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Share your Magna memorabilia!

jpdalton

1955 Mark 5 Brochure Featuring the Future Bandsaw/Belt Sander

Hard to believe I started this thread over a year ago! Thanks to all those who have contributed, commented, and shared some of the interesting vintage items that have been included with their machine purchases over the years.

Yesterday, I received an eBay purchase of a couple of greenie Mark 5 brochures from June 1955:

I have a number of these from this print date, and will acquire good condition examples like these if they have something unique about them - like the dealer stamps on these:

The San Bruno retailer must have had some close relations with Magna back at that time, being just 20 miles up the road from Menlo Park HQ…

Anyway, I digress… What struck me this morning as I was flipping through these two was that while the the glossy cover pic featured all 5 SPTs that were ultimately available in the late 1950s (similar 1954 brochures only featured the two SPTs available at the initial release of the Mark 5 - the jointer and jigsaw), the inner brochure pages (and the back of the pamphlet) were missing the bandsaw and belt sander:

And while I’m sure the bandsaw and belt sander must have been under development at that time, they were likely only in mock-up form on the glossy cover pic. A little design feature that never made it to the eventual bandsaw design appears to confirm this (who can spot it??!):

Thanks for continuing to tune into this thread. I have a few more memorabilia items I look forward to sharing soon…

SteveMaryland

Thank you Mr. Dalton for collecting and posting all these items over the year(s).

This forum has just the people who can appreciate and learn from them as I have.

DLB

jpdalton wrote And while I’m sure the bandsaw and belt sander must have been under development at that time, they were likely only in mock-up form on the glossy cover pick. A little design feature that never made it to the eventual bandsaw design appears to confirm this (who can spot it??!):

The version shown seems to have an extra cover knob.

- David

jpdalton

DLB wrote The version shown seems to have an extra cover knob.

That was my observation as well. Can’t really see enough detail in the image of the belt sander to tell whether there are any obvious prototype features on that one as well.

jpdalton

SteveMaryland wrote This forum has just the people who can appreciate and learn from them as I have.

Thanks, Steve! I’m just happy to have a place where I can share some of these items with the larger community.

chapmanruss

I hadn't really looked that close at the old brochures to spot those differences. I have those brochures myself from that time period. I see a couple of other changes from the Bandsaw shown in the brochure to the production ones. It appears that there is only 1 miter slot on the table. The Magna Logo is not painted like the production ones as seen on my restored 1956 Bandsaw shown below.

The Belt Sander appears to be different than the production model. Note the location of the belt tensioner in John's picture. It is on the wrong side.

Model 630 SN 22784.jpg

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote
It appears that there is only 1 miter slot on the table. The Magna Logo is not painted like the production ones as seen on my restored 1956 Bandsaw shown below.

Good catch on those additional features missing from the mock-up bandsaw! The mock-up also appears to lack some of the top/bottom symmetry that your production unit displays.

Did you have to refinish the painted logo on your restoration? That’s a beautiful condition cover - mine was a bit scuffed up, but cleaned up well. I also opted not to attempt a repaint on the logo, but I would like to fill it in a bit better…

I did find some surprise instructions still in great shape inside the cover - I guess not all Magna documents come in a 3-ring binder!

chapmanruss

I did repaint the name and logo since some of the original paint had worn off.

jpdalton

10-inch Sandpaper Discs??

Got a pretty unique item from an eBay purchase recently - a pack of 10-inch sandpaper discs (with original packaging, of course)! Based on the style of the Shopsmith logo featured on the packaging, this is from the Mark VII era.

…Mark VII logo medallion added for reference.

For the longest time, I had only known of the traditional 12-inch sanding disc, and only recently was made aware of a 9-inch version that was created to accompany the Sawsmith RAS.

But I went back to my trusty stash of accessory catalogs, and there they were… 10-inch discs and paper! And while as late as the March 1965 Magna American catalog the 12-inch disc was offered as standard for the Mark VII and 9-inch disc was standard for the Sawsmith,

…the January 1966 catalog suggested a 10-inch disc was now standard for both machines.

Based on its price tag, this sandpaper pack was sold from Montgomery Ward, but must have been in the bargain bin with the markdowns it experienced.

Anyone ever see one of these 10-inch sanding discs??

chapmanruss

As I understand it the 10" Sanding Disk came with the Mark VII in the 1960's. It is a double-sided Sanding Disk with a flat face and conical on the hub side. The conical side has a lesser degree than the 12" Conical Sanding Disk which has a 4-degree slant. I have a 10" double-sided Sanding Disk which is shown below.

