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Well, that depends. I have a Mark 5, and I like it a lot. I bought it when I was in the Navy, moving every three years, and cramped for space. The basic five setups it comes with (table saw, drill press, lathe, horizontal boring and disc sander) are all adequate, and changing between setups is a snap. The motor has good power, and mine has run without any repairs (other than replacing the main sheave belt) since 1980. The primary drawback is that the saw table is too small and too lightweight for really accurate cuts and repeatability. Also, while the quill speed can be cranked up to adequate speed to use as a router, the stresses will tear up the quill bearing quickly, and the accuracy isn't very good. I'm much happier with a good Craftsman 1-1/2 horse router mounted on a router table. Now that I'm retired and have the space, I've bought a few big stationary tools, a 10" tablesaw, a good compound miter saw, and a jointer. These combined with the Shopsmith and it's bandsaw add-on will do any woodworking I need to do, and I build the odd piece of furniture, and have built a 24x48 garage and several smaller outbuildings. At that price, I'd jump on it if you need some powertools, especially if you're cramped for space.
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