Shopsmith Forums

How Magna packed those smaller accessories

I’ve heard a number of my fellow vintage machine enthusiasts state that one of the best parts of acquiring a new old machine is looking through the “goodie box” - the place where the previous owner stashed a lot of the add-on parts, accessories, docs, etc. - you just never know what you’re going to find!

I’m the same way with packs of documents I pick up on eBay - I always look forward to the other stuff that’s tucked in with what the seller thought was valuable. Got one of those document packs recently, and this was inside (the card came with the documents - I added the Allen wrench just for the picture):
. I’ve seen lots of similar tags that were attached to new SPTs back in the day, but had no clue how the minor accessories like Allen wrenches were packed with the Mark 5 until I saw this. Always surprising what folks saved back in the day…

Magna Marketing to Their Best Prospects

This is [physically] the smallest article of Magna marketing literature I’ve ever seen - a 2.75” x 4” fold-out directed to their best prospects: current Shopsmith owners!

The 7-panel parable from early 1955 encourages existing Model 10-ER owners to return to their dealer for some advice on options to privately sell or trade in their venerable old “SMITTY” in favor of the new, state-of-the-art Mark 5.
. One of those options - trade-in - didn’t appear to have much institutional support from Magna. Here’s their guidance to dealers on the topic from the same era. Sounds like, “Hey, don’t give them too much in trade and cripple your business. And oh, by the way, don’t look to us to contribute…”
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Montgomery Ward-branded 10-E Manual

Picked up a 10-E (serial number E 8100) machine this weekend - didn’t really need another in the garage, but the price was right ($0!), so what the heck, right? It’ll be a bit of a project to bring back to life, but that’s the fun part…

Anyway, it came with some original documentation, which always piques my interest, and I got a nice one to add to the collection!
. Have never seen a Montgomery Ward-branded version of the 10-E manual before! What other MW-branded SS manuals are out there??

I believe those Model 10E ones were the only Owner's Guide or Manuals to have the Montgomery Ward name on them. All the Model 10ER Owner's Guides, the two Jig Saw Manuals and the Model 4E Jointer Manual I have seen do not. The Article Nos. did continue on later Owner's Guides and Manuals which I suspect was a Montgomery Ward reference thing. The Model 10E Magna Engineering Corporation Owner's Guide cover pictured below does not have Article Nos. It is the same Owner's Guide as the Montgomery Ward Owner's Guide but for Model 10E's sold by other dealers.

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Sorry I cannot check my library of Shopsmith printed materials to verify this, but all of that is packed for the movers. So much to pack still by next Tuesday morning.

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Mon Jun 19, 2023 11:52 am the two Jig Saw Manuals… I have seen do not.

Russ, once your move is complete, you and I should compare notes on our respective catalogs of manuals! I’ve got a few variants of the jigsaw manual (5 in total, if you count back cover variations).
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Vintage 5-in-1 Brochures

Some of the recent posts to this thread about manuals got me thinking a bit about some other items in my document collection. And while I was organizing some of those document files today, I thought a group shot was in order! This is a sampling of Shopsmith brochures covering all the 5-in-1 systems from the 1940s through the 1960s.

There are a lot of variants to these that I don’t have pictured - the greenie Mark 5 ones in particular used a lot of different back covers.
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The Mark 2 brochure always makes me laugh a little bit. It starts out with presents "the all new SHOPSMITH mark 2" but ends with "NOW ONLY $179.90" making it sound like a price reduction. What, a price reduction on a new item?

Of course, it is much cheaper when compared to the Mark V at that time.

Thank you for sharing! Love seeing old advertising.

rcsaylor wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 7:14 pm Thank you for sharing! Love seeing old advertising.

Thanks for tuning in and commenting! I’ve been collecting these items for so long - it’s great to have a chance to share them with the community.

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:03 pm The Mark 2 brochure always makes me laugh a little bit. It starts out with presents "the all new SHOPSMITH mark 2" but ends with "NOW ONLY $179.90" making it sound like a price reduction.

Yeah, the pricing history on Mark 2 systems is hard to follow. Even that $179.90 price only got you a system without a motor or stand - just like 10-E days!
. Then sometime later, that same $179.90 dropped to $159.88! Even then, it would cost you around $209 to get a usable Mark 2 (with motor and stand).
. Then to confuse things further, i have a documented purchase of a system, motor, and stand in April 1958 for $189.88! Same part numbers as the catalog… they just don’t add up to the total of the catalog prices.
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