shopsmith.

 

[CalsXS2]

Shopsmith - the pinnacle of "jack of all trades, master of none."

The DP is awkward to use, and switching between a DP and a lathe will get old really fast.

The Shopsmith should fit in 80" ceilings. If no one else chimes in, I might be able to check tomorrow. It goes down to around 400-450 rpms, so depending on thickness of steel and size of hole, it will drill steel. (There was a motor update/add-on thingamajig somewhere along the line that I think changed this speed.)

I'm not sure what he thinks is so great about the DP mode on a Shop Smith. Most DPs have a tri-handle. The Shop Smith table is for a table saw (another awkward abomination whereby you move the table and the saw motor assembly to set the width of the cut instead of the fence), so it's awkward to try to clamp your workpiece to the table. I'm sure I could come up with a few more reasons but it's late and I haven't used that huge door stop since I got a real drill press.

You may get a Shop Smith and be okay with it, especially if you haven't used a REAL drill press or lathe or table saw or whatever else it's supposed to morph into. But if you use the real deal after using the Shop Smith, you will never want to go back.

Thanks for your opinion.

I have used a real drill press. But not a Shopsmith. I had wood shop in high school many moons ago. And in fact, I'm in machine shop class right now.


We do have an old Craftsman 113 table saw we just got, along with an old Delta bandsaw. Next is a drill press. But we're just bumping heads on this one,,,lol.

I could be talked into a Shopsmith if they were said to be hands down better. But I don't want one dang it,,,,,lol.

 

[CalsXS2]

The only thing that a Shopsmith has that most of those old DPs won't have is variable speed. There's a wheel on the front that you rotate. It has no stops, so you can make the speed whatever you want (within its range). But you would likely struggle in steel with thick material or bigger holes. With MOST pulley DPs, you get what you get, although there are ways to make it variable.

Also keep in mind, if you're mainly using it as a DP, you are wasting a TON of floor space. The base is 5' long x ~ 2' wide.

He wants it for the lathe too. I guess we have room for it. I was going to go for a drill press and a lathe. Just seems to me dedicated machines would be better than the "Jack of all Trades" as you said.

But he swears from HIS research the dp and lathe are great on them. But not the table saw. We dont care about that anyway.

So he told me to do my own research. So here I am,,,,lol.

 

[2oolhound]

I could be talked into a Shopsmith if they were said to be hands down better. But I don't want one dang it,,,,,lol.

NOPE, not even close. The shop smith is a compromise all around. You're way better off with independent machines. They had their place in 1950 when they came out but not anymore imho.

 

[CalsXS2]

Just want to add I want opinions from guys that have actually used a Shopsmith so I know your intell is good,,,lol.

 

[CalsXS2]

NOPE, not even close. The shop smith is a compromise all around. You're way better off with independent machines. They had their place in 1950 when they came out but not anymore imho.

So let's say I wanted to use the Shopsmith as a drill press only. I've seen them bolted to the wall. Because of the many things you can do with the table and fence in drill press mode, would it be better than a standard drill press.

 

[Voi]

Just want to add I want opinions from guys that have actually used a Shopsmith so I know your intell is good,,,lol.

Well that isn't me but I can tell you some woodworkers will pick up a cheap Shopsmith just to use it for lathe and horizontal boring use. Google [horizontal boring shopsmith] without the brackets and maybe even do a specific search of sawmillcreek, lumberjocks, etc.

I still think you'll want your slow speed drill press but if you find a cheap shopsmith it might be worth picking up, especially since you want a lathe.

Again, I haven't used one.

 

[fozzy]

It all depends on what you are going to use it for, what is the end-product? I grew up on a Shopsmith. We didn't have a lot of room in the basement, so my father bought a Shopsmith. If economy of space is more important than absolute accuracy, or really more of a necessity, and you aren't making high-end furniture, then the Shopsmith is adequate. I was able to use it for what I wanted to make then.

15 years later, after using dedicated stand-alone quality machines, I saw and felt the difference. You will lose a measure of precision with the Shopsmith. Again, the end result of whether or not that loss is seen depends on what you are making.

Set up time is also a minus. Transitioning from drill press to band saw to table saw to lathe takes time, and is awkward. When I was a youngin', I had time. When shop time was limited, this made a difference. As an adult, I considered a Shopsmith as I move quite frequently and I figured it would save on the weight. I chose stand-alone simply because I felt that I had advanced past the Shopsmith phase for what I make. If you have used a real drill press and table saw, I think you would be disappointed with a Shopsmith. One look at the size of the table in table saw mode should confirm this.

 

[CalsXS2]

It all depends on what you are going to use it for, what is the end-product? I grew up on a Shopsmith. We didn't have a lot of room in the basement, so my father bought a Shopsmith. If economy of space is more important than absolute accuracy, or really more of a necessity, and you aren't making high-end furniture, then the Shopsmith is adequate. I was able to use it for what I wanted to make then.

