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Share your Magna memorabilia!

chapmanruss

I can't find the box at the moment, but it was in a box just like yours. I bought it from a seller in Olympia WA that I know personally. The picture I posted above was taken very shortly after I received the cover.

Davidhaal

1953-54 mark5

jpdalton

Davidhaal wrote 1953-54 mark5

Thanks for sharing! I’ve always wondered just how early on Magna started producing the Mark 5, and how low those serial numbers really go…

jpdalton

Part Number 175-1 - Flexible Cut-Off Wheel

I know I showed one of these a few months back, but I recently acquired another with a much better condition original sleeve. I know I’ll sleep better knowing I can safely handle all those tricky asbestos-based home improvement projects with a cut-off wheel of this caliber!

jpdalton

SENSATIONAL SHOPSMITH WITH SPEED DIAL

Montgomery Ward Fall-Winter Catalog 1954

While a similar MW 1948 catalog features the debut of the original Model 10-ER, Shopsmith was not yet a proven commodity, so was still just another tool among the Powr-Kraft offerings in that edition.

By the time of the release of the revolutionary, space-age Mark 5, however, Shopsmith had superstar status, and was featured on one of the very few full-color panels included in the 1954 Fall-Winter catalog book.

The page features the main system, as well as the first available SPTs - jigsaw and jointer - along with a few other accessories introduced with the Mark 5.

Note the color of the carriage in the picture - the actual units produced have this carriage casting painted the same green as the legs and belt cover.

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote
We have no way of knowing how many Lower Belt Guards or Lower Blade Guards were sold unless there is some long lost records out there yet to be found but from what we have seen they appear to be the rarest.

I’ve always been curious what the source of these very rare accessories (lower belt and saw guards) was. Based on the fact that I’ve never seen them in any Magna-produced catalog (and I’ve seen a lot of catalogs…), I assumed that they were a product of Montgomery Ward, since theirs were the only catalogs featuring them.

Well, a recent acquisition of a vintage Magna dealer binder shows me they were in fact Magna products! This document even confirms their Magna part numbers.

chapmanruss

John,

I'll have to look closer at the 2 Dealers Binders I have but I have yet to see that page in either one in the Prices section. One I have is from the Magna Power Tool Corporation era and the other from early (in Tipp City OH) Shopsmith Inc.

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote
One I have is from the Magna Power Tool Corporation era

This is from a Magna Engineering era binder - right at the introduction of the Mark 5.

jpdalton

Early Carbide Tipped Lathe Chisel Set

It’s been a while since I’ve added to this thread, but I just had a recent acquisition I want to share. I connected with a gentleman who was selling a 10-ER that he had acquired a few years back, as he found he was not using it. Along with the usual collection of accessories for a machine of this vintage, he had a few unique items in really excellent original condition that he was willing to part with, including the lathe chisels pictured below.

I’m sure we’ve all seen many of the standard 5-piece lathe chisel sets that were so commonly sold with both the 10-ERs and Mark 5s, but I’ve seen very few of the carbide tipped variety. Perhaps because they had to be purchased individually and were a lot more expensive than the standard chisels they just didn’t sell many, but few have survived from that era in any reasonable condition.

That’s what makes these so interesting to me. The set is complete - all 4 chisel types are included. They’re all in their original boxes, that are mostly in great condition. And some were actually never used - they still have the protective (wax?) coating on the tip!

jpdalton

Drum Sander Sleeves

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas, and welcome back! Santa was very good to me, adding some Shopsmith apparel to the collection… But just before the holidays, I added something more vintage. Always fun to see stuff I’ve never seen before, and this is one of those items…

Yeah, I know… we’ve all seen boxes of drum sander sleeves… I’ve seen lots of the yellow box variety from Magna Engineering/Power Tools days (note the Magna Power Tool guys were trying to expand the brand and emphasized “Magna” over “Shopsmith”)

…and I’ve seen plenty in the white box from the Magna American days (these guys were co-branding this for both the Shopsmith and Sawsmith users)

…and I’ve even seen some of the very early boxed sleeves from 10-ER days (note the 4-digit part numbers from that period) that only had 5 sleeves in an oblong box.

