Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

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chapmanruss
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Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by chapmanruss »

So, with the extra time Sheltering and Social Distancing, I have been thinking more about the evolution of the Shopsmith Model 10E and 10ER. Looking at documents I have and comparing them to what I know. This is what I have written down before I forget my thoughts.

We know it was a “work in progress” throughout it’s time in production from 1947 through 1953. So, what changed when. A lot of that is hard to pin down. I know from the Model 10’s I have owned and restored that there were many changes from the first Model 10E’s to the last Model 10ER’s. I do or have owned serial numbers from 1077 to 76928 along with seeing many others. The newest (highest) serial number I have seen is 102459 (from Skip Campbell's list) and is probably very near the end of the Model 10ER’s production. The Shopsmith Sales History document lists that 117,197 Model 10ER’s were sold and that doesn’t include Fiscal years 1947 - 1948 and 1948 -1949. Why the big serial number difference vs. number sold? That answer is in how the serial numbers were handled when the Eastern Plant started production. Tools made in the Eastern Plant began their own serial number series with the prefix E and later ER. The lowest I have seen is E-1921. I don’t believe that E-1921 was made in the Eastern Plant the same day as S/N 1922 from the Western plant or that the Eastern Plant was even in production yet. I have not seen anything to indicate exactly when the Eastern Plant started production but I believe the Western Plant had made more than 922 Model 10E’s before the Eastern Plant started production. The original Western Plant continued their series of serial numbers and at a point added the prefix R to them. The lowest R prefix serial number I have seen is R26114. Keep in mind I live in Oregon so I have seen more Model 10’s with the R prefix than ones with E or ER. Out of the ones I have owned they had either no prefix or the R prefix. By April 1951 the Western Plant was at serial number R53198 and the Eastern Plant was at ER40908. It was the use of each plants series of serial numbers that changes appeared to occur at different times between the East and West but not actually true. In the 69,000’s the prefixes for the serial numbers were dropped and the two Plants used the same series of serial numbers until production ended in 1953. Fewer changes were occurring by this time too. Three of the last changes were the Table rods changing to hollow ones, the Way Tubes becoming thinner walled and the Carriage being trimmed up on the lower side. A 10ER made near the end of production weighed less than one of the first 10E’s. Less weight from the Base, Carriage, Way Tubes and Table Rods all contributed to that. I remember someone once asked how much does a Model 10 weigh.

The Base, Headrest, Headstock, Carriage and many other parts had from 2 to 7 versions. Many of the changes were minor and hardly noticed but others were very noticeable as in the early Base compared to the later version. Some parts never changed during the Model 10’s production such as the Arm that attaches between the Base to the Way Tubes. One of these changes gives us a date to use as a starting point as to when a Model 10ER was made before or after. The Headstock and Carriage Locks changed in April 1951 with Serial Numbers R53198 and ER40908 from the double wedge to the single wedge locks. This information gives us a date and the differences in the serial numbers between the Western and Eastern Plants making Model 10’s. This is the change to Headstock version 6 and Carriage version 2 and related parts. Of course, by this time they had been Model 10ER’s for some time. Several major changes had already occurred like the change from the Wood Extension Table to the Metal Extension Table and the Tailstocks plus related parts. The Metal Extension Table change also brought us the second Fence version with a rear lock. An accessory rear lock for the original fence was made available too. From an ad for a special upgrade to the Metal Extension Table we know this change occurred before October 1949.

Soon after the first Model 10E’s were introduced in 1947 changes began. Some of the first changes were hardly noticeable. On the Headstock the hole for the switch was raised closer to the Logo Plate and away from the curve for the way tubes. This made switch installation easier. The steel pin on the Headstock used to keep the Spring Housing in place was changed to a cast on block. The Spring Housing was changed from aluminum to steel since the aluminum one tended to bend. The ends of the Pinion Shaft had flat cuts added for set screws to make attaching and especially removing the Feed Lever Knobs easier. The Tailstock was changed from a single threaded stud and square stud to 2 threaded studs for attaching the Extension Table Bracket. Although an early change that was a noticeable one. These had all occurred by the time Model 10E serial number 4708 was made. I could go on and on about the changes made to the Model 10’s but as we know it was truly a work in progress. Also, I need more information to fill in the timeline for some of the changes.

