Serial number lookup

[chapmanruss]

Under the "Community" Heading there is the Topic "How to Post a Picture" which is always near the top of the list of topics. It is a bit long as posting pictures here has changed a bit and questions have been answered. The main thing for posting pictures to this Forum is having the picture's file size being small enough. Current cameras including cell phone cameras take picture too large to use. I reduce the file size of my pictures using the program paint which is included in the Microsoft operating system. I generally reduce the pixels down to 1000 x ? (a smaller number), but they can be larger up to a 3 MB file size currently. This makes the file size small enough to post. In Full Editor & Preview (not Quick Reply) below the box you type in is Options and Attachments tabs. Click on Attachments and select Add files.

Shopsmith Model 10ER serial number ER46453 was made in the Eastern Plant after April 1951 and about the same time the Model 10ER I posted the picture of which was made in the Western Plant. I look forward to seeing your Model 10ER.

[MichaelCfffg]

Hello! I just joined the forum, and this is my first post. We bought a property in Franklin County, Missouri several years ago, and I made sure that the old Shopsmith machine in the garage was included in the deal. I've had a need to use it a couple of times, but was afraid to do much with it until I really knew just what condition it is in. I would like to restore it enough to make it more usable, and am now in the process of trying to learn more about this particular machine and what its condition is in.
It is a 10-ER, and its serial number is R59677. It appears to be on a homemade base that is fairly well made, but does flex just a little bit as I'm trying to pry it up into the drill press position. That function appears to be frozen, and may never have been utilized. I've sprayed the pivots with Liquid Wrench a few times, and am waiting to see if that frees it up. The motor drive belt tension adjustment was the same way, but I've got it loose at one end so far the same way.
The spindle seems to run fine now since I've installed a new motor drive belt, and it sounds like the spindle bearing (probably just one) should be permanently lubricated, but could this be true after 70+/- years? I'm concerned about running it at anything more than the lowest speed until I've gotten some reassurance that it can take it. This will probably entail checking the headstock temperature frequently after I can adjust the drive belt tension a little better.
I'm posting this to this thread in the hope that someone can give me a pretty good idea of when this particular machine was made. A couple of posts back it looked like mine was pre-1951, but I found a list on one of these forum threads listing a bunch of user's machines that indicated that mine might be a 1952 model. There apparently used to be a link on the Shopsmith website where you could find out when your machine was built, but that link is no longer working, and I couldn't find much about the old machines on their website. Can somebody please give me a pretty good idea of when my machine was built? Thank you very much for your help with this!

[chapmanruss]

MichaelCfffg,

To my knowledge there was not a list published of when Shopsmith Model 10E and 10ER tools were made. There has been a list of when Shopsmith Mark 5/V tools were made but with a lot of missing information. As for the Model 10's we do know when certain ones were made. The Model 10E was first shipped, with 250 tools, to west coast Montgomery Ward Stores on November 15, 1947. Those started with serial number 1001. Of importance to you is the change made in April 1951 going from double wedge locks to single wedge locks. Starting with serial number ER40908 for the Eastern Plant and serial number R53198 for the western Plant we know Model 10ER's with lower serial numbers were made prior to the April 1951 change and higher serial numbers made after the change. This would put your Model 10ER serial number R59677 made in the Western Plant being manufactured around mid 1951.

The list you found is probably the one started by Skip Cambell and the year made for those tools on the list is a guess. Some may be close while others may not. There is also a difference between when they were made and when they were sold. Some of those on the list may have paperwork that came with them as to when and even where they were sold.

I would recommend you start your own topic in the Maintenance and Repair section to ask questions and keep us up to date on your progress. Having a topic started for your Model 10ER will keep all the information in one place. Others and myself will be happy to help with any questions you may have.

[MichaelCfffg]

................Of importance to you is the change made in April 1951 going from double wedge locks to single wedge locks. Starting with serial number ER40908 for the Eastern Plant and serial number R53198 for the western Plant we know Model 10ER's with lower serial numbers were made prior to the April 1951 change and higher serial numbers made after the change. This would put your Model 10ER serial number R59677 made in the Western Plant being manufactured around mid 1951.

The list you found is probably the one started by Skip Cambell and the year made for those tools on the list is a guess. Some may be close while others may not. There is also a difference between when they were made and when they were sold. Some of those on the list may have paperwork that came with them as to when and even where they were sold.

I would recommend you start your own topic in the Maintenance and Repair section to ask questions and keep us up to date on your progress. Having a topic started for your Model 10ER will keep all the information in one place. Others and myself will be happy to help with any questions you may have.

Thank you for probably pretty much pinning down the date/era of manufacture of my machine. I completely agree with your logic.

I think that the Skip Cambell list you referenced is the list that I was referring to. Thanks!

I had figured on doing exactly that, starting a new topic thread in one of the sections more germane to what I'd like to discuss and ask questions about. As you suggest, it would keep everything about my machine all in one place. Thanks again for your very quick help!