Shopsmith Model 10's What When and Where

[chapmanruss]

By this time most of you know I like to find the differences or versions in parts for the Model 10E and 10ER. There were two basic Belt Guards made for the Model 10E and 10ER. The original version actually has 5 different variations while the later one appears to be the same for the rest of the Model 10E and 10ER production. Like a lot of the changes the differences aren’t very noticeable until you get to the 5th one.

The original Belt Guard has the 3/8” wide band around the guard almost ground off. This was done at the factory and I have seen this on more than just the three Model 10E tools I have from the original order of 250 shipped to Montgomery Ward stores that started it all.

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102-36 Belt Guard V1a 1947.jpg (151.85 KiB) Viewed 32168 times

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The second is the same as the first without the 3/8” wide band being ground off. After around a couple thousand tools I guess they decided why grind the band off.

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102-36 Belt Guard V1b 1948.jpg (185.03 KiB) Viewed 32168 times

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The third is the change in the bolt slot being widened at the outside end. This made it easier to put the guard on and take off.

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102-36 Belt Guard V1c 1948.jpg (118.15 KiB) Viewed 32168 times

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The fourth has the top being flattened and the mounting tab shorter.

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The fifth as you can see by comparing to the other four has a narrower band and a change around the mounting tab.

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The later version of the Belt Guard shown below adds a little more coverage at the sides next to the Headstock. It can be found on later Model 10E’s and all Model 10ER’s.

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102-36 Belt Guard V2 R64000 rc.jpg (95.69 KiB) Viewed 32168 times

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You may see the different versions of the Belt Guard on Model 10 Headstocks that seem to be the incorrect version. I have seen this too. After so many years since the end of the Model 10 production, replacements parts from other tools have left mixed part versions on them. This can be true for any of the Model 10 parts. Even though I try to make my restorations like “as new as possible” there have been errors in the version of parts used to make a complete “as it came from the factory” tool. But there weren’t many. One was using the last version of the Belt Guard on a Model 10E that would have had the 3rd one originally. Mostly this occurs due to what parts may be available at the time as a replacement for a broken or missing part. Out of around 150,000 Model 10E and 10ER Shopsmith’s made around 125,000 had the last Belt Guard version.

[jpdalton]

By this time most of you know I like to find the differences or versions in parts for the Model 10E and 10ER. There were two basic Belt Guards made for the Model 10E and 10ER. The original version actually has 5 different variations while the later one appears to be the same for the rest of the Model 10E and 10ER production. Like a lot of the changes the differences aren’t very noticeable until you get to the 5th one.

Hey, Russ, any idea when they stopped stamping the part number inside the casting?
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[chapmanruss]

John,

You asked

Hey, Russ, any idea when they stopped stamping the part number inside the casting?

I don't know when and not all parts had their part number on them. For those that did have part numbers cast in them discontinuing them appears to have occurred at different times when new castings were made for each part. Unfortunately I neglected to take pictures of individual parts when restoring the Model 10E and 10ER tools until recently and in some cases should have taken more than one view. Early Tailstocks had the part number cast in but later ones (versions 3 and 4 I have) do not. For the carriages the part numbers can be found in all 3 versions so they may have been there throughout.

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103-2 and D 2349 Carriages labeled.jpg (142.57 KiB) Viewed 32130 times

[chapmanruss]

One of the confusing things is finding anomalies on the Model 10’s and trying to figure out why they occurred. The one below is a Logo/Serial Number Plate which is the third and last style. What makes this one of the anomalies is the serial number stamped on it. First the prefix R and the numbers appear to be hand stamped. The “R” prefix does go with the serial number 51466. That brings up the second problem in that this serial number should be on the second type of Logo/Serial Number Plate with just the Model ER on it and not the later plate with Model 10ER on it. That brings us to the Headstock it came from which was the 5th version which still had the keyed double wedge Quill Lock. Now that does fit in with the serial numbers for the version 5 Headstock having the “R” prefix and being made before the change to the single wedge locks in April 1951 with serial numbers below R53198 for the Western Plant. So how did this Model 10ER which by the serial number and having the 5th version of the headstock get the later Logo/Serial Number Plate when that plate wasn’t use in the Western Plant until after S/N R68571 was made. Serial Number R68571 is the highest serial number I have seen on the second style Logo/Serial Number Plate saying Model ER. Shortly after by S/N 69236 the R prefix had been discontinued and the plate changed to the 3rd version. I did own, restored and resold both S/N R68571 and 69236. It should be noted that the serial numbers with the “R” prefix were made in the Western Plant and lower serial numbers at or before E51791 made in the Eastern Plant were already using the 3rd Logo/Serial Number Plate.

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Now there is another bit of confusion on the Headstock that Logo/Serial Number Plate comes from. It is a version 5 Headstock except it has the hole behind the Logo/Serial Number Plate found on the Version 7 Headstocks. In the picture note the keyed double wedge Quill Lock hole and the access hole. Version 7 Headstocks had single wedge locks and the Quill Lock was no longer keyed.

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R51466 Headstock.jpg (243.16 KiB) Viewed 32014 times

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Like the ones mentioned before in this thread, it is another example of those anomalies that we can only guess why they occurred.

[chapmanruss]

Additional Manual Information

John Dalton came across someone who has a Model 10E serial number 2475 that has the original typed/mimeographed Manual with it. I wanted to share this information here.

