Shopsmith Forums

dgale wrote:I assume given that it's a 10E and has what I presume is a low serial # that it must be from the 40's and not the 50's as the seller thought (?)

I am trying to figure out if this was listed on Craigs List how did I miss it. Not that I need another one, and happy for you that you now have it. I am sure your wife will have a good reaction...

The sn says it is a 1948 10E.

The quill spring housing says it is a 10E.

The left mounted tail stock and extension table says it is a 10E.

The right mounted tail stock and extension table says it is a 10ER.

The rip fence says it is a 10ER.

The miter gauge says it is a 10E.

I do not recall them being available from anywhere other than Montgomery Wards back then.

They were sold sans motor. Since MW was the supplier, most have MW motors.

So ya gots a 'hybrid'. Not uncommon! Mine is mix as well.

That's definitely an "E" with an additional "ER" tailstock and extension table. I have two extension tables on mine (one on each end) and it works out pretty well.

And it would be a late 40's model - either late '47 or early '48. Without checking the serial number database at the Yahoo 10ER group, I'd guess late '47.

If I recall correctly, the 10E and ER did not include the motor by default upon original purchase. I think you could pay and extra charge for the AO Smith motor and I guess that's what most people did. Or you could provide your own motor which I assume the original owner of this 10E did. Or the AO Smith was swapped out for this one at some point. Personally, I'd love to have that motor with the reverse capability!

Good catch on that rip fence being a 10ER version, JPG!

I see something else that says ER. The table raiser arm. I don't think the 10E had that. I see the hole in the carriage for the raiser crank (not sure if the 10E had that threaded hole or not), but, I don't see the crank itself.

So while this machine did start off life as a 10E, several parts were upgraded (or added) somewhere along the way with 10ER versions of the parts.

Since you don't have the crank, I'd be happy to take that raiser arm off your hands! I need to replace a broken one on the ER I'm restoring for my dad.

Actually, there is a screw crank in the drawer of the table it is mounted on - I wasn't sure yet what that is for - I'll take a photo and maybe you can confirm. It looks like the crank I've seen on the speed changer units

baysidebob wrote:I am trying to figure out if this was listed on Craigs List how did I miss it. Not that I need another one, and happy for you that you now have it. I am sure your wife will have a good reaction...

Worse yet, he lives up on Trillium Lane, off of Graham Road, so right in your neighborhood in Bayside. I think the Craig's List posting was for "Shop Smith" and not "Shopsmith", so hard to find via search...I just happened to notice it when it was posted.

After doing some poking around r.e. 10E/10ER serial #'s on the web, I've found the following info:

- The 10E was first sold Nov 8, 1947, just in time for X-Mas
- It was estimated that they sold as many as 4,000 by the end of 1947, although this is not confirmed
- 75,000 units were sold by 1950
- At the peak, it's estimated they were selling 17,000 per year
- The 10E was sold until late 1948 with serial #'s exceeding 20,000 by that time, at which time the 10ER took over.
- There was some overlap in sales between the 10E and the 10ER, as well as many 10E's that had already been produced being upgraded to 10ER before being sold
- Serial #'s supposedly have an R in front of them if the unit was made in San Francisco and an E in front of them if it was made in Cleveland

All that being said, I deduce the following - for starters, my unit has no letter associated with the serial #. As a result, my guess is that the earlier 10E's were made only in one of the locations (I'm presuming San Francisco since this is the location given for Magna Corp on the plate on my headstock) and as soon as production started booming, they began production in Cleveland as well. Once this occurred, they started adding the E or R to the serial # so the location could be tracked. Again, this is just a hunch on my part but would explain why my fairly early 10 E (#6149) doesn't have the letter code but instead says San Francisco on the plate. It also says "Patent Applied For" on the plate instead of a patent # - I'm not sure how long that occurred but suggests this is a very early unit as well.

So my best guess is late '47 or early '48, with my hunch being early '48 based on the #'s estimate of 4,000 through 1947.

Either way, very cool...I never dreamed I would own one of the earliest Shopsmith's made, much less get it for $50 is great condition. I'm a happy camper for sure. Now to go dig through that drawer and see what else is in there with it.

heathicus wrote:Good catch on that rip fence being a 10ER version, JPG!

I see something else that says ER. The table raiser arm. I don't think the 10E had that. I see the hole in the carriage for the raiser crank (not sure if the 10E had that threaded hole or not), but, I don't see the crank itself.

So while this machine did start off life as a 10E, several parts were upgraded (or added) somewhere along the way with 10ER versions of the parts.

Since you don't have the crank, I'd be happy to take that raiser arm off your hands! I need to replace a broken one on the ER I'm restoring for my dad.

The table raiser arm was an option/accessory. The tapped hole was there. I do not know when the option was made available.


P.S. Talk about a good catch! I missed that, but that area was confusing me!

So did the 10E come with a pulley guard and mine is missing or are the ones I see in photos something that was added later?

dgale wrote:So did the 10E come with a pulley guard and mine is missing or are the ones I see in photos something that was added later?

Only at the top shaft(original std).