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Share your Magna memorabilia!

jpdalton

“I’m going to a demo, and I haven’t a thing to wear…”

So, anyone who has looked at early Magna/Shopsmith history knows they very cleverly stressed the importance of demonstrating the product to help promote sales. They taught this to their retailers, and they took that show on the road!

Below are some images from a vintage photograph of the Shopsmith demonstration booth at what I believe is the “Dayton Colosseum” in 1955. You can see the familiar logo, and although they’re clearly demonstrating the Mark 5 (although the banner says “Mark V”…), the original blue cover PTWFE is for sale in the booth…

What’s also interesting to me is what the staffer is wearing in the booth - a lab coat with dark collar, belt, and cuffs, with the Shopsmith logo. I actually saw one similar on eBay quite a few years back with an asking price so outrageous, that I didn’t even bother with a “reasonable” offer…

Demonstrator’s Lab Coat

Well, I recently saw another one offered at a somewhat reasonable price by a vintage clothing collector, and I jumped at the opportunity to acquire it! For its age and the journey it’s likely been on, it’s in great condition! The collar, belt, and cuffs are a vibrant royal blue, the logos are in excellent condition. Something the photographs didn’t show was the very large logo on the back - beautiful! The white fabric needs a little cleaning up, but that’ll be for another day.

jpdalton

12” Assorted Sandpaper Packets

Not all disc sanding users changed their sandpaper as often as they should have… Lucky for me as a few of these have survived some decades in various workshops!

Here’s a sampling in the various packaging options from the Magna/Magna American period.

jpdalton

PTWFE Versions

Many Shopsmith users have had the chance to reference RJ DeCristoforo’s “Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone” - it’s a great work that reflects the versatility of any Shopsmith system when a little creativity is applied. Versions of this book have been around since the 10-ER days, and editions have been created for most Shopsmith systems (I don’t believe a special PTWFE edition was ever created for the Mark 2 - has anyone seen such a volume?).

Here’s my collection. It contains a branded printing for each of the manufacturers during the greenie-goldie era - Magna, Yuba, and Magna American - and even an edition for the Mark VII with a slightly different title: “Modern Power Tool Woodworking”. My library contains an odd 1979 printing of the Mark VII book, well after its demise, that I suspect may have been an effort to capitalize on the renewed popularity of the Mark V that had been resurrected by the Folkerth family a few years prior.

And while I don’t have a DeCristoforo-signed volume, Jim McCann was kind enough to autograph a copy of the white-covered 4th edition after our meeting during a factory tour!

jpdalton

Miter Gauge Safety Grip

Here’s another accessory that appears to never have been used, and as most of us are aware, the Miter Gauge Safety Grip is one of the handiest accessories in the Shopsmith catalog! Pun intended?? You be the judge…

Since this one is from the Yuba years, it’s probably from around 1960, give or take a year or so, and it has the familiar patent number cast into one side of the handle. Those of you with early Mark 5’s with a miter including a safety grip may notice your grip instead has “Pat. Apl. For” in the same casting, which noted the patent had been applied for, but not yet issued.

Patent number cast in…

Pre-patent casting…

I also have a Magna American era grip in box, with a slightly different branding on the cover.

jsburger

I have two first edition copies of PTWFE that were owned by Hans Goldschmidt. I got them both from Skip Campbell. One is signed and one is not. I got the unsigned copy from Skip in 2011 when he offered it for sale.

At that time I told him that if he ever decides to sell the signed copy I would like first chance to buy it. In 2019 he emailed me and offered the signed copy.

I have to make a shadow box for the signed copy. It will be just like the other one except it will be twice as wide so I can include a picture of the signature page.

jpdalton

jsburger wrote I have two first edition copies of PTWFE that were owned by Hans Goldschmidt.

Thanks so much for sharing! These are real treasures for sure!

jpdalton

Your Shopsmith featured in what??!

