Shopsmith Forums

Is there anything special or different with the 50th Anniversary Edition Shopsmith other than the logo plate?

I recently looked at one for sale locally (which is a rare occurrence!) and it ended up being a 50th Anniv 510. One odd thing I noted about it was the way tubes had slightly rusted while the bench tubes were pristine shiny and unmarred. Could it have been assembled incorrectly?

The machine was purchased at Lowes with just the basics. No extras like bandsaw, jointer, etc.

There are almost always several on the Indianapolis Craigslists. Some priced reasonable, some priced atrocious...


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SDSSmith wrote:The only thing that I have observed is the service access plate has the 50th medalion. Regarding the tubes on the newer Shopsmiths, the bench tubes appear to have a thin plating on them (chrome or ??) while the way tubes probably have a higher chrome content. Anyway, they oxidize differently.

Just going by my limited experience, it seems the bench tubes will rust much easier than the way tubes. This machine exhibited the opposite behavior.

robinson46176 wrote:There are almost always several on the Indianapolis Craigslists. Some priced reasonable, some priced atrocious...


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They're rare around here. I had gotten excited because the picture showed a 520. But when I showed up, it was a 510. The woman's husband bought it new years ago, then died in an accident shortly after. She moved it to her parents house and it has sat there unused ever since. Not knowing the differences between the different models, she used another picture she found online.

She listed it for $1,700, but just sent me a text saying if I was interested she'd take $1,000. I still think that's too much as it isn't even the complete "basic" package. No sanding disc, no lathe centers, no lathe tool rest, no miter gauge, etc. It had a saw blade mounted on it, and she had the main table and fence, extension table, drill chuck, 2 lathe knifes, and tailstock. That was it. She told me all the other parts might be in her husband's old toolboxes at her house and she would look for them, but she didn't mention that when she texted just now.

I believe the bench tubes are 3/4" longer than the way tubes, so it seems unlikely (impossible?) they would be assembled incorrectly.

heathicus wrote:They're rare around here. I had gotten excited because the picture showed a 520. But when I showed up, it was a 510. The woman's husband bought it new years ago, then died in an accident shortly after. She moved it to her parents house and it has sat there unused ever since. Not knowing the differences between the different models, she used another picture she found online.

She listed it for $1,700, but just sent me a text saying if I was interested she'd take $1,000. I still think that's too much as it isn't even the complete "basic" package. No sanding disc, no lathe centers, no lathe tool rest, no miter gauge, etc. It had a saw blade mounted on it, and she had the main table and fence, extension table, drill chuck, 2 lathe knifes, and tailstock. That was it. She told me all the other parts might be in her husband's old toolboxes at her house and she would look for them, but she didn't mention that when she texted just now.

Heath,

I purchased a 50th Anniversary 510 in Virgina about three years ago. It was advertised at about $2,000 in the first ad and came down to $1,250 before I ever looked at it. When I explained to the lady it was not a 520 she wasn't happy and asked how I could know that. Once we cleared up that I already owned a 520 and moved on to issues of parts missing and questionable condition (This one wasn't even assembled correctly) I hauled it off for about $800. Mine did come with a terrif band saw, but most other basic parts were missing. It seemed sad to me that the folks didn't have a clue what they had or how powerful a machine it could be for them. I would tend to agree that the price seems a bit high. Fjimp

heathicus wrote:...,2 lathe knifes, and tailstock...

What is a lathe knife?

BPR

ryanbp01 wrote:What is a lathe knife?

BPR

Oops... I meant lathe chisel.

Hey Heath, has your profile grown? 3 x 10ER's now, I see?

My newish Mk. 5 has the chromed bench-tubes and unfinished (high-nickel steel?) way-tubes. Chromed bench tubes seem to be a recent-era thing.