One of the problems putting dates to changes is trying to use the early manuals for that. Prior to the 1951 Manuals they do not have any dates on them other than we know the original typed manual went out with the first Model 10E’s in November 1947. We know the date those first 250 machines and can easily estimate the ones that soon followed. Revised Owner’s Manuals came out as a result of changes in the tools. Comparing the tool changes with the manuals can give us groups of tools that belong to each manual version. Manuals from 1951 and on can give us a starting reference date for changes shown in the parts diagrams and lists. From the manual I know that in January of 1951 your Model 10ER would have a Metal Extension Table, Tailstock version 3 to go with it, the second Trunnion version, Double Wedge Locks in the Headstock & Carriage with the keyed Quill lock, the Large Base, 4 Bolt Headrest, the slotted Blade Guard, early Belt Guard and Headstock version 4 with the Quill Depth Indicator. That is provided the parts diagrams were updated to correctly show those changes as they occurred. I have copies of 9 Manuals in print or digital but I know there are at least 5 I do not have and probably more. The oldest is a digital copy of the original typed Manual, thanks to Everett and John. The newest copy I have is from March 1953 but is probably not the last one. Occasionally we get a new reference point as to when a tool was made. One is Model 10ER S/N R34916 which was purchased on October 10, 1950 according to documents with it when purchased recently. In these cases, the question is how long after it was made was it sold. It is again production vs. sales.

We cannot always use the parts on a particular tool to tell us its era of origin since by now it is common to use parts from different tools as replacements. One of the Model 10’s I got to restore was from someone that had a Model 10E and a Model 10ER he was restoring and using the “best” parts of each. He gave me what was left from that. One notable thing about his restored Model 10 was a Metal Extension Table mounted on the bracket and tailstock for a Wood Extension Table. Interchanged parts make it even harder to identify tools. Even the parts themselves can be misleading. I am currently restoring 10ER S/N 69236 which would have been made in 1952. The Base, Arm, Tie Bar, Headrest, Carriage and Motor Mount still have the old part numbers on them but the all part numbers changed in November 1951.The one constant except in rare cases is the Logo/Serial Number Plate attached to the Headstock. It is the Headstock that mainly dates the tool. In almost all cases the Logo/Serial Number Plate has not been changed between headstocks. I could take the headstock off My Model 10E S/N 1077 and put it on My Model 10ER S/N R64000 and it would still work but would it be a 1947 10E or a 1951 10ER at that point. It is the interchanging of parts of different versions that make a particular Shopsmith unique but harder to identify with a group of tools from same time period. As time goes on this is likely to happen more.

Some of the changes the manuals I have do not show me is when the metal Extension Table Bracket changed to the longer 9” version, when the Table Rods changed to hollow tubes, when the Carriage last changed or Way Tubes used thinner walls. The last manual I have is Mar. 53 but I don’t believe all four of those changes occurred after that.

Will we ever be able to have a monthly serial number production list like we have for the Mark 5/V? The answer is very likely no unless some lost document having that information is discovered. But with the bits and pieces of information we can put together from the documents and information Owners have we can put dates to some serial number ranges and make best “guesstimates” from there. So here is a couple of my best guesstimates. Serial number 90000 and above were made in later 1953. Model 10ER’s around serial numbers 65000 to 90000 were made in the 1952 – 1953 fiscal year. These are based on the sales chart and the ending serial number being after, but near 102000. Comparing the changes in the tools with the Owner’s Manuals could pinpoint more production dates. Something to work on but I would like to have copies of manuals I do not have.
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
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jsburger
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Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by jsburger »

Very nice dissertation. Do you have any idea when the cast iron extension table was made? I would think it was the first metal extension table made when they went away from the wood table. Then they very quickly went with aluminum like the main table. That would explain how rare they are.
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Cast Iron 1.jpg
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John & Mary Burger
Eagle's Lair Woodshop
Hooper, UT
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chapmanruss
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Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by chapmanruss »

John,

Your guess on that is as good as mine. Your picture is only the second time I have seen a picture of one. The other was one for sale on eBay. It being made at the change from the wood to the metal Extension Table does sound the most reasonable. But cast iron instead of aluminum like the Main Table makes me wonder why would they even try a cast iron one.

