Shopsmith DEMO

[dforeman]

Same here. I inherited my Shopsmith. Before that I didn't even know the company existed. I had knowledge of other brands from my shop classes in school, the big box stores, from my time working in the lumber and building industry, etc. But, the Shopsmith name just never came up.

Plus, I also thought it funny when I was at Woodcraft on day talking with one of the salesmen. He said that he had never heard of the Shopsmith brand of tools before.

[dusty]

Same here. I inherited my Shopsmith. Before that I didn't even know the company existed. I had knowledge of other brands from my shop classes in school, the big box stores, from my time working in the lumber and building industry, etc. But, the Shopsmith name just never came up.

Plus, I also thought it funny when I was at Woodcraft on day talking with one of the salesmen. He said that he had never heard of the Shopsmith brand of tools before.

Shopsmith demos did help to provide name recognition. It is likely that, as pointed out here, lack of name recognition is part of the Shopsmith marketing issue.

I don't know if that will be a significant factor as Shopsmith concentrates their marketing effort online but I suspect it will.

All we can do is HOPE.

[ryanbp01]

Plus, I also thought it funny when I was at Woodcraft on day talking with one of the salesmen. He said that he had never heard of the Shopsmith brand of tools before.

You may wish to also keep in mind that Shopsmith is a competitor of Woodcraft's (as well as Rockler's and others) suppliers. Shopsmith has a history of being looked down upon by others in woodworking as not being a serious machine for woodworkers.

BPR

[mrhart]

Short of fuzzy sawdust sessions, is there any other form of SS training anymore?
Most of you on the forum here are extremely knowledgable and SS owners for years (for some since gas was a nickle ). But to have a hands-on learning Saturday would be amazing. Some people are more hands on learners and this type of experience would go a long way towards product usage, SPT and accessory sales, not to mention safety.
Has anyone even privately held something like this?:rolleyes:

[dusty]

Short of fuzzy sawdust sessions, is there any other form of SS training anymore?
Most of you on the forum here are extremely knowledgable and SS owners for years (for some since gas was a nickle ). But to have a hands-on learning Saturday would be amazing. Some people are more hands on learners and this type of experience would go a long way towards product usage, SPT and accessory sales, not to mention safety.
Has anyone even privately held something like this?

I have participated in a couple member shop sessions but they are difficult to get started and even more difficult to keep together. Most of us do not have facilities large enough to accommodate a crowd Some are reluctant to open their shops to a group of "strangers" even though they are reportedly Shopsmith users/owners.

One thing that I wish the Shopsmith site (or the forum) facilitated is a way to extract a list of names of members who reside within so many miles of some geographical location.

Example: Provide a list (email addresses) of all forum members who have posted within the last year and live within 100 miles of the Tucson city center.

A list like this would allow anyone interested to contact nearby members to determine if they were interested in a local Shopsmith Working Group.

I'll provide the coffee - you bring the donuts and smitty will teach "Cutting dovetails on the Shopsmith router table". He just got a brand new toy and cannot wait to show it off.

[pennview]

As I recall, they were selling Shopsmiths at the Woodcraft stores a few years back. Guess they didn't move very many so they dropped the line.

[wlhayesmfs]

I purchased some of my Ss items from the older WoodCraft store In Overland Park Ks. years ago, they had a Ss section on one side of the store was very well stocked and I loved shopping it. I still think SS has to get out in front with Demo's if they want anyone to see the improvement with the new MK7 and all it can do. I am planning on upgrading my 520 to that as soon as I can but finding a Job comes first.

[mrhart]

We have a Woodcraft store here and they have nothing SS related.

Yes a geographical kink would be cool. I don't even know anyone who woodworks let alone a SS owner. I'm trying to pioneer and resurrect the sport.
That's why some one on one with someone else would be such a great idea. I'm almost 47, maybe with all your help here on the forum, I can one day be the one in my area folks can call when I'm....older.
Like they say in motocross..I need more seat-time:D

Has anyone ever seen the factory? Big? lots of people ect?

[wlhayesmfs]

WoodCraft and stand alone SS stores are long gone, There was a SS store in Tulsa but it has been closed for at least 10-15 years now. I have not seen SS items in WoodCraft in about that long either. I have not been to the Headquartes but a lot of the guy here have but It is no longer what it was either on size or employee's. But I still think it will come back with this new MK7 and hopefully faithful followers. Too much Ebay and the factory will continue to go down.
My 2 cents for what it is worth.

[nuhobby]

I have no inside line to Shopsmith, but I think their behavior is consistent with full *new* Mark V's or Mark VII's being only the occasional sell.

On the other hand, by watching my order invoice #'s, I can infer that they fulfill many thousands of parts-orders and upgrade-orders. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Whether you're an environmentalist or a businessperson or both, to market upgrades to hundreds of thousands of existing machines isn't a bad ploy. Yes, everyone wants future growth in gigantic ways, but reality has its place.