501223 10 inch Sanding Disk face.jpg

501223 10 inch Sanding Disk back.jpg

jsburger

I have seen them on eBay a few times. Not common at all.

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote I have a 10" double-sided Sanding Disk which is shown below.

I’m curious whether Magna intended this to be a double sided sanding disc, or whether the slight conical shape is instead intended to provide rigidity on a non-abrasive side of the disc. Is it aluminum? The lack of sandpaper cut for conical use in their accessories catalog may indicate it was intended only for use on the flat side.

JPG

"Modern Power Tool Woodworking" (Mark VII PTWFE) does not mention attaching paper to the backside of the 10 " aluminum disc.

It does however describe tilting the table to be square with the tapered backside(1 1/2°) and using the fence, it alleges the ability to sand to width with square edges.

I say alleged since I do not see that as working. I see that as creating an out of square edge by 1 1/2°. That creates an error of about 0.020" over 3/4".

Likely that was then considered "close enough".

I can attest to the success of attaching a 10" sanding disc to the tapered back side. However correctly creating the hole and slot that allows the disc to become a cone shape is critical.

It was not until today that I realized that was not the original intention back then.

BUT, It does work if you do not mind cutting 10" abrasive discs that are peel and stick!

chapmanruss

On page 41 of the Mark VII manual Everett restored begins the Disk Sanding section. It begins with the following,

10" Double Faced Sanding Disc - One side conical, other side flat. Affords 78 square inches of sanding area. Attached directly to main or upper auxiliary spindle.

Further down the page it goes on to say,

MOUNTING

The SHOPSMITH 10" disc can be used on either the main spindle or the upper auxiliary spindle. On the main spindle it can be flat face out or with coned face (hub side) out. Either way around it may be used with the accessory lower saw guard in place for dust collection. On the auxiliary spindle the disc can be mounted only with the flat face out.

Now why did it take so long to have a Lower Blade Guard large enough to have dust collection for the Mark V? Of course, I refer to the 1985 introduction of the Mark V 510/505 which the Lower Blade Guard which can be used with the 12" Steel Sanding Disk. This is the reason the 12" Steel Sanding Disk needed a longer Hub.

Backing up to page 8 under STANDARD ATTACHMENTS I refer to item 15,

(15) - Sanding disc - Double sided 10" sanding disc; one side flat and one side tapered for greatest versatility. Attaches to

spindle---balanced for vibration-free operation.

jpdalton

Model 10E Preliminary Owner’s Manual from S/N 7127

jsburger wrote
Here is probably the rarest of the Model 10 items. It is an original preliminary Model 10E owners manual.

Very pleased to have been able to add something rare (but apparently no longer unique) to my collection this week.

This is a well used manual for sure! The cover sheet is a little rough as a result, but overall pretty good for something 75+ years old that spent its time in a craftsman’s workshop.

Something that is unique about it is this…

A 24th page that contains the master parts list! Given that these were held together with a couple of staples, it’s understandable that the last page could have been ripped off the back of Mr. Burger’s much cleaner copy of this document without it being noticed.

One more important detail that I’ve been able to determine from this document is its provenance. This was included with the purchase of Serial Number 7127 - far later than one of the original 250-unit order with which it has been assumed these preliminary manuals were exclusively shipped. Also I was able to see the name of the original owner (from one of the other system documents), who I assume acquired this in Indiana, where he lived at the time.

I also know where he bought it!

chapmanruss

John,

You said,

I also know where he bought it!

I would guess Montgomery Wards or at least he looked for accessories there.

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote
I would guess Montgomery Wards or at least he looked for accessories there.

I’ve seen this same set of accessories documents without the Montgomery Ward branding. They came with my Model 10-E S/N E5052 (see below), which I know was purchased at an independent retailer. So I suspect these 5 sheets were part of the early document pack included with any system purchase, and at least indicate whether or not the machine was sold by MW.

jpdalton

A Mark 2, or a Mark 5?? Decisions, decisions…

Here’s a late 50’s Montgomery Ward fold out brochure that features both the main 5-in-1 tools in their portfolio: the Mark 5 and the Mark 2. Interesting to see how they positioned each respective machine. That extra $100 to spring for the better Mark 5 system over the Mark 2 was a big decision at that time, I imagine.

chapmanruss

It is interesting to note that the Mark 5 is the tool showing the 5 functions. Lower cost is likely the driving factor for those choosing the Mark 2 over the Mark 5.

JPG

I believe the chart was intended to apply to both models.

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