Shopsmith Forums

So I brought home a Mark V yesterday afternoon. It us in mint condition. Loving used and cared for by an older gentleman who for health reasons just couldn't use it any longer.I'm confused as to what exactly I have. Model number says 555510 and was advertised as a 510. The Serial number is 04XXXX which would made it built in 1979 which I believe is in 500 model days. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Also, is there anyway of telling whether the two bearing quill up grade had been done with out tearing it apart?

Shopsmith is unique in that even old machines made back in the 1950's(Mark 5's) can be undated to newer 510/520 machines. My 1976 is now a Mark 7 with a powerpro headstock, 520 table system and the dual tilt, new red casters and so on. So using just the serial number/date code doesn't tell you what you have.

The easy way is to take a picture and post it here. We can tell you what you have table wise be it a 500 or 510 or 520. I would not go by the sellers listing as I see a lot of them that are not correct.

The other option is to visit this page:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/toolhistory.htm

You can more then likely figure out what you have from the information there.

If the serial number is correct then it will not have that two bearing quill from the factory. If it has been changed out you will have to pull it to see if it has the second bearing. This is not a big deal. If you look at the top of the headstock there is a setscrew, on this age of machine it will have some hard junk filling the allen head. If the quill has been removed then that gunk will have to be removed to access the setscrew. If it is still filled in then the quill has not been removed and you will not have a two bearing quill. On the other hand if it has then you still will not know and will have to proceed to remove the quill and look.

If you do decide to "look in to it" there are instructions here on the forum for how to do it and what to look for. Or ask and someone will go over it again.

Ed

Can you fill us in the 4 X's left blank. They will indicate a date code. Probably April of some year. Model 510 machines came along later than 79 and date codes were not used until I think about 1987 but I will have to check.
Go to the Shopsmith website and you can find under the "info" tab a list of serial numbers and the dates of manufacture.
If your machine does indeed have the 510 tables then it is most probably an updated model. A picture of what you have would help greatly.
Two bearing quills were introduced in 1984 or thereabouts.
Bill V

Wack wrote:So I brought home a Mark V yesterday afternoon. It us in mint condition. Loving used and cared for by an older gentleman who for health reasons just couldn't use it any longer.I'm confused as to what exactly I have. Model number says 555510 and was advertised as a 510. The Serial number is 04XXXX which would made it built in 1979 which I believe is in 500 model days. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Also, is there anyway of telling whether the two bearing quill up grade had been done with out tearing it apart?

Starting in 1988 Shopsmith stopped using "serial" numbers, (ie. each machine got a unique number in serial order) and started using a date code (MM/DD/YY) instead.
So it is entirely possible that you have a 510 made after 1988 in the month of April.

Thanks Ron,

"Serial" Number is 042788 so from your information I'm gathering it's a 510 manufactured April 27, 1988. This makes WAY more sense given what I'm looking at. Will post pictures in the future and also I'm sure I'll post many questions as I transition from what I'll call more traditional wood working machines. So far I'm very impressed with this machine.

Lubricate, Clean and Wax then do a complete calibration (especially table to blade).

Good advice Dusty,

I typically do this with all my machines periodically and its pretty remarkable how much they can "drift". I'm referring to "professional" grade stuff. But I have manuals and instructions for them. I was not able to get the original owners manual for this MK V 510. I have ordered the Self Study Guide, Speed Control Chart and a PDF copy of the MK V owners manual from Jacob's Repair shop. Hopefully I'll find some guidance from them or I'll just have to wing it. If you have any alignment tips it would be greatly appreciated.

Mike