Going to (Look) at a 1955 SS

[GetterDone]

Well, someone needs to take the shovel away from me.

I have found another one that needs to be rescued.

It is less than an hour from me.

Will look at it this weekend.

Every machine I have purchased to date has untouched lathe tools.
These tools look like they are 1/2 the length of new.

So I am interested in the story behind this machine.

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[JPG]

whoo boy! It needs a lot of tlc. That said, it is not a lost cause.

[GetterDone]

whoo boy! It needs a lot of tlc. That said, it is not a lost cause.

If it wasn't so close to home, I probably wouldn't consider this one.

[chapmanruss]

Who said it is a 1955 Mark 5? The Belt Cover and Main Table are not from a 1955 Mark 5. A 1955 Belt Cover would have 8 or 6 holes for screws to hold the cover on the Headstock casting and motor pan. A 1955 Main Table would not have the extra Saw Blade Slot. That was a feature added to the Mark 5 after the introduction of the Mark 2. It is a "B" Headstock which came out in October 1955 and continued until replaced by the "C" Headstock in 1991.

As JPG said,

whoo boy! It needs a lot of tlc. That said, it is not a lost cause.

I agree with him.

Time for more rust remover.

[GetterDone]

Who said it is a 1955 Mark 5? The Belt Cover and Main Table are not from a 1955 Mark 5. A 1955 Belt Cover would have 8 or 6 holes for screws to hold the cover on the Headstock casting and motor pan. A 1955 Main Table would not have the extra Saw Blade Slot. That was a feature added to the Mark 5 after the introduction of the Mark 2. It is a "B" Headstock which came out in October 1955 and continued until replaced by the "C" Headstock in 1991.

As JPG said,

whoo boy! It needs a lot of tlc. That said, it is not a lost cause.

I agree with him.

Time for more rust remover.

Thanks for the info Russ.

That's what the owner thought it was.

That's kind of why I posted here before I mess up.

The serial number I was told is SS30399.

So this is all the pictures I have.
Do I need to ask more Questions?

[JPG]

Re serial number - SS??? No way that is original for that machine.

Caveat Emptor - Keep it cheap!

[GetterDone]

Re serial number - SS??? No way that is original for that machine.

Caveat Emptor - Keep it cheap!

I may bail out on this one.

[JPG]

Not like you had an absolute dire need for it.

Although if thee bails, it may end up in the dump!

[chapmanruss]

Serial Number SS 30399 would be from February 1979. Any Serial Number with the prefix SS would be from Shopsmith Inc. beginning in 1973. As I understand it, all Mark 5 and SPT Serial Numbers restarted at 1001 with the SS prefix when Shopsmith Inc. formed in 1973 and restarted selling them.

It was the beginning of 1980 that the extra Table Slot was discontinued.

[GetterDone]

Not like you had an absolute dire need for it.

Although if thee bails, it may end up in the dump!

Yeah

It's been for sale for a while.