# Shopsmith Mark V & Mark 7????



## Tumbler (Apr 2, 2013)

Has anyone heard of and/or had experience with the Shopsmith Mark V or 7 machines? I saw an infomercial on them years ago and have always wondered if they are as good as they sound or if they are just an expensive novelty.


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## bosox (Jun 12, 2012)

You try to visit shopsmith forum site.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

I've owned the same MK V since 1975. It has been used during several house remodels and 3 complete home builds including cabinets and trim. In fact, it has helped build a good many cabinets and bookcases and loads of bedroom furniture. 
So, although it's a fun machine to use, it's not really a toy.
I just use mine now for smaller stuff like boxes and small cases. I'm just finishing up a large gun case and it will be (I hope) the last large commission I take on.
It's a decent lathe, an excellent drill press and horizontal borer, with a roller stand or two, it can rip a 3/4 4X8 down the middle with ease.....well, when I was younger, anyway. I also use it as a disk sander and have made a thickness sander that uses that disk sander. 
There are a few add ons that can be bought for the Shopsmith. A small planer, a 4" jointer, and a band saw. I only have the band saw. It's just a 10" with a 6" depth of cut but, it serves me well. I do wish it were a bit larger for resawing, though.
I just bought a second one. Refurbished and runs like a champ. $450 including shipping from FL to AZ. Good deals on nice Shopsmith machines are out there. And, the Shopsmith company has excellent customer service for any of their machines, new or used.


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## Tumbler (Apr 2, 2013)

Thank you for the great response, Gene. I have always been intrigued by the machine and of course, the infomercial I saw was quite compelling. I saw a Mark V on Craig's List for $1000 this morning. Since I have never seen one in person, I didn't know if it would be a good deal. Given that I have less than half of our two car garage to utilize as a work area, this machine looks like it would come in handy.


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## Harrison67 (May 30, 2012)

Like Gene says, I still use my Mark V too.

I have four other lathes, so I use it mostly with the drill press, bandsaw, planer, attachments. Pretty damn solid, for being a portable machine.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

If it' s just the bare machine without any of the other stuff I mentioned, the price seems a bit steep. 



Tumbler said:


> Thank you for the great response, Gene. I have always been intrigued by the machine and of course, the infomercial I saw was quite compelling. I saw a Mark V on Craig's List for $1000 this morning. Since I have never seen one in person, I didn't know if it would be a good deal. Given that I have less than half of our two car garage to utilize as a work area, this machine looks like it would come in handy.


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## woodworker352 (Mar 19, 2012)

I have had the MK V for more than 15 years. If it is the only tool you have room for it's a solid machine. I also have a Grizzly 1023L cabinet saw that I bought used for $500 and I would not trade it for 5 Shopsmiths. I have a Jet 14in bandsaw and I would not trade it for the Shopsmith band saw even though I do use it at times. I have seen demonstrations of the Shopsmith lathe work but I would not trade any of my three Jet mini lathes for the Shopsmith as a lathe. I also have a Delta 16-42 lathe for bigger work. I don't believe the Shopsmith is heavy enough for large work. If you have room for individual tools I would go that route. There are individuals that think the Shopsmith is the finest tool made. Since I have room for individual tools I like having each instantly available. IMO


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Had a Mark V several years ago for a short while. Played with it for awhile, then got rid of that thing and never looked back! Just glad I didn,t spend money on it... it was given to me!


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

I have a knock-off 5 in 1 machine with attachments from harbor freight and have used in building and repairing furniture for many years. It was my table saw, 6" jointer , bandsaw, lathe, boring machine/drill press, disk sander, 6" x 48" belt sander, and over head router for many years. I still have it but haven't used it for quite a while. When I was in the furniture business many years ago it build a lot of furniture and made many repairs. It has had large pieces of furniture turned upside down on it and ran through the tablesaw to cut off a damaged edge. it was heavily used all the time. All my repairs were made with Shopsmith parts,that's how closely these machines were made to the original Shopsmith.

