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Well Maintained Model ER

SeanPelfrey

I recently came in to possession of a very well maintained Model ER Serial Number 46309. I would love to find out any additional information about this model i.e. Date of manufacture and also any resources such as owners manuals, availability of parts/accessories. I appreciate any feedback that might be out there.

Thank you

br549

Welcome, and congratulations on your new tool!

There is a wealth of info about 10E/ERs here, if you just know where to look.

Several regular contributors own one or more of these model (I myself don't) and they will chime in soon, I'm sure.

If I was to recommend one place to start, it would be Everett Davis' thread (one of the first three "stickies" in this "Maintenance and Repair " Forum). Inside that first post you will find a link to My Google Drive, where you likely find more than you ever imagined about Shopsmith in one place.

chapmanruss

Welcome to the Forum,

You have come to the right place. First a short history. The Shopsmith Model 10E was invented in the late 1940's with the first 250 tools made shipped on November 15, 1947 to the West Coast Montgomery Ward stores. Magna Engineering Corporation was the company formed by the inventor and his partners. It was first based out of San Francisco California. The tool was so popular the single plant could not keep up with the orders so an Eastern company was contracted to produce them for the Eastern half of the US. As changes occurred the 10E it became the 10ER. The early 10ER tools, like yours, only had ER on the Logo/serial number plate. The Model 10ER went out of production at the end of 1953 and was replaced by the Shopsmith Mark 5. There is not any actual data available on when a tool with a specific serial number was made. We know that the first 250 tools, believed to have S/N 1001 to 1250, were the first ones made and shipped in November 1947. Some owners, but very few that we know of, have original sales receipts for their Shoppsmith's. Add to that there were two plants making the Shopsmith and at first had a seral number prefix of R for the Western plant and E or ER for the Eastern plant. The same serial numbers were used by both plants with their assigned prefix but the serial numbers were not produced evenly between them. Most dates for the production of a given tool is an estimate. I have a Model 10E and a 10ER that I keep besides restoring and selling other Model 10's. My Model 10E is S/N 1077 made by November 15, 1947. My Model 10ER is S/N R64000 and is estimated to be made in 1952. Yours was likely made in 1951 and should have a prefix for the serial number.

As for manuals check under the Maintenance and Repair section for Shopsmith Large Format Drawings, Illustrations and More by Everett Davis. This will be one of the first three topics. In it you will find a wealth of information on the Shopsmith tools. Some are directly linked there and others are on “My Google Drive” with documents too large to be directly linked. Everett has become the Shopsmith historian by saving and restoring manuals and other documents. In there you will find PDF copies of the original Model 10E and a later copy for the 10ER which I recommend for your use. It will be the closest manual for yours.

As for parts, only used parts can be found when replacements are needed with two exceptions. The Quill Return Spring and the Quill Bumper Ring (rubber ring) are the same as the ones still used today on the Mark V 520 and Mark 7. If your has been well maintained you may only need to replace missing parts. Check the manual for what it should have and feel free to ask questions here.

SeanPelfrey

Thanks Russ my serial number has an R in front of it so I am guessing made at the SF plant. I look forward to going through the documents and learning more about the operation of my machine. Originally I was most excited about the lathe feature and look forward to turning some wood. But as I learn more about it I look forward to using some of the other features.

SeanPelfrey

Thank you sir, I appreciate the guidance

rpd

SeanPelfrey wrote
I recently came in to possession of a very well maintained Model ER Serial Number 46309. I would love to find out any additional information about this model i.e. Date of manufacture and also any resources such as owners manuals, availability of parts/accessories. I appreciate any feedback that might be out there.

Thank you

Welcome aboard, 🙂 and congratulations on your prize. :cool:

This is a document that I have put together listing many 10ER related resources..

Shopsmith 10ER Resources.pdf

ps We would love to see some pictures.

posting pictures can be a bit tricky, This link should help. https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/community-f7/how-to-post-a-picture-t19246.html

chapmanruss

As Ron said, post some pictures. Not only are they helpful in describing what someone is referring to when asking questions but are nice to see. If you want to post pictures of what you have we can help you discover what may be missing.

Many Model 10 users like it for wood turning since it is such a heavy machine. Some have added additional size pulleys to get lower speeds for turning. If you have a Speed Changer on yours you can vary the speed down to as low as 425 RPM. Something the Manual doesn't show is the ability to have more than three speeds 860, 1725 and 3480 with the standard step pulleys. By moving the pulleys to different line ups you can have four more speeds. That is shown in the PDF attached below.

As you are looking through the Manual you will notice under maintenance to apply a light coat of oil to the way tubes and other surfaces. DO NOT DO THAT. Read the attached PDF below for an updated maintenance recommendation.

Waxing Supplement Model 10s.pdf

Have fun learning about you new to you Shopsmith and keep in touch.

Table of Speeds Model 10s.pdf

everettdavis

In addition to all that other family members have said;

Welcome Home!

Everett

SeanPelfrey

Thank you everyone, I will post some pics here soon as I figure out how to condense them to meet parameters. So quick question, one of the main reasons I bought this is to use the lathe and do some turning but as I learn more about the features I am also looking forward to exploring the posibilities. So my question is for you other turners what is a good all around chuck that you have found. Thank you in advance and again for all the great information and well wishes.

