DLB wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 9:03 am
algale wrote: ↑Mon Nov 22, 2021 6:49 pm
I think that statement is true of the old Shopsmith knives with the new Shopsmith head or the new Corob knives with the old Shopsmith head.
But sInce Corob branded cutters actually shipped from Shopsmith for the newest molder head,
I think the new style Corob knives work with the new Style Shopsmith head.
I think Corob branded cutters actually shipped from Shopsmith for
BOTH the old and new molder head. Which adds to confusion. I have 505564 and 555038 new in Corob packaging, both still listed for now on the SS site as "older-style." But your photo appears to have a Corob PN HD 23, mine have only the SS PN. Does you new-style SS molder head have a Corob PN on it? I'm thinking it is what Corob refers to as Delta.
- David
I own two molder heads. One I bought from Shopsmith directly in the last 10 years and one which came used in a box of assorted used parts I bought from a guy on Craigslist).
Both of my heads are identical. They both are engraved to say "Shopsmith." They don't mention Corob. Because the last head Shopsmith sold was engraved with the Corob name and the MKHD50 number (which Corob sells to the public as one of their "Delta-style" heads), I assumed both my Shopsmith-branded heads were the "old style" and I ordered old style knives from Shopsmith. What came from Shopsmith, however, was Corob "HD" knives. Corob says the HD knives are Delta-style knives for the Delta-style heads, including the MKHD50. But they fit my Shopsmith heads perfectly.
This made me curious. I went to the Corob site and they had a diagram of the MKHD50 head. It's dimensions matched my Shopsmith-branded heads exactly in every dimension (except for three holes bored in the face of the MKHD50 which my Shopsmith heads lack. But these holes have no impact on the operating dimensions. This made me think my Shopsmith-branded head was functionally identical to the MKHD50 and that maybe I had the "new" style heads. But if my head was new style, why, when I ordered "old" style knives from Shopsmith, did I get Corob HD knives for the MKHD50 that fit my Shopsmith heads perfectly??
The other molder heads/knives Corob sells to the public are what Corob calls "Sears/Craftsman" style. The Sears/Craftsman heads are very different from my Shopsmith heads and the Delta-style MKHD50 head. In addition the Sears/Craftsman style knives sold by Corob have an obvious groove in them. The Delta-style HD knives are smooth (no groove).
To make the mystery even more mysterious, in my box of used parts I got with my used Shopsmith head were a bunch of Corob-branded knives that were not marked HD and which lacked a groove. Not marked HD so not HD knives. And not grooved, so not Sears/Crafstman style knives. So Corob-manufactured knives that were neither Delta style and nor Corob Sears/Craftsman style. What are they?
When I measured these mystery Corob knives, they were slightly [edit] thicker at 0.129 inches than my Corob HD knives [edit] at 0.125 inches and had a smaller diameter hole in them They seem to work in my Shopsmith heads and I think I've used them in it but they plainly weren't made for it like the HD knives are. I infer from this that these mystery knives are probably for the "old" Shopsmith head, made by Corob for Shopsmith, but only sold through Shopsmith. All that said, this is surmise only because I don't have an example of a verified "old" style Shopsmith head that these knives would fit perfectly.
I'm sorry this is so long and confusing, but it is a confusing subject!!