Shopsmith Forums

1955 Mark 5 Brochure Featuring the Future Bandsaw/Belt Sander

Hard to believe I started this thread over a year ago! Thanks to all those who have contributed, commented, and shared some of the interesting vintage items that have been included with their machine purchases over the years.

Yesterday, I received an eBay purchase of a couple of greenie Mark 5 brochures from June 1955:
. I have a number of these from this print date, and will acquire good condition examples like these if they have something unique about them - like the dealer stamps on these:
. The San Bruno retailer must have had some close relations with Magna back at that time, being just 20 miles up the road from Menlo Park HQ…

Anyway, I digress… What struck me this morning as I was flipping through these two was that while the the glossy cover pic featured all 5 SPTs that were ultimately available in the late 1950s (similar 1954 brochures only featured the two SPTs available at the initial release of the Mark 5 - the jointer and jigsaw), the inner brochure pages (and the back of the pamphlet) were missing the bandsaw and belt sander:
. And while I’m sure the bandsaw and belt sander must have been under development at that time, they were likely only in mock-up form on the glossy cover pic. A little design feature that never made it to the eventual bandsaw design appears to confirm this (who can spot it??!):
. . Thanks for continuing to tune into this thread. I have a few more memorabilia items I look forward to sharing soon…

Thank you Mr. Dalton for collecting and posting all these items over the year(s).

This forum has just the people who can appreciate and learn from them as I have.

jpdalton wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 11:36 am And while I’m sure the bandsaw and belt sander must have been under development at that time, they were likely only in mock-up form on the glossy cover pick. A little design feature that never made it to the eventual bandsaw design appears to confirm this (who can spot it??!):

The version shown seems to have an extra cover knob.

- David

DLB wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 6:18 pm The version shown seems to have an extra cover knob.

That was my observation as well. Can’t really see enough detail in the image of the belt sander to tell whether there are any obvious prototype features on that one as well.

SteveMaryland wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 2:12 pm This forum has just the people who can appreciate and learn from them as I have.

Thanks, Steve! I’m just happy to have a place where I can share some of these items with the larger community.

I hadn't really looked that close at the old brochures to spot those differences. I have those brochures myself from that time period. I see a couple of other changes from the Bandsaw shown in the brochure to the production ones. It appears that there is only 1 miter slot on the table. The Magna Logo is not painted like the production ones as seen on my restored 1956 Bandsaw shown below.

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The Belt Sander appears to be different than the production model. Note the location of the belt tensioner in John's picture. It is on the wrong side.

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Mon Feb 27, 2023 11:01 am It appears that there is only 1 miter slot on the table. The Magna Logo is not painted like the production ones as seen on my restored 1956 Bandsaw shown below.

Good catch on those additional features missing from the mock-up bandsaw! The mock-up also appears to lack some of the top/bottom symmetry that your production unit displays.

Did you have to refinish the painted logo on your restoration? That’s a beautiful condition cover - mine was a bit scuffed up, but cleaned up well. I also opted not to attempt a repaint on the logo, but I would like to fill it in a bit better…
. I did find some surprise instructions still in great shape inside the cover - I guess not all Magna documents come in a 3-ring binder!
.

I did repaint the name and logo since some of the original paint had worn off.

10-inch Sandpaper Discs??

Got a pretty unique item from an eBay purchase recently - a pack of 10-inch sandpaper discs (with original packaging, of course)! Based on the style of the Shopsmith logo featured on the packaging, this is from the Mark VII era.
. …Mark VII logo medallion added for reference.

For the longest time, I had only known of the traditional 12-inch sanding disc, and only recently was made aware of a 9-inch version that was created to accompany the Sawsmith RAS.

But I went back to my trusty stash of accessory catalogs, and there they were… 10-inch discs and paper! And while as late as the March 1965 Magna American catalog the 12-inch disc was offered as standard for the Mark VII and 9-inch disc was standard for the Sawsmith,
. …the January 1966 catalog suggested a 10-inch disc was now standard for both machines.
. Based on its price tag, this sandpaper pack was sold from Montgomery Ward, but must have been in the bargain bin with the markdowns it experienced.
. Anyone ever see one of these 10-inch sanding discs??

As I understand it the 10" Sanding Disk came with the Mark VII in the 1960's. It is a double-sided Sanding Disk with a flat face and conical on the hub side. The conical side has a lesser degree than the 12" Conical Sanding Disk which has a 4-degree slant. I have a 10" double-sided Sanding Disk which is shown below.

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