SeanPelfrey

Alright let's try that pic thing

SeanPelfrey

chapmanruss

Your first picture made me wonder if you are trying to turn that board or drill a hole in it. As for "a good all around chuck" as you asked you will probably get many different opinions/answers. I have the standard Lathe Drive, Screw Drive and Face Plates for my Shopsmiths. If you want to use any of them, any era of the Shopsmith brand ones will work from the Model 10's to the Mark series machines. I also have the Nova G3 chuck and find it works well for me. Others with more turning experience than I have will give their recommendations too. What kind of projects you want to do will also influence what you may need or want.

By the way your Model 10ER does look like it has been well kept.

SeanPelfrey

Hey Russ

I couldn't figure out how to get the pic to rotate so I just left it like it was :)

It has been years since I have done a lot of turning and I am looking at trying my hand at some bowls and also would like to do some spheres for an idea I have for awards for the Highland Games.

I appriciate the feedback and information.

Sean

Redcloudz

chapmanruss wrote
Welcome to the Forum,

You have come to the right place. First a short history. The Shopsmith Model 10E was invented in the late 1940's with the first 250 tools made shipped on November 15, 1947 to the West Coast Montgomery Ward stores. Magna Engineering Corporation was the company formed by the inventor and his partners. It was first based out of San Francisco California. The tool was so popular the single plant could not keep up with the orders so an Eastern company was contracted to produce them for the Eastern half of the US. As changes occurred the 10E it became the 10ER. The early 10ER tools, like yours, only had ER on the Logo/serial number plate. The Model 10ER went out of production at the end of 1953 and was replaced by the Shopsmith Mark 5. There is not any actual data available on when a tool with a specific serial number was made. We know that the first 250 tools, believed to have S/N 1001 to 1250, were the first ones made and shipped in November 1947. Some owners, but very few that we know of, have original sales receipts for their Shoppsmith's. Add to that there were two plants making the Shopsmith and at first had a seral number prefix of R for the Western plant and E or ER for the Eastern plant. The same serial numbers were used by both plants with their assigned prefix but the serial numbers were not produced evenly between them. Most dates for the production of a given tool is an estimate. I have a Model 10E and a 10ER that I keep besides restoring and selling other Model 10's. My Model 10E is S/N 1077 made by November 15, 1947. My Model 10ER is S/N R64000 and is estimated to be made in 1952. Yours was likely made in 1951 and should have a prefix for the serial number.

As for manuals check under the Maintenance and Repair section for Shopsmith Large Format Drawings, Illustrations and More by Everett Davis. This will be one of the first three topics. In it you will find a wealth of information on the Shopsmith tools. Some are directly linked there and others are on “My Google Drive” with documents too large to be directly linked. Everett has become the Shopsmith historian by saving and restoring manuals and other documents. In there you will find PDF copies of the original Model 10E and a later copy for the 10ER which I recommend for your use. It will be the closest manual for yours.

As for parts, only used parts can be found when replacements are needed with two exceptions. The Quill Return Spring and the Quill Bumper Ring (rubber ring) are the same as the ones still used today on the Mark V 520 and Mark 7. If your has been well maintained you may only need to replace missing parts. Check the manual for what it should have and feel free to ask questions here.

JPG

Or maybe 81041st?

chapmanruss

Redcloudz,

Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum.

The part of my quote that is important here is

The tool was so popular the single plant could not keep up with the orders so an Eastern company was contracted to produce them for the Eastern half of the US.

Shopsmith Model 10E and 10ER tools with an E or ER prefix to the serial number were made in the Eastern plant. The original 250 Model 10E tools made were produced in the original San Francisco Plant and did not have a letter prefix before the serial number. After the Eastern Plant went into production the Western Plant added an R prefix to their serial numbers. The lowest Eastern Plant serial number I have seen is E1143 but made well after the original 250 Model 10E tools. The ER prefix followed the use of the E prefix but later went back to E. It appears yours has 5 digits after the ER prefix but 81041 as JPG has suggested is too high. By that serial number the letter prefix had been dropped by both plants and they shared serial numbers. The highest E/ER/E prefix number I have seen is E 69059. A picture of the entire Headstock from that front view would be more telling as to what the actual serial number is.

Below is the Logo/Serial Number Plate from 1033 an original 10E from the first 250 units made. Notice the difference in that plate compared to yours.

Back in May of 2020 I started the topic Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where which can be found at the link below. It covers a lot about the Model 10E and 10ER tools which you may find interesting.

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=23647

JPG

Perhaps it is 31041?

chapmanruss

I considered ER31041 also and most likely it is but the threaded hole behind it in the Headstock would not be normal. As I said a picture of that side of the entire Headstock would tell more. ER31041 would have a keyed Quill Lock along with other differences that would put it in the 4th version of the Headstock.

Redcloudz

I have a pic of the entire headstock but for whatever reason I'm not seeing a link to upload the pic. I also have a pic of a Mark 5 that I just picked up. I would love to post these pics.....if I only had a brain. Uhh I mean a link

edma194

Redcloudz wrote I have a pic of the entire headstock but for whatever reason I'm not seeing a link to upload the pic. I also have a pic of a Mark 5 that I just picked up. I would love to post these pics.....if I only had a brain. Uhh I mean a link

Take a look at this thread: https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=19246

ETA: It seems you were able to post a picture before so I think you just need to click the 'Full Editor & Preview' button to get to the advanced editing options when starting a new post.