Re: BREAKING NEWS: Shopsmith, Inc. Has A New Owner
Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2023 1:46 pm
You are forgetting it has been re-christened a "smart" motor now (per the interview). It knows what you have connected and where now!!!
A woodworking forum for woodworking hobbyist and woodworking projects related and unrelated to the Shopsmith MARK V
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You are forgetting it has been re-christened a "smart" motor now (per the interview). It knows what you have connected and where now!!!
+1. But I agree with much of the sentiment. To interest me, an admitted fan of the PP, PP3 would address Idler shaft robustness and thermal performance. Larger, more maneuverable color touch screen with more information on it and a better user interface (Confirm functionality) - yes to all of that. But my impression of what I would expect in terms of thermal performance is that PP2 likely went the wrong way (I'd love for SS to prove me wrong on that) and it was already unacceptable IMO. My experience with the Idler shaft; also unacceptable unless SS can demonstrate significant improvement based on the new belts AND provide a useful/objective belt tensioning procedure for all versions. The Idler bearing was the best and most reliable bearing in the headstock before the 'water pump style' was changed to what we have now.
Agree completely. The fact that many can't see past maintaining legacy with one sorely outdated SPT is why this company will keep both feet firmly planted in the past unfortunately. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Either choose nostalgia and stick with the past, or embrace the future with all the features, bells & whistles it might offer.
That would require yet another redesign of the headrest, but that would resolve the need for an idler shaft, and that would also allow the machine to be moved into the drill press without removing the STPs, but it would require quite a feat of engineering to do all that plus allow for left tilt.
Now you're just baiting me!
Yeah, it just gets back to my earlier question on this thread which is in 2024, who are Shopsmith customers? Either existing or target customers? Many on this thread assume that business will continue as it always has and that Shopsmith is serving existing customers ONLY who already own Shopsmith. So, all of them want to have support for every legacy SPT, etc. So, naturally you have some who want to migrate from Mark V -> PP2/3. Some want a new SPT or accessory. Some, want to replace their entire rig or buy another one and therefore want a Mark 7 (or 12 according to Saint Nick). Some just want replacement parts for ALL existing hardware for the next 100 years. BUT...what about new customers? Those who have never heard of or owned a Shopsmith before? We had started discussing on this thread how Shopsmith could possibly achieve 25X sales growth (promised on interview), something I would argue is only achievable in a non-manufacturing business, i.e. software business. Very hard to 25X sales on an established business in hardware - you know manufacturing/producing actual stuff. This is where Ed's posts came in and his comments resonated with me in this regard as we started to have a "What IF?" discussion on new Shopsmith products. Of course, emotion again came into the thread with follow-up posts because many existing Shopsmith owners assume Shopsmith will never change and MUST support ALL legacy hardware until the end of time. This is really the crux of Shopsmith's future, i.e. who are their target customers in 2024 and whether they will roll out a product roadmap that fits them or not. Hence the 4" jointer being an outlier, and non-competitive, in the 2023 marketplace discussion. I hope everyone can agree that Shopsmith's product has never been perfect. IF it was then we would still have the Model 10ER being produced 70 years later, and there never would have been a need for a Mark VII, Mark V (500 or 510 or 520), Mark 7, etc. We would all still being driving Model T Fords and still talking on Bell's box telephone rather than an iPhone.