Help Identifying Shop Smith

megastevo81 · Post by **megastevo81** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:17 am

Hi All
After a bit of reading through the posts on here I have decided to join and ask for some advice.

I have been interested in shop smith machines for some time. I have recently bought one from a clearing sale.

I have been looking at the shop smith website and from what I can tell the machine I have bought was made between 1973 & 1978. It was manufactured in Australia under license. The serial number in 1839, is this serial consistent with the dates found on the website? What model is the machine?

I wasn't able to get any detail on the last time it was used. The motor isn't running at the moment due to the cord being damaged. The power switch was damaged at some stage and has been replaced with a light switch

I’m looking at restoring it if possible; there will be a few parts required I’m sure. Will restoration be possible? Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance
Marty

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:53 am

That is the original Shopsmith. That is the Model 10ER made in 1948 through 1953. Some history might be beneficial to you.

Shopsmith started out as a product line, not a brand name. Magna Engineering was the first company to produce the Shopsmith. They started with the Model 10E (E for Experimental). They sold like hot cakes and they quickly made some modifications and re-labeled it the Model 10ER (R for Revised). In 1953 the Model 10ER was replaced with the Mark 5. After that, the Shopsmith brand went through a couple other owners and relatively few changes until the current Shopsmith, Inc.

A coup things about your machine stands out for me.

The logo plate says 10E, and it has a low serial number, but it appears to have the 10ER modifications. When this retrofitting happened at the factory, the stamped serial number started with an R, but there is no R on yours. So either the logo plate was swapped out from another machine, a previous owner retrofit it, or I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing in the pictures.

Also, the headrest is a special headrest for holding the jointer attachment. And it's mounted backwards if it were to be used with the jointer. The jointer would mount on a crossbar on the extended arms and swing up to be driven by the Shopsmith, or swing down when not being used.

Not sure what is going on with the electrical!

I've never heard of Shopsmiths being made under license by other manufacturers in other countries, but I suppose it is possible.

While yours may look pretty rough right now, restoration is indeed possible. Shopsmiths much worse off than yours have been fully restored to better-than-new condition. The hardest part will be disassembly. Then a good cleaning, rust removal, repainting, replace bearings, reassembly, and showing off your hard work.

This thread should give you a good start :https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=5074

Feel free to ask any any question!

BigSky · Post by **BigSky** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 8:12 am

You might find a lot more information over on the 10E site.

10E site.

BigSky · Post by **BigSky** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 8:16 am

You might find a lot more information over on the 10E site.

10E site.

While there is a lot of good Magna info here, this site specializes in equipment manufactured by Shopsmith, Inc.

"Wild Bad Bob" · Post by **"Wild Bad Bob"** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 8:46 am

Welcome MegaSteve, you are in good hands here!!!\I see that is a 3/4HP motor, if I am correct, a 1/2hp was standard, that one was an option. The are a simple machine, come apart easy and clean up real good. I have 3. and love them, they make a great lathe, and drill press.
Here is a site with most of the manuals.
http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/de ... =338&tab=3
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/338/2747.pdf

joedw00 · Post by **joedw00** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 10:20 am

Welcome to the Forum. I have two ERs, two 500s and a 520. The ERs still run great.

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 11:00 am

The motor, any motor, was an additional accessory.

If you purchased the motor, as an extra accessory with the machine, you would have most likely gotten an A.O. Smith brand 1/2 HP, 110-120V, 1725 RPM motor.

If the original purchaser supplied their own motor or bought one separate somewhere else, well it could have been anything! In this case, it's an Australian made GMF "Cadet" brand 3/4 HP, 220-240V, 1425 RPM motor.

That motor may be where the "made in Australia" information comes from. As far as I know, Shopsmiths were never made in Australia. It's possible an Australian importer packaged GMF motors with the American made Shopsmith. But I could be wrong!

rjent · Post by **rjent** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 11:17 am

Well meg, you certainly came to the right place. As for the machine, you should be happy. Amazing things have been made with the 10ER and Shopsmith still uses them for the production of the new Mark 7 I am told.

I am just finishing up the restoration of my 10ER I bought this spring and will have pictures soon.

While I am pretty new to Shopsmith and woodworking, there is a lot of collective knowledge here. Nice people and lots of help and advice!

Welcome to the forum

Dick

megastevo81 · Post by **megastevo81** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 5:07 pm

Hi All

Thanks for the warm welcome, the info, and links to have a look at.

I have a bit of a better understanding of what my machine now. I'm really excited to get stuck into my project.

I missed a photo when uploading the images, this is the badge i got "made under license" from. Maybe I'm misunderstanding could this just mean assembled in Australia and fitted with a motor that suits 240v?

Marty

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 5:47 pm

Where is that badge located?