whoa - that looks like a helladeal

[ChadTower]

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/tls/425719474.html

[ScottS]

That one looks to be in better shape than most... but I wouldn't invest $500 in a ShopSmith. Most likely you'll never use the horizontal boring, lathe, or disc sander. Which means you're paying $500 for a drill press and a tablesaw that has less capacity than a modern benchtop saw.

IMHO, you'd be better of buying a circular saw, a top-of-the-line blade, making a sawboard, and buying a bench-top drill press. Throw in a pair of saw horses (I like the Stanley Folding Adjustable Saw Horse Twin Pack for $55) and a sacrificial sheet of 3/4" plywood to make a huge, yet collapsible, cutting table. From there, you just need a few decent measuring tools: a FastCap Flatback tape measure,  and a Starrett combination square and you're good to go! All for less than the ShopSmith...

[ChadTower]

Heh.  I already have those sawhorses... I use them for everything.  I originally bought them because they make a fantastic spotter tool for the bench press... I never had to worry about getting stuck on a heavy weight, I'd set them to the exact height that represented about a inch into my chest.

I wasn't thinking so much that Shopsmith is a great tool to get but more of a collector's item.  I know a couple of guys who are very spendy about quality antique tools.