Shopsmith Forums

My uncle was an avid fisherman and hunter, and he passed away in January after several years of rapidly declining health. He left a lot of old junk cars, push lawn mowers, lawn tractor mowers, other machinery, appliances, welders, tools, old car parts, motors... on his 5 acre farm property. A local farmer has bought the place and is going to just torch the house and barn, bulldoze away anything that doesn't burn, and farm the land.

The barn is about to fall down of its own accord, and the house would need to be gutted to the studs and almost completely rebuilt anyway.

I've been helping my cousins clear out the junk and I've taken over 12,000 lbs of steel to scrap so far--some of it appeared to be more rust than steel, and I get a few $ from the scrap for my trouble that pays for my gas, put new tires on my junk trailer and pay my son something to help. (I've barely started on the aluminum and copper containing items.)

One of the items I pulled out of the barn is an old and very rusty ShopSmith. We weren't sure what to do with it because it is in such a sad state. It also was not easy because it is very heavy and the wheels are pretty much shot. The power cord is very cracked and aged and that at a minimum would have to be replaced. I have no idea whether any moving part of it WILL move anymore.

I have not yet found a label plate that shows a model number. I just got the thing home late this afternoon when I was exhausted and wiped out from the heat of the day. I'll look tomorrow with a fresh eye for any kind of model markings and post some photos also.

My question is I know these things were expensive new, but are they worth anything in this condition? I'm not interested in restoring it, but maybe someone else might be. I might be interested in parting it out in my eBay store if there are any parts of value on it.

Or is it just junk and I should just scrap it out?

I'll post photos tomorrow.

mytoiletsclogged,

Welcome to the Shopsmith Forum.

I would say YES it does have some value. How much will depend on how much rust there is and how deep into the metal parts it goes. You probably have one of two basic Shopsmith tools. The earliest was the Model 10E and 10ER. These were made from 1947 through 1953. A picture of a Model 10ER is below. This is one I restored.

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The Model 10E was very similar to the one above except the first ones had a wood Extension Table as opposed to an aluminum cast one. I have restored two dozen Model 10's and their condition varied greatly but I was able to make all of them well running tools again.

The other main Shopsmith Tool is the Mark 5 beginning in 1954 and still being made today. It has had many changes since its introduction but old mark 5's can have the upgrades added to them. The Mark 5 from 1957 shown below was in sad shape when I got it but came out very well once restored.

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This should give you some help on identifying which Shopsmith Tool you have. Pictures will help us identify it better for you. Include the Serial Number with the pictures will give us an idea of when it was made. Most serial numbers can be found on the Logo/Information Plate found on the Headstock.

For the Shopsmith Tools one of the critical parts when it comes to rust pitting are the 2 Way Tubes found on all Model 10 and Mark series tools. Heavy rust pitting will make moving the Headstock and Carriage on them difficult.

As you look over the Shopsmith you have you will find many parts are aluminum and more easily restored.

There are a couple other Shopsmith Mark tools. One is the Mark 2 from the late 1950's into the early 1960's and the other is the Mark VII from the 1960's. Those both look a bit different than the Mark 5 above.

Here are some photos.

Just ignore the other junk in the yard that I also brought home from my uncle's to scrap. I've been more focused on getting the massive amounts of stuff off the property than processing it, and I've still taken over 12,000 lbs of steel to scrap since I started this.
It will only let me post 10 per message...

Three more photos...

From what I see in the pictures it is a Mark 5 from the mid 1950's also referred to as a Greenie. In good, restored condition it would look like the one in my previous post.

It is in bad condition but could be saved with some work. The Way Tubes are in rough condition and looks as though there is some rust pitting. For a full restoration they may be better off being replaced but that would be best determined after the rust is removed. The Way Tubes are still the same size today so any pair could replace them. The Bench Tubes could be cleansed up and painted to improve their looks. In your picture # 4 that I reposted below I noted three things. The black arrow is where the Quill Return Spring, Housing and Pinion Gear goes that is missing. The red arrow is pointing to the Way Tube Tie Bar that has some apparent damage that was repaired. The Tie Bar can be replaced. The green arrow points to where the Vent/Serial Number Plate is located. That has the serial number that would better identify when it was made.

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The picture below shows a Vent/Serial number plate and its location on the Belt Cover.

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The original paint used on the 1950's Mark 5 Greenies were green and silver Hammered Finish paint. The Hammered Finish paint is great at hiding surface imperfections like some rust pitting on those painted parts. The Aluminum parts look as if they would clean up pretty well. There are parts missing to the Table Raising Shaft Assembly on the Carriage in your picture #13. Those missing parts can be seen on my restored Mark 5 Greenie in my previous post. The red handled lever and other parts that go on the end of the square shaft with the threaded end.

Something that could be of help to you would be a copy of the Owner's Guide that includes a parts diagram and list. A PDF copy can be downloaded by going to the Forum Topic at the link below. On that page there is a link to My Google Drive which has a lot of Shopsmith information too large to post directly on the Forum pages. Click on that google drive link and there you will find a folder (the fourth one down) titled 1954+ Mark 5. In that folder find and download the PDF of the 1955 Shopsmith Mark 5 Owner's Guide Release 3. This is the closest one available to the Mark 5 you have.

viewtopic.php?t=16113

The Owner's Guide would not only be helpful if you decide to restore your Mark 5 but also if you decide not to restore it. If you decide to sell the parts, you can use the parts diagram and list to identify them.

A 'project' machine fer sure, but definitely not hopeless.

I find the cross bracing interesting.

mytoiletsclogged wrote: ↑Fri May 16, 2025 12:40 am My question is I know these things were expensive new, but are they worth anything in this condition? I'm not interested in restoring it, but maybe someone else might be. I might be interested in parting it out in my eBay store if there are any parts of value on it.

Based on the photos, yes it is fixable but not without having to acquire a lot of additional parts to replace what's missing. For what you'd spend you could buy a complete machine in good nick. I'd say it's essentially worthless but for scrap value in the condition it's in. Given that you are not interested in fixing it up, I'd suggest getting on one of the several FB groups and donate it to someone local to you who can use it for parts.

To bluntly paraphrase the other replies: Yes, it is junk. Restoring it could only be a labor of love. Even assuming zero for labor cost, the cost of replacement parts and restoration supplies would exceed the fully-restored market value.

Where are you located?

Near Wichita Kansas