AN INTERVIEW WITH THE INVENTOR OF THE
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SHOPSMITH WOODWORKING SYSTEM



Preface
Americans live to make things with their hands. Hans Goldschmidt noticed this and eventually ended up inventing the multi-purpose woodworking machine that's now called the Shopsmith.

In addition to inventing the machine, Goldschmidt also conceived the philosophy that's driven today's company, Shopsmith, Inc. - that of satisfying the needs of home woodworkers.

"The basis of being an inventor is recognizing a need, then trying to invent something that fills that need," Goldschmidt said.

Goldschmidt had always wanted to be an inventor. As a boy in Germany, he wrote his high school thesis on being an inventor. Later, at the University of Berlin, he acquired a Doctorate of Philosophy in Administrative Engineering.

In 1937, Hans and his wife Ilsa fled Nazi Germany and settled in California. He worked at making handicrafts, then as a time study man at the Kaiser shipyards during World War II.

Following the war, he became a foreman in a woodworking shop, where he conceived the idea of combining many tools into one. His plan would eliminate the duplication inherent in single-purpose tools and create an efficient, inexpensive multi-functional power tool for home woodworkers. Goldschmidt visualized, then sketched his machine.

From his initial drawings, he built a half-scale model in his bedroom. Later, he assembled a full-scale model from spare parts. It worked when tested and he showed it to Bob and Frank Chambers, who agreed to finance a manufacturing venture. Together, the three of them formed The Magna Engineering Company and began building Shopsmith at a Berkeley Lumber Company. The first models were all hand-built.

The history of Magna became one of the best success stories of the era. The first big buyer was Montgomery Ward which ordered 250 machines for their West Coast stores for Christmas of 1947. Response was so great that the huge department store chain made it a stocked item, nationwide. Sales reached $3 million in 1948, then doubled to $6 million by 1951

In 1958, Magna Engineering merged with Yuba Consolidated Industries. Goldschmidt headed Yuba's engineering efforts until 1960, then left to operate his own toy and game design company.

In the mid 1960s, the Shopsmith Tool line ran into problems and ceased production. Then, in 1971, John Folkerth visited their plant in Raymond Mississippi, in search of spare parts for a piece of Shopsmith equipment that he owned.

He found not only the parts, but molds, dies, jigs - everything needed to start building new Shopsmiths. The owners were willing to sell and John jumped at the opportunity. By 1973, the invention of Hans Goldschmidt - the multi-purpose woodworking machine - was back on the market !

"The basis of being an inventor is recognizing a need,
then trying to invent something that fills the need."

John Folkerth, Founder and Chairman of Shopsmith visited with Hans Goldschmidt and his wife Ilsa at their California home in 1979. They discussed the nature of invention, the needs of woodworkers and the events leading up to the Shopsmith MARK V.

Folkerth: There are many things I'm curious about. First, you were born in Germany and came to the United States. Correct ?
Goldschmidt: Yes, I originally came in 1916, went back to Germany in 1919 and eventually came back to stay in 1937.
Folkerth: Did you leave Germany because of Hitler ?
Goldschmidt: I guess so. My father was Jewish and I'm half-Jewish.
Folkerth: You received your Doctorate of Philosophy in Germany ?
Goldschmidt: Actually, I got a Doctorate of Engineering. It was a Ph.D. that covered practically every field. I think at the time, that Engineers did not make Doctorate degrees. Today, you'll find Doctors of Engineering, but in those days, newspaper people wrote it up as a Doctorate of Philosophy.

