Shopsmith Forums

Like many followers of this forum, I own more than one Shopsmith. I own a 1950 model 10er with the jointer attached and a 1955 Mark V, with a bandsaw, beltsander, and a variety of the accessories. I also own a separate tablesaw, 6" jointer, 16" bandsaw, and 15" floor drill press, which obviously make some of the Shopsmith functions redundant. Because I have the separate machines, my MKV is mostly used to drive the SPT's, some drilling, and occasional lathework. This past year, my 10er has mostly sat unused. I'm considering selling the 10er to make some room in the shop, or maybe to replace it with a newer MKV with the 510 or 520 tables.

So, I'd like to ask if there are any functions that are better done on a 10er than a MKV? Also, if you own both a 10er and a MKV, which do you use more, and why?

I know the easy answer is to keep both units and buy a 510 and a 520, and use all of them, but space and the budget won't allow that!

I have 3 10ER's and use 2 of them for practically every project. One has the speed changer belts on the low setting and have the jigsaw mounted a lot of the time, the other has the speed changer belts set to the high position and use it in table saw, sanding, and drillpress mode. i also use them for infeed/outfeed as needed. The third one is in rebuild and will be a permanent drill press (I have an idea to keep the 10ER intact with bench/legs/wheels and will be able to set it horizontal or verticle at will if needed. My 500 runs most of the SPT's except the jointer which I run on the Mark 7. The Mark 7 does most of my sawing (I have a compound sliding miter for cross cuts), and most of my routing.

So, to answer the question, all of them on most projects.

My shop is 20 x 30, so a little bigger than many, but (IMO) too small for dedicated machines, plus I wouldn't have the extra functionality of a SS.

JMHO

There is one area the Model 10 can do something the Mark 5 cannot. In the drill press mode it can do compound angles. The table on a Shopsmith in drill press mode angles front to back instead of side to side as most stand alone drill presses do. But on a Model 10 the table can be tilted both front to back and by removing the front or back table post from the carriage it can be tilted left or right also. See the old Shopsmith Shavings Issue #5. I recommending using a wedge or blocks to support the post out of the carriage. There are angle limitations but doing this on a Mark 5 would require an angled jig.

I can't really compare since my 10ER is still in pieces and work left to do to finish it so right now it gets zero use. I did have another ER which I collected and got working (not redone) that I used for a bit so I could evaluate it for use by my brother. I delivered it and and we did some projects with it.

So here are just a few observations that might be useful.

The 10ER which my brother has doesn't have the speed changer, so it requires belt changes and has a limit range of speeds. The table is quite small and with sawing a bit larger table is nicer. We did rip a bunch of stock but with only a 1/2hp motor it was a bit weak even with the smaller blade that it takes. There was no dust collection so while shopsmiths later machines are not the best at dust collection it is still far better then none which is common on the 10ER.

Some people like the extra weight of cast iron, me not so much. This is more then likely a mix blessing if you have to move it about and up and down in to vertical drill press mode. Perhaps when you are younger and more fit this is not such a big deal. With the newer machines shopsmith sells a lift kit so there can be a lot less strain.

The added weight comes in as an advantage with lathe work but not so much for the other operations.

Then comes SPT's, all the newer machines can take all of the tools as they come from the factory. The 10ER can use them but, finding vintage kits is a task and they don't come cheap. Skip sells an adapter which I got of mine but it still wasn't cheap.

While a lot of attachments fit the older machine not all of them do. So depending on what you are expecting to do or what tools you want to add this could be an issue.

A lot of these things are very dependent on what you expect to do and if there are advantages to having a 10ER over a new model or via-averse. Only you can answer that.

The 10ER I have I've wired to run in forward/reverse, it has the speed changer and it has the adapter to use SPT's. I've replaced the bearings and a lot of the painting refurbishing is done. As such I'm looking forward to adding it to the shop and at the same time I'm wondering if I'm crazy. It is just as likely that it may get sold as it is that it gets worked into my shop at this point.

Anyway some food for thought.

Ed

My Mark 5 got stalled in reassembly,

I use my 10ER's for everything.

My 10-ER is currently not in use but it sits in a bad corner and a simple move (includes relocating a lot of miss-located crap) should change that picture greatly.
I have been told for many years that the 10-ER with its more rigid frame is much better when using the mortising attachment than the Mark V. As stated too the extra weight is said to be an advantage in lathe work along with the easy possibility of having a reverse feature.
I would like to someday add a speed control to my 10-ER. Before my 1988 model 510 (bought new) I never owned a variable speed lathe other than belt changing and can work without that feature but I do often find it comforting to be able to make minor tweaks to find that "sweet spot".

I need to make a fairly large number of boxes and drawers and at the moment I am looking around the shop for the best option to use to set up an almost semi-permanent box joint set up. Maybe the 10-ER is that machine?