Shopsmith Forums

just wondering if the early machines are heavier overall than the newer ones with the plastic guards and and parts?i assume the earlies had steel/tin and cast iron.Were the legs on the earlies cast iron too?
In all honesty i was surprised to see so much plastic on the '88 i just bought.I like the machine so far and hope to get a couple more.i love vintage /antique equipment hense all the questions.There are a couple Greenies and a Brown one up my way forsale along with a hand full of the grey machines.Thanks

For heavier metal on a Shopsmith machine, you have to go way back before the Goldies and the Greenies, to the late 40's and early 50's. That is when they made the 10E and 10er's.

Here's a link where you can see some gorgeous restored machines.

With a bit of patience, these can be had for around $100 in unrestored condition, or in very nice condition for well under $500.

The model 10 had cast iron castings. The model 10 way tubes have 1/4" thick walls.

The 'A' headstock(early greenies) were sand castings and are heavier than later 'B' and 'C' castings, but are also rougher and the movable sheaves are without oil holes and no access hole. Supposedly the newest Mark V have thinner tubes, but I have not compared those(yet).

BuckeyeDennis wrote:For heavier metal on a Shopsmith machine, you have to go way back before the Goldies and the Greenies, to the late 40's and early 50's. That is when they made the 10E and 10er's.

Here's a link where you can see some gorgeous restored machines.

With a bit of patience, these can be had for around $100 in unrestored condition, or in very nice condition for well under $500.

WOW,That is some fine restoration work.Where is this guy located?that would be the way to for a dependable great looking Vintage machine.i hadn't even considered the 10er but they look great.Thanks for the link.

paulsgreenbarn wrote:WOW,That is some fine restoration work.Where is this guy located?

He lives in Hurst, TX... which is part of the large concrete block known as Dallas / Fort Worth.

JPG40504 wrote:The model 10 had cast iron castings. The model 10 way tubes have 1/4" thick walls.

Not quite (barely). The early ERs had .2 thick walls. (.25 would be 1/4 inch.) The later ones, only (about) 1/8th inch thick.

Yes, Skip does do some AMAZING work. He also sells parts, and reproduces some parts, too. His DC conversions almost update an ER to PowerPro standards. I've got one, and swear by it. It will spin a dull Magna 8 inch dado blade, cutting a 1/2 by 1/2 cut, without breaking a sweat.

http://www.mkctools.com/index.html

steve

They 'look' thicker!:D I was 'measuring' by virtue of a 1 1/4" freeze plug used to spin a pair. I did not know there were different 'gauges'.

Perhaps the very ends are thicker(the result of cutting them to length).