I guess it has been assumed that the original typed/mimeographed manual was only included with the first 250 units sent to the West Coast Montgomery Wards stores in 1947. As I understand it that original manual was used until they could get the printed Owner's Guide from the printing company. This was noted on page 1 of the original manual as seen below.

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Having it come with S/N 2475 means it took some time before the printed Owner's Guides were available. The printed Owner's Guide included two versions, one with Montgomery Ward across the bottom of the cover for Model 10E’s sold through them and the other had Magna Engineering Corporation across the bottom for Model 10E’s sold through other retailers.

Those early printed Owner's Guides gave no indication of when they were printed. On the back cover of both versions is 84(O) P --1G on the lower left corner and 4831 on the lower right corner. The printed 10E Owner's Guides I have and have seen only include the one each Montgomery Ward and Magna Engineering Corporation guides. I have not seen any other editions of a printed Model 10E Owner’s Guide.

The next Owner's Guides I have and have seen start with Rev. A and are for the 10ER. This Owner's Guide does not have any date indication but has 84(O)-P-2G on the lower left corner of the back cover. 10ER Owner's Guides that followed have that same marking until the Feb 52 Owner’s Guide.

Those Printed Owner's Guides I have for the 10E already included changes in them for the 10E. The mounting for the wood extension table to the bar and bracket had changed. The tailstock changed to 2 threaded posts and wing nuts. The Lathe Tool Rest changed to the single cast piece and the Headstock looks to be version 2.

This could be good news as there may be more original manuals out there yet to be found.

A final note here refers back to my first post in this thread. I had said the lowest serial number I had seen from the Eastern Plant was E-1921 but recently Forum Member Joel Gardner purchased S/N E-1143 making his the lowest serial number I now know of from the Eastern Plant. It is possible the Eastern Plant’s serial numbers started with E-1001 but the date is still unknown. That answer may be in the historical documents Everett was allowed to copy at Shopsmith.

[chapmanruss]

On the 75th Anniversary I finished the restoration of the second Model 10E I have from the original 250 shipped to West Coast Montgomery Wards Stores. Serial number 1076 is shown in the foreground in the picture below with S/N 1077 behind it. They are on matching wood benches I made from the Magna Plans included with Model 10's. Serial number 1077 was moved from the bench it was on to this matching wood bench and now has its original A. O. Smith 1/2 HP Motor, the same motor as S/N 1076 has.

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Below is a picture of the early A. O. Smith Motor which was discussed earlier in this thread on page 2.

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A O Smith 1-2 HP Motor early version r.jpg (140.07 KiB) Viewed 31864 times

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That motor shown in the picture above was taken prior to cleanup and painting.

I am still working on Shopsmith Model 10E serial number 1033. One of the difficulties I am having is a lack of some of the original parts to complete it. The Quill Gauge Collar and the two-piece Lathe Tool Rest are a couple of them. For now, I will use later parts for replacements to the original parts I need. As I find them Original Model 10E parts will replace the later version parts.

[figgs19720]

I just picked up this model shopsmith yesterday and was looking on the website and was curious why it looked nothing like the models on the website that shows them through the years so I was wondering if it was a knockoff or Frankenstein that someone pieced together in their garage/shed until I decided to google "oldest shopsmith lathes" and stumbled across this forum. its great reading this to learn more about it so I can get a better perspective of the lathe and its differences.

[chapmanruss]

figgs19720,

Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum.

I commented on your post in the other Subject you commented on in A 10ER with speed changer/Not close to Home. Hopefully you find that of interest. I would encourage you to start your own topic here on the Forum where you can ask questions specific to your Shopsmith Tool. I am interested in what Shopsmith Tool you picked up. Do include pictures as they do help in describing things. As you may be discovering the Shopsmith Tools going back to even the first Model 10E are not just a Lathe but a 5 in 1 Tool that also includes a Table Saw, Disk Sander, Horizontal Boring Machine (a Drill Press laying down) and a Drill Press.

[chapmanruss]

I thought it was time for an update. In another topic member Mike (TurramurraShopSmith) from Sydney Australia had this to say,

The Australian 10ERs were assembled here by C.C. Engineering in Sydney in the early '50s and that is probably why they had cast iron table extensions. Magna probably just shipped out all their old castings! I have seen several Australian 10ERs and they all had the cast iron table extension.

Several times going back to John Burger's first post on page 1 we have speculated on the origin of the Cast Iron Extension Table. I believe we now have the answer thanks to Mike. On page 11 I talked about a possible connection between the Model 10 Cast Iron Extension Table and the Mark 5/V Cast Iron Table. Almost 2 years ago I had already come to the belief that the Mark 5/V Cast Iron Extension Table actually came from one of the Clone tools. For that see my post dated April 6, 2023 on page 10 of the Topic Shopsmith Mark 5 What When and Where.

What I know about the Shopsmith Model 10E and 10ER comes from the 26 tools I have owned, studying documents like manuals, catalogs, etc., seeing pictures of hundreds of Model 10's but most importantly information provided by other Forum Members. Thanks to all of you for helping this becoming a more complete source of information on the Model 10E and 10ER.

For those of you who have more recently read through this entire thread I apologize for links that no longer work. Due to website changes some links have been lost.

[sawdustfun]

Russ, I mistakenly posted this as a reply to when you got me dimensions for a storage stand I was building. I have acquired 3 model 10s, you know how that happens. Each has a different model/serial number format. For your historical data would you have any interest in me sending you the numbers and how each is outfitted as far as possible running product changes? Bob