Shopsmith Forums

I have been refurbishing a 510 that I picked up about 6-months ago. I am all done and as I am getting ready to sell it I was looking for the serial number which I thought was always on the vent plate. To my surprise it was not there and I looked all over the headstock and still found nothing. Anybody have any idea where it would be?

It may not be there. At some point in time Shopsmith moved away from serial numbers and started using date codes which were on stickers on the headstock. Sounds like yours went missing.
Bill V

I have 2 shopsmiths. My 84 has the serial # on that plate. My 88 has a sticker, which is located below the plate...Joe

Another date clue would be the version of 510 you have. If the later version it was created in 1986 or later.

Date coding began in 1988 so yours is 30 yr old or younger..

What is the difference between the two versions?

Rails are slight different thickness. The older ones are thicker. OD is the same.

The rails are mounted to the table differently.

The older version uses tapped holes in the table and screws accessed through holes in the front edge of the rails(the most noticeable difference). The jack screws(that tighten into the 'tubes') are small and have a hole for insertion of the ss tool kit to tighten.

The newer(current) version has studs welded to the rail tubes. The mounting holes in the table are drilled only. Kepnuts retain the rails to the table. The spacers between the rails and the table are the same. The location of the center stud is different from the center screw on the older version. The jack screws are thumb wheels(larger with no hole).

The original jack screws with tool hole were quite adept at putting dimples in the 'tubes'.

'tubes' = table to table connecting tubes.

Thanks for that clarification, I have the newer version with the studs welded to the rail tubes. So my machine is 1988 or newer.