Thick 10ER tubes are definitely 3/16" wall thickness which is 0.1875". Your 10E should definitely have thick tubes so I don't know why you measured only 0.175". Thin tubes are 1/8" just like the MK V and that is 0.125". As for your other machine again I don't know why you measured 0.210". That is over 3/16". The only thing I can think of is that sometimes the tubes have a small burr around the inside edge and that caused your measurement to be too large.BuckeyeDennis wrote:I had never heard about 10ER's with 1/8" tube walls. It got me curious enough to go downstairs and measure my two 10E/R machines. The oldest one is a very early 10E with a sand-cast headstock, serial number 1750, which dates it to 1947. The first year of manufacture. Tube wall thickness measures 0.175".jsburger wrote:beeg wrote:OK, I've read many times here about 10ER tubes are heavier. Just how much is the weight difference?
As JPG said the wall thickness is 3/16" as opposed to the MK V tubes that are 1/8" thick. When you get them in your hands there is a significant difference in my opinion. At the end if the day does it really make any difference since the MK V thin tubes have been around for 60+ years? Probably not, but more is always better and I will use them every time. I have them on my full size MK 7 Power pro and my dedicated MK V drill press.
One thing to remember, the 10ER in it's later years had the thin 1/8" tubes. So if someone is selling 10ER tubes you need to ask if they are thick tubes if that is what you want.
My "newer" 10ER is serial number 85493, dating it to 1952. Tube wall thickness measures 0.210".
When did the thinner tubes appear?
My understanding of when is that the last 10ER's produced had the thin wall tubes right when the first MK V's came out. Again just a guess but as the 10ER production wound down and the MK V production ramped up they used MK V tubes on the last 10ER's built probably because they ran out of the thick tubes.