A dining room wood shop

A couple years ago, I bought an abandoned house with an attached general store, built in 1911. I’ve been gradually fixing things up and learning a lot in the process. I’ve been doing more woodworking and a lot of research, and I’ve decided to start documenting what I learn here in the form of a blog.

My primary woodworking tool is a Shopsmith Mark V. The Shopsmith is a multipurpose tool that functions as a table saw, lathe, disc sander, drill press, and horizontal boring machine. There are also numerous attachments, such as a bandsaw and jointer, that can be mounted on it and powered by the Shopsmith headstock. The Shopsmith is often maligned because of the compromises inherent to a multifunction machine, but I’ve been very happy with it. If I had a two car garage that could serve as a dedicated workshop, I’d love to have a big cabinet saw and the walls lined with industrial tools, but my shop is in the dining room. I can’t work as quickly as I could with a full size shop, but the Shopsmith is completely capable of doing professional quality work. For a shop as small as mine, it’s the only practical option.

On the opposite side of the room from the Shopsmith is my workbench. Right now, it’s just a sheet of MDF on a pair of saw horses. I’m planning to build a more permanent workbench and have been looking at a lot of plans, but haven’t decided on anything yet.

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Comments

gsmcten's picture

Tom,

Your Shopsmith is Very Cool.

Steven Smile

Tom Owad's picture

Thanks, Steven. It's entertaining to read forum discussions about them. It seems everybody either loves or hates them. Mine has the table/fence system that was introduced in 1999, and it's a vast improvement over the original that ran from 1953 to 1984. Everybody tends to think of the original, since they're so plentiful. The table saw is still its weakest function - and I'd certainly rather have a good cabinet saw - but it's better than the typical consumer-level table saw that you'll see on display at Home Depot.

gsmcten's picture

Tom,

You really need to talk with my Brother-in-Law, Bob.
His father was a Cabinet Maker and he taught Bob.
He makes a mean cabinet. lol

Steven Smile