One thing I’ve always given the Magna team a lot of credit for is their great marketing efforts in the early days of Shopsmith that had those machines featured in all sorts of publications. That being said, I wouldn’t have expected Better Homes & Gardens readers to be a target audience, but they published a series of Handyman Books that were like one-volume encyclopedias for DIY homeowners - so precisely Shopsmith’s target audience!

The first edition (red cover) from 1951 featured the 10-ER in the volume’s explanation of how to use a multipurpose tool (while the Magna product was featured, it wasn’t permitted to show its logo plate to properly identify it).

While a later edition featured the Mark 5 (again, branding has been removed from the speed controller dial).

jsburger

Here is another book I got from Skip Campbell with the signed copy of PTWFE that belonged to Hand Goldschmidt. It is a book written by Chris' (R.J. De Christaforo) wife. Her pen name was Mary Cristy. She was a writer like her husband Chris. This book is about their life together as writers. Chapter 18 is titled "Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone". In it she describes Chris' writing of the book. In particular she talks about Chris finishing the book and not knowing when it would actually be published. She describes a party at Hans Goldschmidt's house where the Chambers brothers (Bob and Frank) were present along with many of the Magna Engineering employees.The Chambers brothers were the ones that financed Hans and started Magna Engineering and the Shopsmith brand. At the party Chris was presented with the first pre-publication copy of PTWFE.

This book was owned by Bob Chambers. It includes a hand written note fron Mary Cristy to Bob and June Chambers.

jsburger

Here is one you don't see very often. It is the only one I have ever seen in years of looking. It is a key switch for the Model 10. It appears to be unused. The box is in good shape except for the lid.

jpdalton

jsburger wrote
Here is one you don't see very often. It is the only one I have ever seen in years of looking. It is a key switch for the Model 10. It appears to be unused. The box is in good shape except for the lid.

John - thanks for sharing this and the very unique signed books. It’s great to see how much this thread has grown since I started it a couple of months ago. At this point it may have grown too long for people to see all the great memorabilia that’s been posted! Russ Chapman shared one of those key switch locks early in the thread - page 2 - (now we know there are two of that vintage!). I posted one as well, but in the later, mustard colored box with the 5-digit part number.

Keep those posts coming!!

SteveMaryland

This is a terrific thread! Every Shopsmith owner should see this stuff.

I don't understand the "branding" thing. Above, we see a "Handyman's Book" which very obviously references a Shopsmith but consistently refers to it only as a "multipurpose tool". Also there is an old promotional film out there (on Youtube) in which a Shopsmith is prominently displayed but is still referenced only as an otherwise anonymous "multipurpose tool". Gee, I wonder who makes that kind of tool???

There must have been some arrangement with Shopsmith in the making of these promotionals; why they just didn't call it a Shopsmith is a mystery to me. I get the impression that Magna/Shopsmith was not very good at self-promotion.

JPG

It is a matter of "non-advertising". Or at least non-paid.

chapmanruss

We often see products especially on TV where the actual name is not used. As an example, how many times have you seen a can of soda that looks just like a Coca Cola can but simply says Cola?

As JPG said

It is a matter of "non-advertising". Or at least non-paid.

I mentioned this before on the Forum that I to have a signed copy of the original first edition of Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone but to an employee of Magna that apparently helped R. J. DeCristoforo. I still need to make a display box for mine similar to what John is going to make for his.

I bought it when looking for the first edition featuring the Model 10ER for a very very reasonable price and was surprised to find what it said on the inside cover after receiving it.