If you are limited in space then I would say it might just be what you need.

If you want one check Craig's List because they are listed all the time and look to see if they have been taken care of because some of them are so rusted that it would take too much work to get it in shape, unless it is free for the haul off. The $1000 price tag is too high unless it is in great shape and includes ALL the attachments, blades, bits, lathe tools, and extras.


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## 4042 (Sep 30, 2004)

I have had mine for many years because I only have a 1 car garage to work in and have to move things around at night for the car. IF I had room I would NOT buy the Mark V. Difficult to make changes in blade height, not a heavy duty bandsaw, too small planer, but great drill press AND their customer service STINKS and accessories are propitiatory and very expensive. Shopsmith saw blades need Shopsmith special arbor and if you want to use the standard size blades need to buy an expensive arbor.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

watsonwoodworking said:


> I have had the MK V for more than 15 years. If you have room for individual tools I would go that route. There are individuals that think the Shopsmith is the finest tool made. Since I have room for individual tools I like having each instantly available. IMO


Totally agree. I started out with a Shopsmith, don't recall what model, in my 8X12 shop. If you only have a very limited space, they can't be beat. But, as said, if you have the room for individual tools, I would go that route. I got rid of mine when I figured out how to fit in individual tools. My bench bandsaw, router table, scroll saw, and bench drill press are mounted on the bench shelves. The small table saw, and 37" wood lathe, are both mounted on shopmade stands, and have to be shuffled around to use. The Shopsmith worked well for me, but was a minor PITA to shift from one use to another; but, something is always better than nothing.


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## Shortslvs (Jan 13, 2013)

I have two shopsmiths, both mark 5s - one has cut down set of tubes to take up even less space. I also have grizzly 10" cab saw and grizzly 14" band saw, incra router table....

I have tons of stuff with my SS including a stand alone Planer (better than most bench models - look it up if you like), but I use my machines as drill press/horizontal bore and lathe. I am not a huge turner and will probably upgrade one day.

The SS is kind of like the Harley of WW machines. If you like to tinker with tools the SS will fulfill your need and if you don't mind tinkering it will do all the same work the stand alones will, but you must love to tinker.

If you are thinking about getting one I wouldn't consider anything other than a 520 table system with at least a addon or two to go with it like band saw, belt sander or full shaper setup and I wouldn't pay over $500-$600 for it. I live in the LA area so the market is huge here and you can make your own deal. I didn't notice where you were, but feel free to PM me and I will give you my two cents on any deals you see. I have a lot of time tinkering with these things and have made money buying and selling the bits and I am happy to help.

Something nice about the machine is you can use it at the same time as one of your stand alones, such as dado on it while ripping/cross cutting on another TS or shaper along with your router table blah blah blah. I use it like crazy even with my stand alones. It is an excellent drill press and the reason I first bought one. Figured "hey I get a Drill Press and a Lathe...." and ya know what I did and it introduced me to a few things I hadn't tried out. It is an excellent sanding station and I know guys that use them only for this purpose. With all the different attachments for sanding it is a tough system to beat with such a small footprint.

So if you are a tinkerer or would like to be able to use two table saws at once (I know I am a troubled person) go for it, but don't pay $1,000 for it. There are to many of them out there that guys don't know what to do with and will sell them for nothing. Many of them I've bought for less than what I could sell the motor alone for.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

The Shopsmith does have it's detractors, no doubt. It is a quirky machine.
It does what it was designed to do, and once you get the hang of it, does it well, IMO. And, I have no complaints about their customer service. 
Shopsmith has been in business for a long time making essentially the same machine. It's still made in Ohio. My shop has a number of machines and tools with respected (at one time) brand names. None are currently made in the USA and all are inferior to their once great predecessors. My Shopsmith has been in use for 39 years with no major problems. If I had chosen several tools from the other major brands at the time, I'm sure most would still be in service. Not so today. A Shopsmith bought today will likely be serviceable 39 years down the road.


