Shopsmith Forums

I recently acquired a shopsmith with missing parts but functional as just a lathe. I cannot find a label plate. Can someone tell me what i am missing or what model i have and a year range? Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I didn't see a similar post.

I am gonna say an early SS Inc. Mark 5.

For starters you need a belt cover(with vent plate).

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... =SHOPSMITH

Any of them will fit(the green one has extra holes).

P.S. Also missing at least one screw holding the motor pan.

I don't know the earlier models as well as JPG, but I will try to add a little more info.

Do you have more than what you show in the picture? If not, you are missing quite a bit. You can look through the "sticky" posts at the top of this Maintenance and Repair Forum to learn more about Shopsmiths in general and what was typically included. One of the best documents may be Everett Davis' "Buying a used Shopsmith v2.pdf" located on his Google Drive. Here is a link directly to it:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... EpSUm9GMW8

I can add that the larger label to the right of the headstock is not something I have seen before, if that is any clue. My Mark V from 1980 had a much smaller label there. I have seen newer models where a label about that size and in that general area is a speed chart for lathe work. Is any part of the label legible? It may too that a previous owner placed some sort of a home-made label there and it won't help date the machine at all.

The missing belt cover would have had the most info to date the machine ... the serial number on the vent plate.

If you haven't explored ebay yet, you can likely find missing parts like the belt cover there, for which JPG already did a search and posted the link. There are numerous sellers who "part out" machines. And you can check local ads like Craigslist ... you may find a more or less complete machine that can be salvaged and provide more missing parts (and for a lower total price) than buying them one at a time.

More pictures of what you do have will help us identify what you are missing. A picture of the entire Shopsmith would also be helpful. We are happy to help you identify any parts.

The labels on the headstock would be, if not worn off, the caution label for the speed control to the left of the switch and to the right of the switch a speed chart for lathe turning. It should look like the picture below. The Picture file below can be printed on clear label sheets and attached over the silver label material on the headstock as a replacement for the caution label. It is a replica I made for Mark 5 Greenies and Goldies I restore. Sorry the page number given relates to a specific Mark 5 manual and other manuals are referenced on different pages. Commonly page 2, 4 and as shown here 6. The Lathe Face Plate attached to the spindle is an extra accessory.

Find a screw to replace the missing one and any other missing ones for the motor pan. As it is the lower belt is helping hold up the motor pan.

All i have is the head stock pictured, stand and rails, the tool rest, and the dead center on the end for the lathe. Enough for it to function as a lathe.

The reason we have asked for more pictures is it can help us identify what you have. In the picture below there are two red ovals. In the one on the left is the belt cover. Do you have the belt cover for your machine? It has the Serial Number attached to it unless someone has removed the vent plate with it on it. The oval to the right is the carriage and can tell us if you have a Mark V 500 or a Mark V 510/520. The carriage is part of the table system and varies by model. The frame, Headstock and most other parts are the same for all Mark V models made after 1985. Before 1985 there was only the one Mark V model.

Bob said

Since you have no tables, it`s a 500 built before the change to the C hesdstock.

That it not totally true. The Carriage, which I am assuming is still on the machine since it is used for the lathe tool rest, will still determine if it is a 500 or a 510/520. Without additional pictures we can only continue to guess.

The cover was missing when i got it and the carriage looks nothing like the one above. My carriage has a wheel to adjust the height of the tool rest and the lock to the right of that. I will try to get more pictures to load tomorrow, it took me 30 min to get the one i loaded in the first post right and loaded. Thanks for the info!

If the carriage has a wheel, then it is a 510 or a 520, the tables are the same but rails are different, 510 the rails are tubes, 520 the rails are aluminum extrusions.