When they changed from the original clamp on Quill Collar the first ones were cast iron followed by the aluminum ones used for the rest of the Model 10's production. In the picture below is the cast iron one in the middle. Maybe cast iron was easier to try things out with first.
Quill Collars.jpg
Quill Collars.jpg (485.43 KiB) Viewed 17788 times
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
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chapmanruss
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Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by chapmanruss »

As I mentioned before soon after the Model 10E was introduced changes began. For these I compared my 10E S/N 1077 to the 10E S/N 4708 I restored as it was the next oldest Model 10E I have had. I still owned 4708 as I restored 1077. I mentioned the change in the Spring Housing going from aluminum to steel but there was another change with it that I found interesting. The Spring Housing was made with an “egg” shaped opening as shown in the picture below. The arrow points to the smaller end. The Pinion Shaft had a ring cut into the shaft for the smaller end of the spring housing hole to slip into. It is pointed out by the arrow in the picture of the Pinion below. It would allow the spring housing to be slightly off set but not enough to clear the headstock’s cast on block or Boss as it is referred to in the manual, to rotate the housing to adjust the spring tension. I believe the “egg” shaped opening was only to allow the Spring Housing to go over the Pinion Shaft. The 10E manuals I have do not mention anything specific about this version of the Spring Housing or Pinion Shaft.
102-11 V2 Spring Housing with arrow.jpg
102-11 V2 Spring Housing with arrow.jpg (125.78 KiB) Viewed 17698 times
102-10 V2 Pinion Shaft 102-46 Pin with arrow.jpg
102-10 V2 Pinion Shaft 102-46 Pin with arrow.jpg (364.04 KiB) Viewed 17698 times
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
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chapmanruss
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Location: near Portland, Oregon

Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by chapmanruss »

It is the later changes that I wonder if the manual’s diagrams and parts lists show. The change to the Extension Table Bracket being made longer is one of those. As I said before I am currently restoring 10ER S/N 69236 which would have been made in 1952. It has the longer Extension Table Bracket and so did Model 10ER S/N R64381 that I restored five years ago. S/N R64000, the first Model 10 I restored has the shorter Extension Table Bracket. I do not see any difference in the Owner’s Manual Diagrams or Parts Lists to show this change. Of course, I have no guarantee that parts had not been switched by previous owners. I do know that by the Feb. 52 Manual the screw that holds the tailstock had changed to the Knurled Screw using an Allen Wrench. That smaller screw was needed to allow the longer Extension Table Bracket to go to its lowest position on the Tailstock. It replaced the earlier Knob and Stud Screw which with its larger head blocks the lowering of the longer Extension Table Bracket to its lowest position. This may be the only indication for that change in the manuals.
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
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chapmanruss
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Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by chapmanruss »

After I became interested in the Shopsmith Model 10’s I didn’t realize for some time that at first the Model 10E came with the ½” Arbor (P/N 102-35X) as opposed to the 5/8” Arbor (P/N 126-1X) that came standard later. Both were available but as an optional accessory for the one that didn’t come standard with the Shopsmith. The 10E came with an 8” Combination Circular Saw P/N 110-1. Later the 10ER came with an 8” Combination Tooth Saw Blade, 5/8” hole P/N 110-4. That is how they were listed in the manuals. I guess the early 8” saw blades (P/N 110-1) had a smaller ½” arbor hole. Maybe someone can confirm this. All the old 8” Shopsmith/Magna Saw Blades I have that came with Model 10’s I’ve owned have the 5/8” arbor hole. Out of the first 5 restorations I did 4 were Model 10ER’s and the 10E had upgrades including the Metal Extension Table and a lot of accessories with it. That’s the main reason I didn’t realize this for some time.

While we are talking about the Model 10E arbors, the one shown in the Fig. 1 picture on the first, type written, Owner’s Manual shows a different ½” Saw Arbor. Mine did not come with that arbor so if anyone sees one, I would like some pictures. It may have been a kind of mock-up from other arbors and parts from that time period. 1/2" and 5/8" Arbors were a common item with both 1/2" or 5/8" bores. It's the reason non-Shopsmith Arbors get mixed in with Shopsmith Tools. It is marked as #12 in the fig. 1 picture below.
Pre Production Changes.jpg
Pre Production Changes.jpg (462.36 KiB) Viewed 17577 times
The Fig. 1 Model 10 and some accessories are different than the production model

Headstock (Changed on Production Models)

1 No Logo/Serial Number Plate
2 Set Screw hole on front for drive sleeve and not one for the Belt Cover bolt on top
3 Different Belt Cover with no visible mounting
4 Three lobed Quill Advance Knobs
5 Different Way Tube Lock lever

Carriage and Table System (Changed on Production Models)

6 Different Way Tube Lock lever
7 Different Table Tilt Lock Handle
8 Doesn’t appear to be a Carriage Positioning Stud with Nut (103-29 & 29N) or it may be hidden by the Way Tube. It may not have come on the first ones but the threaded hole was in the Carriage.

