Shopsmith Forums

bainin said

Just looked at mine out of curiosity.

51-001381

I guess this puts me in roughly Feb 1986 timeframe.

The 3 months Jan/Feb/Mar 96 not being assigned, but using the Apr start # 2291
and a total of 90 days (Jan-Mar) minus weekends (22 days) means they were producing on average 33 units per day. Does that seem reasonable?

That is probably as good of a guess as any. The Mark V 510 (and the now almost forgotten 505) were introduced in 1985 but I do not know in what month or the starting serial number.

chapmanruss wrote: That is probably as good of a guess as any. The Mark V 510 (and the now almost forgotten 505) were introduced in 1985 but I do not know in what month or the starting serial number.

Also, how long after the introduction of the 505/510 was the 500 still made and sold? Today the 510, 520 and Mk 7 are all available for purchase new from SS.

Brenda asked,

Also, how long after the introduction of the 505/510 was the 500 still made and sold? Today the 510, 520 and Mk 7 are all available for purchase new from SS.

That is a question I have not found out the answer to yet. The 500 and 505 were discontinued after the 520 came out but I have to research when that was. I need to spend some time looking at old catalogs to find when they were no longer included. I hope I have the right catalogs to find that out. Of course, if anybody else knows when, let us know.

reible wrote:Hi,

At some point (in the 50's) a company called Yuba Power Products acquired Magna Engineering.

Yuba then sold it to a group of employees who created the Magna American Corp. They moved sometime around 1964. That company ended on 31 Dec 1966.

Ed

It appears that Yuba aquired Magna in March 1958:

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3661051 ... res_magna/

They sold it to the employee group just over three years later in June 1961:

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3661112 ... lls_magna/
__________

Kenn,
Thanks for the links to the newspaper articles. It is always nice to see documentation from the time it happened to confirm what we know or think we know about the history of the Shopsmith. The March 1958 article did not mention that Yuba Consolidated Industries also purchased another company that they merged with Magna to become Yuba Power Products and made the Yard Smith Power garden tools too.

I am guessing that you are referring to Weber Products. They bought them two months after buying Magna.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3766521 ... _products/

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3766540 ... alifornia/

Yes, I was referring to Weber Products.

My recently purchased MkV with 520 fence has a model # 555540 and a serial number of 072793. Does this mean that the mfg date is July 27, 1993? It has the red paddle power switch.

The SPT's all have serial numbers in the format of "xx-xx-xx", which is easily identifiable as a date.

Would I be correct in assuming my 520 has been upgraded to the 520 fence? According to my research, the 520 wasn't sold until 1999. No documentation / manuals came with my purchase. https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/faq/markv.htm

Your conclusions are all correct. I have a 510 purchased that same year and it is now a 520 (upgraded).

I have the option to buy an old "Goldie". Serial # 379185. I'm guessing that was early 1963? Also guessing it has the 1 & 1/8 h.p. motor?