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## Shortslvs (Jan 13, 2013)

That is true. Customer Service is top notch. The machines were designed to last and they certainly do.


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

I live near where they are made (about a 20 minute drive). I took a serious look at these machines, out of interest in the local economy. (In fact one of my co-workers used to work in their IT department) They aren't for everyone, but they are solid machines. The guys I know that have them love them. Do keep your eye out on CL, there are deals to be had. The older ER10, 500,510 are out there and can be often had for $200, or less. I do see the occasional Mark 5 get that low, but tend to be in the $400-$500 range. I have never seen a Mark 7 on CL around her.

I ended up going with individual machines, but I have much of a two car garage dedicated to my shop. If you are limited on space, it is not a bad way to go.


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## gaftech (Aug 25, 2013)

I have a Mark V that I inherited from my dad. Not sure when he bought it but it was made in '54, I was born in '57 and I can remember it from a very early age. When I got it, it hadn't been run in probably 15-20 years, so I was leery of the headstock, so I bought the new PowerPro electronic headstock. Very nice because it has a menu that asks what type of operation you are performing (jointing, turning, TS, etc.,) and then automatically sets the speed. You can, however, adjust that speed as you see fit. I haven't had much call to use it yet, but I do agree that the TS function is a little on the tall side.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

I don't own one nor ever have. Since I have not, I don't have a personal opinion on how they are...

I've seen a lot of these in customers' garages. Owner's either are very loyal to them and use them... or it sits there, not used or is sold because it's not used. They do seem to fit a nitch kind of market.


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## berry (Oct 17, 2005)

I bought my ShopSmith in '82 (with the band saw, jointer, belt sander). Other than routers, circular saw and scroll saw it's my only tool. I like it a lot but it's not for everyone. My shop is 168 square feet and I'm I a budget so it works for me. Never had a single problem with it. If I have to I can move the whole shop to my kids house in the back of a Ford Fiesta.


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

In a FIESTA? Are you kidding, Berry?



berry said:


> I bought my ShopSmith in '82 (with the band saw, jointer, belt sander). Other than routers, circular saw and scroll saw it's my only tool. I like it a lot but it's not for everyone. My shop is 168 square feet and I'm I a budget so it works for me. Never had a single problem with it. If I have to I can move the whole shop to my kids house in the back of a Ford Fiesta.


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## Shortslvs (Jan 13, 2013)

I imagine you could move it in a Fiesta, but you would need some wrenches and more than one trip. haha

I have moved mine quite easily in the back of my Suburban though...


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

I have had my MKV 520 Shopsmith and band saw attachment for quite a while. Both are excellent machines and have met every demand I have put upon them. If you are limited in space, as I am, it is ideal. As mentioned before it takes the place of five tools that, if owned separately, would not fit in my available work space. Their customer service is excellent. Their prices are high. But if you look around there are good deals to be had. If you want more info just check out shopsmith.com or look at their forum at Shopsmith Forums - Powered by vBulletin. Tool snobs hate them but a large number of WOODWORKERS like them. Norm Abrams started out on a Shopsmith...


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## mattt (Feb 3, 2014)

I got my woodworking start (about a year ago) by responding to a classifieds ad for a Shopsmith Mark V 510 with a band saw, jointer, and belt sander all mounted on their own power stands along with boxes of unused shaper, router bits, and tons of new accessories for just $850. Someone before me really went crazy with the Shopsmith catalog!

Slowly adding some stand alone tools but have a feeling the shopsmith will take center stage in my basement shop for years to come.


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Hello and welcome Matt,
Started over 30 yrs ago with shopsmith still have it still use it,have all the standard stand alone tools also I have no reason Nor want to get rid of it.

http://www.routerforums.com/attachm...1339167129-how-post-forums-posting-basics.pdf


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