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badtheba has discovered something we (or at least I) didn't know existed in the 10E/10ER world until now.

I ask him to share his discovery!

Everett

In making progress on my 10ER rebuild, I had left the base and headrest attached until last night. When I brushed off some of the grease and foreign substances and got the parts unbolted, I was shocked at the light weight of the 4E jointer headrest, and confirmed it is aluminum.

Worried about the warnings I had received about not letting the jointer drop for fear that irreplaceable parts would crack, I had remembered an illustration in Everett's production changes document that showed an extended board off the bench for support for the jointer. In looking for that illustration I found his statement in that document that "I have never seen nor can I envision a Jointer Headstock Headrest made in anything but Cast Iron due to the weight of the Jointer it supports." So apparently I have an oddity? The plate that the jointer itself bolts to is cast iron. I also have the original 10ER headrest that was in a crate of parts, and it is cast iron.

I have compared it to pictures of other ones online, and there do appear to be casting variations from what I can see, but it's hard to tell if there's any difference in material.

Pictures to follow.

It's obvious the paint is quite thin on this piece, and either of a different type or didn't adhere as well as on the cast iron pieces. I'm leaning toward a different type of paint, as it didn't scratch as easily with a wire brush as the paint on other pieces.

Thanks!

The only two I have seen in person were iron as I had to lift one into a blast cabinet, and the other a fellow in Kansas had his magnetic base shop light stuck to it.

Glad you found it and recognized it varied from what I had seen to date.

Are there any casting numbers on it? I could not see any in the photos.

Also, if I remember correctly John Burger has two of the 4E's with mounts. Maybe he can weigh in on what his are made of.

Everett

everettdavis wrote:Thanks!

The only two I have seen in person were iron as I had to lift one into a blast cabinet, and the other a fellow in Kansas had his magnetic base shop light stuck to it.

Glad you found it and recognized it varied from what I had seen to date.

Are there any casting numbers on it? I could not see any in the photos.

Also, if I remember correctly John Burger has two of the 4E's with mounts. Maybe he can weigh in on what his are made of.

Everett

That's interesting, there isn't a single number or identifying mark anywhere on it. I drove back to my office to check. I'm nervous about handling the thing now. Maybe I'll mount the original headrest to my new bench and bolt the 4E to something I can put in Skip's SPT adapter.

Do you know of a casting number on the iron ones?

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Everett - Mine is also Aluminum not Cast Iron. It is with Jointer Model 4E serial number 2145.

Also another part change to note in the Cast Iron vs. Aluminum. The Quill Collar when changed from the bolt on style to the ones that would accept attachment were first Cast Iron then Aluminum. I have a Cast Iron one that came on 10E serial number 8865. It's a bit bulkier than the Aluminum ones. Sorry I do not have a picture of just it.

everettdavis wrote:Thanks!

The only two I have seen in person were iron as I had to lift one into a blast cabinet, and the other a fellow in Kansas had his magnetic base shop light stuck to it.

Glad you found it and recognized it varied from what I had seen to date.

Are there any casting numbers on it? I could not see any in the photos.

Also, if I remember correctly John Burger has two of the 4E's with mounts. Maybe he can weigh in on what his are made of.

Everett

Yes, I have 2 jointers, 3 head rests and two hinge plates. I never really paid any attention to them as they came to me freshly painted. The jointers and all the rest of the parts have been in the corner of the shop for a couple of years waiting for me to get a couple more of my machines refurbished.

Anyhow, the hinge plates are indeed cast iron. The head rests are identical to badtheba's and are non magnetic. They seem fairly heavy to me for aluminum but that must be what they are. They are pretty robust castings. I certainly would not hesitate to use them. There are no casting numbers on any of them.

Here are some random thoughts I have on this. We know at sometime in the 10ER production Magna went to a standard headrest made from aluminum. My assumption is that occurred towards the tail end of production. I also have thought the 4E jointer came out towards the end of production. So the very first jointer headrests were cast iron and then when Magna went to aluminum for the standard headrest they did the same for the jointer headrest. We know that there are more cast iron standard headrests than aluminum due to the time line. There may be way more aluminum jointer headrests than cast iron again due to the time line. The issue is the jointer headrest sample size is extremely small and nobody has noticed the difference in the past. Maybe because most of them are in fact aluminum.

jsburger wrote:

everettdavis wrote:Thanks!

The only two I have seen in person were iron as I had to lift one into a blast cabinet, and the other a fellow in Kansas had his magnetic base shop light stuck to it.

Glad you found it and recognized it varied from what I had seen to date.

Are there any casting numbers on it? I could not see any in the photos.

Also, if I remember correctly John Burger has two of the 4E's with mounts. Maybe he can weigh in on what his are made of.

Everett

Yes, I have 2 jointers, 3 head rests and two hinge plates. I never really paid any attention to them as they came to me freshly painted. The jointers and all the rest of the parts have been in the corner of the shop for a couple of years waiting for me to get a couple more of my machines refurbished.

Anyhow, the hinge plates are indeed cast iron. The head rests are identical to badtheba's and are non magnetic. They seem fairly heavy to me for aluminum but that must be what they are. They are pretty robust castings. I certainly would not hesitate to use them. There are no casting numbers on any of them.

Here are some random thoughts I have on this. We know at sometime in the 10ER production Magna went to a standard headrest made from aluminum. My assumption is that occurred towards the tail end of production. I also have thought the 4E jointer came out towards the end of production. So the very first jointer headrests were cast iron and then when Magna went to aluminum for the standard headrest they did the same for the jointer headrest. We know that there are more cast iron standard headrests than aluminum due to the time line. There may be way more aluminum jointer headrests than cast iron again due to the time line. The issue is the jointer headrest sample size is extremely small and nobody has noticed the difference in the past. Maybe because most of them are in fact aluminum.

Thanks for the pictures. Mine having the paint worn though in several spots definitely has all the look and feel of aluminum. The timeline issues you bring up definitely would explain a difference in paint quality I'm seeing. However, with the jointer being the messiest part of my find, the mounting plate is in near perfect condition with almost no rust showing through anywhere. Unless it's just a problem with the paint adhering poorly to the various parts, it may not be a safe assumption that everything stayed together since purchased new.

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The 4E Jointers did not come out until almost the end of the Model 10ER production. Shopsmith Shavings No. 8 page 2 is all about the new 4" Jointer. It's the same Shopsmith Shavings No. 8 that page 1 is all about announcing the new Mark 5. Shopsmith Shavings No. 8 does not have a date but 7 is copyright 1953 and 9 is copyright 1955. I believe No. 8 came out late 1953 or the very early 1954.

I don't know if they stayed in production past the release of the Mark 5 and the Jointer Model 620's introduction since Magna made the SPT adapters right away for the Model 10's to use the new SPT's.

Mine is Serial Number 2145 and the highest serial number I have seen is 9108.