Folkerth: How old were you when you came to the United States in 1937 ?
Goldschmidt: I was 29. I started fiddling around in woodworking with several little jobs and nothing really worked out. So, I bought myself some woodworking machines and started making wooden models. I made napkin holders and other things. At a later date, I made novelties - unfinished things like jig saw covers, trays and coasters.
Folkerth: Did you make good money ?
Goldschmidt: No. Just barely made out. This was still the depression and kids coming out of school couldn't get a job. I was told not to mention that I had a Doctorate and I never did mention it.
Folkerth: What happened after making the novelties ?
Goldschmidt: The war started and I went to work in the shipyards where I got a job with a man who was hiring special people and he was interested in me because of my schooling. I did use my schooling.
Folkerth: How did a thought about a Shopsmith or a business or an invention come about ? And approximately when ?
Goldschmidt: The thought that I would invent something was in my mind ever since I was 12 years old. That was my goal. In fact, when I graduated from high school, in my final thesis was a question - "What do you want to be?" - or something like that. I wrote my future almost correctly: "I want to be an inventor."
Folkerth: That's fantastic. So, here's Dr. Goldschmidt who says, "It's time to get going on my dream." So, what step-by-step process got you to the Shopsmith machine ?
Goldschmidt: I think the basis of this is to put yourself into the inventive mood and anything you see or anything you hear or anything you read…challenge. Ask "What can I do about it?". Then, one day, I read an article that so many GIs had learned crafting during the war and there was a big demand for home workshops. I decided that was something I knew something about. Then In went through the article again and thought, "What are he most important tools and what can you do with them?" That's when I came up with the idea of combining them.

Folkerth: So, you were actually thinking about the individual tools and what you could do about improving them. This is where the inventive genius came in…the idea that you could combine them. Correct ?
Goldschmidt: Right. I tried to list the most important tools and came up with a saw, sander, lathe, drill press Bandsaw and jigsaw, as I recall. Then I analyzed what all these had in common, for one thing. They all have a turning spindle that cuts. They all have a table or work-holding device. Then I eliminated those tools that didn't fit well into the picture…which were the jigsaw and Bandsaw…and finally ended up with the saw, sander, lathe and drill press.
Folkerth: Why did you go from a single post concept to a double post ?
Goldschmidt: Well, in the first place, I wasn't a very good engineer.
Folkerth: I don't know if the inventor of the Shopsmith should admit something like that.
Goldschmidt: I would say that the problems of sloppiness in the single post scared me. It probably could have been solved but two posts looked like a nicer solution.
Folkerth: The next step was to make a model?
Goldschmidt: I made a wooden model, half scale, in our spare bedroom.
Folkerth: Did you have any tools?
Goldschmidt: Just a Jigsaw and a pocket knife. And if you look at the model you can tell exactly where I started and ended. I started with a great deal of detail and ended very sloppy.
Folkerth: What did you do then?
Goldschmidt: I think the first thing I did was to show the model to Bob Chambers. We had worked together and I would show him little inventions. He got enthusiastic and would say, " After the war , you think of things and I'll sell them." So I brought(Shopsmith) model to Bob for him to tell me what I should do with it. From there I bought a Drill Press and used that as the headstock. I also bought an old saw and a saw table and took a couple of knobs off my chair and built a working machine.
Folkerth: Was Bob responsible for the successful financing of it?
Goldschmidt: Yes. This lumber company in Berkely had some spare rooms, so he set me up in those rooms to sit down and design the Shopsmith. Our first customer was Montgomery Ward; ten Shopsmiths weer ordered , then they increased that to 250 to be delivered by October 15, 1947.
Folkerth: Ilse, what did you think of the invention of the Shopsmith while Hans was building it?
Ilse: I liked it.
Goldschmidt: She painted it.
Folkerth: Did you feel it had the potential to be successful?
Ilse: I knew it had the potential.
Folkerth: What did your friends think of this invention?
Goldschmidt: I didnt show it to any friends. I think the only people I showed it to were people who got involved in it. I'm not that kind of inventor that's afraid that everyone will steal from me, but I wouldnt show it off just to get flattery.
Folkerth: I think you pioneered a whole new industry, quality woodworking tools for the home workshop. Let's take the Shopsmith and any multi-purpose tools like it out of the picture - do you see anything else that's needed by the woodworking or do-it-yourself public?
Goldschmidt: If I thought so, I would do something about it.