1953 my copy inside c.jpg

edma194

In days of yore companies were for some reason worried about being sued for mentioning brand names without specific permission, and that permission was often difficult to obtain based on similar fears. I don't know if there was any basis for these fears or any solid marketing strategy behind the idea either. A big change occurred when the movie ET was made. The producers requested permission from M&M Mars to use M&Ms in the movie and permission was denied. Reeses gave permission to use their Reeses Pieces which were no where near as popular as M&Ms before the movie was released and Reeses Pieces sales skyrocketed. I also knew someone who was in marketing back in the 60s and 70s, he was the model for the main character in a cable series about ad men in the 60s. He produced a commercial for shaving cream that showed his client's product next to the top selling competitor's and simply suggested the audience try both and decide which one was better. Whether it led to increased sales directly was irrelevant, it was a great way to increase exposure and link his client's product with the top selling product at the time. He was also involved with the Pepsi Taste Test that compared Pepsi and Coca Cola side by side. No law suits resulted.

Anyway, in those olden days it is not surprising to see mentions of brand names avoided due to a fear of lawsuits, none of which may ever have materialized. Briefly, a company is free to mention brand names all they like, even in other commercial products, so long as they don't misrepresent the brand name as their own or commit libel or slander.

jsburger

Here is another very rare model 10 accessory, the lower belt guard. I have two of them. One I got on eBay. The other one I got from Skip Campbell. The one from Skip is new old stock and has never been installed according to Skip. I agree with him. The pictures are of that one. You can clearly see in the pictures of the mounting tabs that it has never been installed.

jpdalton

jsburger wrote Here is another very rare model 10 accessory, the lower belt guard. I have two of them.

John - I like your style!! You’re not wasting time with trivial memorabilia, but going right for the crème de la crème! Bravo!!

So, what else have you got to share??

jpdalton

SteveMaryland wrote
This is a terrific thread! Every Shopsmith owner should see this stuff.

I don't understand the "branding" thing. Above, we see a "Handyman's Book" which very obviously references a Shopsmith but consistently refers to it only as a "multipurpose tool".

I get the impression that Magna/Shopsmith was not very good at self-promotion.

Steve - thanks for adding to the discussion, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the thread. I’ve been collecting these items for years, and it’s great to see so many other enthusiasts out there have interesting items to share, and are interested in the stories behind them.

To respond to your statement about the branding mystery, at least in the case of the “Handyman’s Book”, I think that was Better Homes & Gardens’ attempt to not endorse any particular brand of product in that reference book, but I’m sure they were happy to take money from Magna for the privilege of featuring their product in the publication!

I would also take a different position on Magna’s prowess at self promotion - I have all sorts of publications in my collection that featured Shopsmith systems prominently. Handyman references seemed to be a popular publication of that period, and Shopsmith systems were often front and center.

Here’s a special edition of True Magazine (sort of the Maxim of its day…) with recommendations for stocking your home workshop. Not only is the 10-ER on the cover, but the Mark 5 is featured inside. There were a lot of pretenders in the multi tool market back then, but only one of those is still in production today!

jpdalton

chapmanruss wrote I mentioned this before on the Forum that I to have a signed copy of the original first edition of Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone but to an employee of Magna that apparently helped R. J. DeCristoforo.

I bought it when looking for the first edition featuring the Model 10ER for a very very reasonable price and was surprised to find what it said on the inside cover after receiving it.

What an amazing find! That’s part of the fun of collecting - you never know what’s going to end up being part of that purchase…

jpdalton

Miter Gauge Stop-Rod

Here’s an unheralded accessory from my in-box collection. This one has seen plenty of use, but came complete in its original box, and still had the original instruction sheet folded in there. And although the instruction sheet is a March 1953 print date, this one includes an envelope of thumb screws that’s marked “FOR MARK 5”, so I know it’s at least 1954 vintage.

chapmanruss

A lot of accessories retained the same part numbers during the change from the Model 10ER to the Mark 5. The parts of the accessories did change in the size of set screw they used going from either a 1/4" or 3/8" to set screws using a 5/32" Allen Wrench aka the Shopsmith Toolbox. I imagine for a time the Miter Gauge Stop Rod was sold with either 5/16" thumb screws for the Mark 5 or 1/4" thumb screws for the Model 10's.

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