What All Can The Shopsmith Mark 7 Woodworking Machine Do & How Much Does It Cost?

If you spend any time working with wood either professionally or as a hobby, you know that the work tends to require a trove of different tools, including any number of devices that cut, drill, chisel, smooth, and bend. You likely also know that assembling such a set of tools involves a pretty considerable financial investment, even if you're copping them from the under $100 bin. 

Multi-use tools can help you save some money, and there are plenty of such tools available to woodworkers that are designed to handle more than one job assignment. But it's safe to say that few of them approach the multi-use concept with quite veracity of The Shopsmith Mark 7 Woodworking Machine. The multi-tool is indeed designed to perform seven different functions, making it as versatile a device as you'll find on the consumer woodworking tool market.

So, what exactly does the Shopsmith Mark 7 do? The multi-tool device functions as a 10-inch table saw, a 34-inch lathe, a 12-inch disc sander, an over-table router, a 16 1/2-inch drill press, and an under-table shaper. It can also be used for horizontal boring. Now, whether you're a woodworking novice or someone who makes a living working with wood, you know how valuable such versatility could be. You likely also know that adding each of those tools to your arsenal separately would require the sacrifice of considerable room in your garage or workshop, so packaging them all together also makes the Mark 7 a serious space-saver. 

With the Shopsmith Mark 7 offering so much to users, it could prove to be an invaluable piece of equipment for woodworkers from every level of expertise. And the good news is that it is available for purchase to anyone who wants to add it to their woodworking arsenal. The bad news is that the Mark 7 will cost you considerably more than a trusty old flat woodworking pencil. In fact, with Shopsmith currently pricing its seven-function woodworking machine at $5,495, it may be out of the price range for many.

That lofty price tag may indeed leave the Mark 7 out of the price range for many, though some may be interested to know that Shopsmith does offer financing for the device through Affirm. However, for those who didn't flinch at the financial investment required to purchase a Shopsmith Mark 7, it would seem the device is capable of performing more than even the seven functions it's primarily designed for.

Yes, Shopsmith makes several different attachments for the Mark 7 that greatly enhance its capabilities. Those attachments will, however, cost you a little more money, and their prices are in line with the main device itself, including the 11-inch bandsaw attachment ($799.95), the 4-inch jointer ($699.95), the 6-inch belt sander ($729.95), and strip sander ($579.95). But one could easily argue that investing in those attachments will make the Mark 7 one of the more complete woodworking tools out there — assuming you can figure out the intricacies of transforming it from one tool into another.