Shopsmith Forums

Hi Folks,
I have been riding motorcycles for over 25 years, but I hurt one of my feet on a desert ride back in September. Since recovery is taking longer than expected, and since I am also musician, I have been looking to build a couple electric guitars during the time I would normally be riding. I happened to mention it to my friend Aaron, who is also a musician, during a conversation about motorcycles. He told me he had a Shopsmith in his storage container and that I should come get it. So, long story short, last weekend I drove two hours (Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe) and picked it up!

Machine is a 10er, serial number R38228. Any idea what year, 1951-53? I'm kind of bummed to not have the band saw. That's actually what started the conversation. A neighbor has one, so I may just run over there to use his when I need to.

Now, back at home, I find myself a little lost. I never took shop class, so I don't have "woodworking experience" so much as I have general homeowner experience. I used to build stuff when I was a kid, but nothing complicated or nice, per se. So, that said, what the heck is all this stuff? Obviously the scroll saw is a scroll saw, but most of the rest of it I am not sure. It all came in bins, so I laid it out and chalked the floor with letters.

Me and Aaron


Loaded


Heh, that was fun!


Resting, sorry about the box blocking the casters, they need a little tuning but work okay.


Tools Pt 1


Tools Pt 2: The Sequel


EDIT: I have downloaded most of the relevant manuals. Thanks to everyone who has done such a great job preserving documentation for these machines! Also, a fun thing happened the other day. My friend's wife saw a picture of it and said, "I think that's what we used in high school when I took shop class." So maybe I should just have her come over and show me how everything goes.

CrazyCarl wrote:Hi Folks,
I have been riding motorcycles for over 25 years, but I hurt one of my feet on a desert ride back in September. Since recovery is taking longer than expected, and since I am also musician, I have been looking to build a couple electric guitars during the time I would normally be riding. I happened to mention it to my friend Aaron, who is also a musician, during a conversation about motorcycles. He told me he had a Shopsmith in his storage container and that I should come get it. So, long story short, last weekend I drove two hours (Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe) and picked it up!

Machine is a 10er, serial number R38228. Any idea what year, 1951-53? I'm kind of bummed to not have the band saw. That's actually what started the conversation. A neighbor has one, so I may just run over there to use his when I need to.

Now, back at home, I find myself a little lost. I never took shop class, so I don't have "woodworking experience" so much as I have general homeowner experience. I used to build stuff when I was a kid, but nothing complicated or nice, per se. So, that said, what the heck is all this stuff? Obviously the scroll saw is a scroll saw, but most of the rest of it I am not sure. It all came in bins, so I laid it out and chalked the floor with letters.

Me and Aaron


Loaded


Heh, that was fun!


Resting, sorry about the box blocking the casters, they need a little tuning but work okay.


Tools Pt 1


Tools Pt 2: The Sequel


EDIT: I have downloaded most of the relevant manuals. Thanks to everyone who has done such a great job preserving documentation for these machines! Also, a fun thing happened the other day. My friend's wife saw a picture of it and said, "I think that's what we used in high school when I took shop class." So maybe I should just have her come over and show me how everything goes.

Welcome to the forum. That machine will clean up nicely. As far as the lettered parts, most of them are non Shopsmith.

The ones that are:

A. 2 1/2" drum sander
I. miter gauge
L. Lathe tool rest
M. Mortising attachment missing the hold down
P. Jig saw
U. Jointer cutter head
V. Lathe centers
X. Drills for the mortise attachment
Y. Drill chuck. It is hard to tell if it will fit the Shopsmith

Everything else is non Shopsmith. Also the variable speed changer is mounted backwards on the way tubes.

Again welcome and ask any and all questions. There is a wealth of knowledge here.

If you are truly a newbie, try to get your hands on a "Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone" first edition(Model 10 version). Later editions will suffice, but they refer to later models.

Oh, and welcome to the madness!

Welcome aboard.
A- drum sander SS
B- I think it might be the drill chuck with a diy sanding drum
C- part of a mitre box
D- ?
E- small disk sander
F- vise for a drill press
G- ? fence
H- small arbor and grinding wheel
I- mitre gauge
J- ?
K- steady rest for a metal lathe
L- SS tool rest
M- part of the SS mortise cutter
N & O bearing blocks
P- A-34 jigsaw
Q- something for a metal lathe
R- SS arbor and saw blade
S- base for a router
T- SS shaper arbor and cutters
U- SS jointer head
V- SS dead center and drive center for lathe work
W- ?
X- mortise chisels

???

Disk sander mounted on the quill
Table saw insert on the table has been modified to also work with the jigsaw
And there is a speed changer, but it is mounted upside down.

Thank you, John, for the list and for letting me know the changer is backwards. I thought it was odd from a logical standpoint, but I am not as old as this machine so I did not question it. I found a small box marked 505604, which turns out to be a set of Shopsmith shaper spacers. Two of the pieces are in W and the other two were attached to T.

Based on part number stamping research:
E is a Delta Homecraft grinder for a similar system.
F is probably for a metal lathe.
G is a Craftsman table saw fence.
H has CDC 888 cast into the flip side of the cover the cover looks like some art-deco building from a batman comic, or The Rocketeer, so no matter what it goes to I'm hanging onto the cover.
I think J is some sort of automotive temperature sensor, but it was in the box, so I included it.
O was in a box, and is apparently made by a company that's now part of Timken.

JPG, I will look for a copy. I don't consider myself completely green, but I had never heard of Shopsmith until Aaron told me to come get this one, either. I already have a Delta SS250 scroll saw ,with an irreplaceable broken jaw, so I was looking for a fix anyway.

CrazyCarl,

Let me add my welcome to the forum. I was on vacation last week so sorry for the delay. John and Ron have already identified the Shopsmith/Magna parts with one exception. Item I, the miter is not from the Shopsmith but if the bar is the correct size it will work fine. The Model 10E and 10ER used standard sized miter slots. Looking at the pictures I have to wonder if something flammable was spilled and burned on the Headstock above and over the Logo/serial number plate. That could explain why the plate isn't red and silver. The other interesting thing I noticed is the Table Insert. It looks like someone cut a saw blade slot into a Jig Saw Table Insert.