15 years later, after using dedicated stand-alone quality machines, I saw and felt the difference. You will lose a measure of precision with the Shopsmith. Again, the end result of whether or not that loss is seen depends on what you are making.

Set up time is also a minus. Transitioning from drill press to band saw to table saw to lathe takes time, and is awkward. When I was a youngin', I had time. When shop time was limited, this made a difference. As an adult, I considered a Shopsmith as I move quite frequently and I figured it would save on the weight. I chose stand-alone simply because I felt that I had advanced past the Shopsmith phase for what I make. If you have used a real drill press and table saw, I think you would be disappointed with a Shopsmith. One look at the size of the table in table saw mode should confirm this.

I don't care about the table for table saw mode. But I do care about it for drill press mode. From some videos I seen, they say the table is much bigger than a regular drill press??

As far as accuracy goes. I assume the Shopsmith could suffer from run out like a drill press. Right?

 

[DonPowers]

I bought a MK V in the early 80s, mostly due to space considerations at the time and still use it on a regular basis.

You shouldn't have any problems with the 80" ceiling height. As others have mentioned, it has variable speed and the ability to be used both vertically and horizontally.

Over the years I have picked up larger stand alone machines and for a lot of projects, its nice to have two saws or two drills set up.

 

[rharman]

I've had a Shopsmith MarkV since the early 80's too. Since I have a floor model Craftsman drill press, I use that all the time. I have used the Shopsmith for horizontal boring and it's great.

As to the lathe/drill press wants of your son..... Buy separate machines. The switch to vertical mode is a pain. It works well as a lathe but, in all honesty, if I had to do it over again, I would buy separate tools - unless I was SERIOUSLY space constrained. Even then, I'd lean towards separate tools.

Ironically, I use it almost 100% as a table saw and it has serious limitations there. Guess I've gotten used to it. I even splurged on the new digital motor upgrade. That's a nice feature.

 

[jvitez]

I have a Mark V. Yes, switching to vertical is a pain, but the large table in drill press mode is better than stand alone machines, the variable speed is easy to set, and I've found it accurate enough for my woodworking needs. It's nice to buy one machine and have multiple tools. The table saw is the least useful though. I've actually ordered a dedicated table saw just last week, but I'll keep the Shopsmith for the other tools.

 

[2oolhound]

I had a mark V also. I got it for $100 and bought it for the jointer it had which seemed like it was worth the $100 alone. I found it had a big footprint as it always occupies the floor space of a big lathe. I do mostly metal work and already had a 17" drill press with good sized T-slot table which I made a wood top for that can be slid on in seconds making it really big. It also changes in 30 seconds from T-slot to cross slide vise, so the MKV DP didn't interest me at all. I also had a table saw so really the only attraction was the wood lathe which my metal lathe can do if I had to, and the jointer. I ended up getting rid of it, admittedly before giving it much of a chance but anytime I see another one it makes me glad I didn't keep it.

Bolting the drill press to the wall renders the rest of it useless. It would also be a big job but at lest it would stay level for you. My DP sits on a wheeled base with levelling feet so it can be rolled around if need be. The table also swings left or right, right out of the way.

 

[Squashfest81]

If you can grab a cheap well equipped Shopsmith, you should. I have a pair of machines and it's the versatility that makes them so useful. The more modern Mark V series 510 and 520 have a much larger table and better fence design. The older ER series are heavier machines and are rumored to be a better lathe.
I have a 510 that is set up as a table saw, plenty accurate for me, and it powers my bandsaw. My second machine is set up as a 12in disk sander and once the jointer is cleaned up it will mount on that. I cut 18 inches off the tubes to reduce its footprint. I rarely go vertical as I have a 70 year old drill press.
I'd get an SS just for the 1 1/8 horse variable speed 12 in disk sander with large table, fence, and miter guage.
You can also spin it up to 7000 rpm to spin cutting tools.
I'll take some pics.

 

[Squashfest81]

My shortened machine.

And the dueling machines.

 

[DonPowers]

Just found this photo using it as a drill press.

 

[rharman]

I wouldn't mind converting one to a "shorty. Good way to keep the bandsaw available all the time. The standalone power bases are crazy expensive.

 

[gungatim]

good idea on the shorty. I have a friend who's dad has 5 shopsmiths. I bought an early one at auction (green, first gen) for $30 thinking he'd want another but now I'm stuck with it and have no use for it so was gonna keep the motor and scrap the rest, but now maybe i'll shorten it and dedicate it to drilling...

all mine has is the spur for the lathe, so need to figure out a way to put a chuck on it without paying the ridiculously high prices for original shopsmith parts.