Shopsmith Forums

So for Christmas my wonderful girlfriend managed to surprise me with what I believe is a 1963 Mark 5 Shopsmith. It came from Kansas and was bought from the wife of the single owner, who passed away over 15 years ago. My girlfriend took her dad and uncle with her to get it, neither have had shopsmiths. It was setup in the original owners workshop with pieces scattered. They got everything they thought went with it. After looking over everything I believe it is all there. Including the original owners manual.

I disassembled the headstock following videos on youtube in order to inspect bearings and all the components. None of the bearings were very impressive, all were stiff and dry feeling. 2 made significant noise when spinning. So I have all new bearings on the way. It is a Poly V Drive, single bearing quill, 1 1/8HP AO Smith motor, Serial Number 374159.

So a couple of questions,
Does this add up to a '63?
Was a blade guard and casters standard equipment or accessories?

Welcome to the forum. The casters were an accessory and I think they still are. I am not sure when the blade guard switched from being an accessory to part of the standard equipment.

Casters and blade guard were extra cost items.

My 1963 Goldie was purchased(by me) in early 1963 sn 377425

Your Mark 5's serial number is close to the last known serial number production dates for 1961 and it would be safe to say it was made in the first quarter of 1962.

You can get castors and blade guards for it still. The castors made today are basically the same as ones made in 1962 although in 1962 they may have had steel wheels still. In this case you can buy new or used. As for the blade guards I would recommend getting a later set for it. The early Mark 5 Blade Guard set was for 9" blades and had a square discharge chute. Hard to connect to dust collection. The set shown below is parts numbers 505627 (upper) & 505628 (lower) and works well as a replacement on early Mark 5's. It connects by clamping the lower guard to the end of the quill.When looking for one for sale make sure all of the parts are there. Commonly missing is the heavy wire loop on the front of the upper guard called the shoe which lifts the guard over the wood being cut. Without the shoe the guard is worthless.