What I’d never seen was the early (4-digit part number) 5-sleeve rectangular box! I know, I get a little too excited at trivial variations - but that’s collecting, right?! Happy 2023 everyone…

chapmanruss

John,

You said,

Yeah, I know… we’ve all seen boxes of drum sander sleeves… I’ve seen lots of the yellow box variety from Magna Engineering/Power Tools days (note the Magna Power Tool guys were trying to expand the brand and emphasized “Magna” over “Shopsmith”)

I think it is important to note that the name Shopsmith was the tool and originally the Model 10E. That was followed by the Model 10ER as changes were made and then the Mark 5. Later the Mark 2 was added for a short time. Until Yuba became the manufacturer of the Shopsmith/Magna line of tools the company was Magna Engineering Corporation or Magna Power Tool Corporation after the company split into two divisions. Magna Engineering Corporation still existed but was the engineering and manufacturing division. The tools had the company name Magna Power Tool Corporation which was the marketing and sales division. It was felt that name better described the company. The Shopsmith was not the only tool made by Magna and the SPT's only carried the Magna name along with other tools. It is not surprising to me that as time went on the Magna logo was used on accessories packaging more to help connect it to the SPT's and Magna line tool also.

Nice find on those early 5 Sanding Drum Sleeve boxes. I have some also, but your boxes are in much better shape than mine. I have a set of 4 of those early carbide tipped Lathe Chisels which are new in their boxes and the four boxes are in a single set box.

Carbide Lathe Chisels.jpg

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote It is not surprising to me that as time went on the Magna logo was used on accessories packaging more to help connect it to the SPT's and Magna line tool also.

My point exactly! By that time, they were really pushing the SPTs distinct from the Mark 5 as the Magna-Line product series, so they had to be a little more agnostic with the marketing, and the Magna name was perfect for that.

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote I have a set of 4 of those early carbide tipped Lathe Chisels which are new in their boxes and the four boxes are in a single set box.

Please do show a picture of the outer box!

chapmanruss

It is a simple cardboard box made to fit the 4 Chisels. There are no Shopsmith/Magna markings.

Carbide Lathe Chisels box.jpg

jpdalton

1957 Mark 5 Brochure for Montgomery Ward

Never had seen an example of this particular brochure before I found this on eBay recently. It’s a small (3”x7”), non-glossy printing from the Magna Power Tool days, printed expressly for Montgomery Ward stores.

Magna Power Tool Corp was creating a number of these small-format brochures at this time for the flagship Mark 5 and the Magna-Line tools (including some low-end standalone versions). I’ll share some of those latter ones soon…

Happy New Year everyone!

jpdalton

Illuminated Fluorescent Retailer Sign

Back in March, 2022, on this same “Share Your Magna Memorabilia” thread, I created a post showing my backlit Shopsmith logo sign that I had restored for display. I never was quite sure what the background on the sign was. I assumed it was dealer sign, but had only seen reference to an “electric clock sign” in the Dealer Aids section of a 10-ER era dealer order blank.

Well, in a recent dealer binder from the Mark 5 (greenie) era, there was a then-current dealer order blank with a “SHOPSMITH Illuminated Fluorescent Sign” available for dealer display - a pretty expensive Dealer Aid item at the time for $15!

So, I now know these were routinely offered to Magna retailers, and when they were available, but I don’t know how many were ever produced. Anyone else ever see another one of these??

jpdalton

Shopcoat, Heavy Weight

Continuing the theme of determining the origins of various memorabilia, here’s the details on the lab coat I posted a few months back. It was offered as a dealer aid for staff attire at demonstrations and public events (like the Dayton Coliseum 1955 show picture where the vendor was wearing a similar coat).

I can tell you that it certainly has appreciated from the $6 list price back when it was new!

jpdalton

A radical new design required a radical new logo… I suppose…

When the Magna American organization was formed in the early 60’s they weren’t sitting on the laurels of their Magna/Yuba predecessors, but instead set out to modernize the venerable Mark 5 for a new generation of users - thus was born the Mark VII (the investment for which likely was a big cause of the demise of the company, but that’s a story for another day…)!

So clearly it was time to modernize the Shopsmith brand logo as well. Below are examples of the before and after (bottom and top, respectively), as applied to the packaging of Magna American-made accessories common to both the Marks 5 and VII.

jpdalton

“What to look for when you buy power tools” pamphlets

This was a booklet originally conceived by the Magna Engineering team in the early history of the Mark 5, often sent with the latest glossy brochure and local dealer list to anyone responding to that month’s ad in Popular Science, or similar publication.

The pictures here feature the original version from Magna, the virtually identical version published by Shopsmith, Inc., in their early days of restarted production, and a more recent revamp from Shopsmith, Inc. (with a distinctly 80s vibe!)

jpdalton

Same product. Broader application. New label!

Not a very exciting vintage accessory, but it once again shows the shift in focus at Magna after the Mark 5 was well established. The Miter Gauge Extension in the lower half of the picture is from Magna Engineering Corporation, and its packaging includes the venerable “Shopsmith” logo. The upper half of the image features the same product from Magna Power Tool Corporation - featuring the increasingly prevalent Magna “M” logo, and noting that this same accessory has application additionally with the newly introduced Magna-Line standalone tools.

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