Shopsmith Forums

I have a Shopsmith 10ER. I never thought there were so many obsessed with this marvel. My esteem for it has gone up immensely! Before I get to my questions, I would like to tell the story how I came to own it at great relative price.
My father, avid do-it-yourself guy, and I went to a local home show and saw a demonstration of the latest Mark V. Then he was 85 or older and we both had a little lust for the thing. One day, while I was I the hospital recovering from an appendectomy, he called me up and told me he saw an ad in the paper where a construction company was sell "a Shopsmith" with attachment (band saw, disc sander, etc) for $400.00 and he wanted to know if he should buy it for me, as my agent, not a a present. I, of course, was still under the daze of the anesthesia and said hell, yea. Of course, what did I know about Shopsmith and that I was about to be the proud owner of a 50-year old relic that weighed a ton and wasn't even on a classic base. Anyway, I have been using it for year only as a table saw.
I need a motor start-up capacitor since sometimes I have to get it going by using a piece of wood to spin the blade. Finally, the time has come for me to find a new home for it and I was wondering what would be a fair price to expect.
I would be happy to hear any rabid love stories also!

Coincidence! I am trying to decide value on my father's shopsmith (ER) and find out the history. I think he purchased it in the early 1950s. It still runs quietly and I believe has all the parts except the saw guard (he was pretty adventurous but kept all his fingers!). It is on the base but has no wheels.

Over at this thread https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=1201
I wrote about the ER I had just acquired and what I paid for it and what I got with it if it helps you figure out a value, and I just posted pics there of the before and after of the reconditioning. The shape its in now I wouldn't even think about selling it for under $350. That being said there is an upper limit for such an old machine vs finding a nice Mark V for not alot more money.

Matt

We have a model 10ER that was my father in-laws. Just began putting it together and plan to replace the power cord. However I noticed that it appears to have a 220V AC plug on the end. Can this model be ran on 120V without modification? If not, does anyone know what changes need to be made?

Thank you

mada1 wrote:We have a model 10ER that was my father in-laws. Just began putting it together and plan to replace the power cord. However I noticed that it appears to have a 220V AC plug on the end. Can this model be ran on 120V without modification? If not, does anyone know what changes need to be made?

Thank you

Welcome mada1,
Your question can be answered simply, but, knot knowing all of the details, it can also be complicated. Let me try to help by first answering your question the simple way: No, if it is truly set up for use on a 220v circuit, it will knot work on a 110v circuit without modification. I am knot familiar with the ER motor, but many electric motors are "switchable" to run on either 220 or 110. Usually the "switch" is a matter of where the wires hook up on the motor. Knot all motors have that ability. The other thing to consider is did your FIL really plug that into a 220v circuit? I have personally seen some crazy wiring jobs, including some that use the wrong plugs/recetacles for the voltage they are supplying. It is possible (but knot likely) that even though it has a 220 plug on the end of the cord, it is a 110 motor. If that is the case, the answer to your question wood be "Yes". Maybe an EE on this site can answer better, but I wood proceed very carefully; you do knot want to have to replace a perfectly good motor that you just burned up!!!:eek:

mada1 wrote: However I noticed that it appears to have a 220V AC plug on the end.
Thank you

The 220 plug MAYBE so it wasn't plugged into a non-dedicated circuit?

beeg wrote:The 220 plug MAYBE so it wasn't plugged into a non-dedicated circuit?

Bob,
If you are suggesting that there is a possibility that the plug is intended for a 110v circuit, but uses a 220v plug/receptacle, that is exactly what I am talking about when I say "crazy wiring jobs".

mranum wrote:Over at this thread https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=1201
That being said there is an upper limit for such an old machine vs finding a nice Mark V for not alot more money.

Matt

That sentence would be grounds for heating up the tar kettle and ripping open pillows on the "SS10ERusers" email group on Yahoo...
Over there they talk all of the time about how much better the 10-ER is than the Mark V.
If anyone is interested in 10-E's or 10-ER's Skip Campbell runs a really great and informative list and is very knowledgeable himself.
Some of them on that list have owned Mark V's and sold them in favor of their 10-ER.
I favor the Mark V's (and the Mark VII) but I must confess that my 10-ER weighs a whole lot more than my Mark V's. I have not used it enough to really form an opinion to compare. The 10-ER has a lot of cast iron in it. A lot of guys on that list talk about how simple the maintenance is on them. Others rave about how well the extra weight holds it down as a lathe.

Hi,

Again it is location location location.

I've been looking for one as a birthday present for my older brother, to be used as a lathe, he has all the other normal tools (non-shopsmith). So I've been watching the normal outlets and have had some friends keeping their eyes open as well. This was for any shopsmith.... but the following were the results for 10er's in my area.

One ebay one came up for $199.99 ended with no bids...
Another came up for $149.95 ended with no bids...
I'm picking one up in a few hours (ebay buy) $75.00 and I was the only one to bid.

These were over the last month, and are only a sample of ones in my geographic area (driving distance). Can't say for other areas or other times.

Ed

1) Check the plate on the motor.

2) A 120v 20A plug/receptacle look very similar to 1 230v20A version. Each has one 'vertical' blade and one 'horizontal' blade. They are reversed in position.

The important thing is WHAT IS THE MOTOR and ignore what somebody did with the linecord. Then put the proper plug on it.

I do not know if 10e/er came with a 230v motor. I doubt it but it could be 'NON original'.