Accessories (Changed on Production Models except as noted)

9 Miter Gauge has 45-degree angle cut on right side to clear blade when cutting 45-degree bevel cuts
10 Drill Chuck Arbor not beveled like part number 102-47
11 Sanding Disk has only four ribs not six
12 Saw Blade Arbor not the same as 1/2” Arbor P/N 102-35X
13 Different Lathe Tool Rest, has removable shaft for attaching to the Arm, later it was single Casting. Original Production models have this Tool Rest (S/N 1077)
14 It is hard to tell from the picture but the Base Plate may be different from the production model. The Base Plate in Fig. 1 appears to only have curved angle braces on the inside of the verticals that the Arm attaches to. The Production version of the Base Plate both large and small have a cross brace at the bottom between the two verticals. (Changed on Production Models)

5 & 6 the Way Tube Lock Levers may actually be the same as the production models but due to the quality of the Fig. 1 picture it is hard to tell for sure.

It is hard to tell from the fig. 1 picture above but it may be a Knob instead of a wing nut holding the extension table bracket to the tailstock.

The picture below is a recreation of Fig. 1 and it shows how the first Model 10E's came from the factory with one slight exception.
Fig 1 recreated r.jpg
Fig 1 recreated r.jpg (114.84 KiB) Viewed 17577 times
We will discuss that exception later but in the mean time see if you can guess what it is.
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
sehast
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Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by sehast »

My guess is the type of wood used for the extension table and that really is a guess.
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jsburger
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Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by jsburger »

You said, "The 10E came with an 8” Combination Circular Saw P/N 110-1. Later the 10ER came with an 8” Combination Tooth Saw Blade, 5/8” hole P/N 110-4."

I assume you mean circular saw blade.

In the beginning were not all circular saw blades 1/2" hole? I am talking hand held circular saws. If the 10E shipped with one of them it stands to reason it came with a 1/2" blade arbor. Also back then there was no such thing a s separate "blade" arbor. You just had a 1/2" arbor and a 5/8" arbor.
John & Mary Burger
Eagle's Lair Woodshop
Hooper, UT
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chapmanruss
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Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by chapmanruss »

sehast,

Although the Wood Extension Table is not the original one they were made from plywood. The original ones are pretty beat up after 70 years which is why I made replacements. The one above is not the only 10E I have restored with a Wood Extension Table.

The Extension Table is not what I was actually referring to. Clue - I mentioned not having one in the post.

John, you commented on the following
You said, "The 10E came with an 8” Combination Circular Saw P/N 110-1. Later the 10ER came with an 8” Combination Tooth Saw Blade, 5/8” hole P/N 110-4."

I assume you mean circular saw blade.
Yes we are talking about circular saw blades. The description above in bold is how they are listed in the manuals. I listed them exactly as they were in the parts list in the manuals they were found in. The second one specifically says 5/8" hole. Since I was not born until 1957 I have to go with what I have been able to learn about the Shopsmith Tools after the fact and not first hand knowledge from the time period. With that in mind I am continually learning more about these tools.

You also said,
Also back then there was no such thing a s separate "blade" arbor. You just had a 1/2" arbor and a 5/8" arbor.
That is correct. Although they were simply referred to as 1/2" or 5/8" arbors they were the original Universal Arbors used for many items to attach to the Shopsmith Spindle. Two of my common non saw blade uses for them is mounting wire and buffing wheels.
Russ

Mark V completely upgraded to Mark 7
Mark V 520
All SPT's & 2 Power Stations
Model 10ER S/N R64000 first one I restored on bench w/ metal ends & retractable casters.
Has Speed Changer, 4E Jointer, Jig Saw with lamp, a complete set of original accessories & much more.
Model 10E's S/N's 1076 & 1077 oldest ones I have restored. Mark 2 S/N 85959 restored. Others to be restored.
sehast
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Posts: 497
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2015 6:53 pm
Location: Milpitas, CA

Re: Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

Post by sehast »

That is what I was getting at the material not that it was original. I thought they may have used solid wood. I see what you used has very few plys. Is that what would have been used on the originals from that period?
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