I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

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jct
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I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by jct »

As a kid, I was fascinated by Shopsmith ads and dreamed of having one of my own. As an adult, I didn't consider buying one. I couldn't cost justify it since I have access to the well-equiped woodshop at the local community college. It's free, but not convenient. My access is normally limited to school days when no class is using it, so no evenings, weekends, or summers. And it's a 50 minute round trip from my house. So when someone offered to give me a Shopsmith, I jumped at the chance. I probably should have asked how old it is, what condition it's in, whether it has all the parts, etc., but I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. It's supposed to come tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Jim
10ER S/N 86645 ('52 or '53) with 3/4 h.p. A.O. Smith motor
Beave2012
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by Beave2012 »

jct wrote:As a kid, I was fascinated by Shopsmith ads and dreamed of having one of my own. As an adult, I didn't consider buying one. I couldn't cost justify it since I have access to the well-equiped woodshop at the local community college. It's free, but not convenient. My access is normally limited to school days when no class is using it, so no evenings, weekends, or summers. And it's a 50 minute round trip from my house. So when someone offered to give me a Shopsmith, I jumped at the chance. I probably should have asked how old it is, what condition it's in, whether it has all the parts, etc., but I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. It's supposed to come tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Congratulations on the new acquisition. Take some time to read through the sticky topics in the maintenance section on the forums. It's hard to break the things and worse case you need a few new parts and lots of sand paper. Lol. A little time and patience will get you a very nice machine. Good luck.
-Beave
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rjent
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by rjent »

jct wrote:As a kid, I was fascinated by Shopsmith ads and dreamed of having one of my own. As an adult, I didn't consider buying one. I couldn't cost justify it since I have access to the well-equiped woodshop at the local community college. It's free, but not convenient. My access is normally limited to school days when no class is using it, so no evenings, weekends, or summers. And it's a 50 minute round trip from my house. So when someone offered to give me a Shopsmith, I jumped at the chance. I probably should have asked how old it is, what condition it's in, whether it has all the parts, etc., but I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. It's supposed to come tomorrow. Wish me luck!
It doesn't matter which vintage. They are all good. Have fun with it! And post pictures!
Dick
1965 Mark VII S/N 407684
1951 10 ER S/N ER 44570 -- Reborn 9/16/14
1950 10 ER S/N ER 33479 Reborn July 2016
1950 10 ER S/N ER 39671
1951 jigsaw X 2
1951 !0 ER #3 in rebuild
500, Jointer, Bsaw, Bsander, Planer
2014 Mark 7 W/Lift assist - 14 4" Jointer - DC3300
And a plethora of small stuff .....

"The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine." - Benjamin Franklin
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jct
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by jct »

rjent wrote:It doesn't matter which vintage. They are all good. Have fun with it! And post pictures!
I just got it, and it is a model 10ER, serial number 86645, with a 3/4 hp motor. It hasn't been used since the original owner passed away. It's rusty, but appears to be complete, except for the owner's manual. It did come with a 15 page Shopsmith brochure dated Feb '52, so I guess that's about when it was purchased. The brochure is stamped San Fernando Hardware, so that's probably where it was purchased. I'm sure that I'll have many questions when I start to restore it. Here are some photos.
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Jim
10ER S/N 86645 ('52 or '53) with 3/4 h.p. A.O. Smith motor
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rjent
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by rjent »

That is in pretty good shape. These are great machines. There have been just a few rebuild threads on these here LOL.

By the SN, I would say 1952
Dick
1965 Mark VII S/N 407684
1951 10 ER S/N ER 44570 -- Reborn 9/16/14
1950 10 ER S/N ER 33479 Reborn July 2016
1950 10 ER S/N ER 39671
1951 jigsaw X 2
1951 !0 ER #3 in rebuild
500, Jointer, Bsaw, Bsander, Planer
2014 Mark 7 W/Lift assist - 14 4" Jointer - DC3300
And a plethora of small stuff .....

"The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine." - Benjamin Franklin
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jsburger
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by jsburger »

Really nice looking machine. It will clean up like new. Manuals are available for download here.
John & Mary Burger
Eagle's Lair Woodshop
Hooper, UT
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everettdavis
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by everettdavis »

If you will go to the following link
https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... 90#p185690

Follow the link My Google Drive
There you will find much on the 10ER
Including a fully restored 10ER Owners Guide and fully restored 1953 Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone that is written expressly for the 10ER and much more

All free and downloadable

Kind Regards and welcome to the family

Nice shape for a remarkable machine that age.

Everett
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jct
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by jct »

everettdavis wrote:If you will go to the following link
https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... 90#p185690

Follow the link My Google Drive
There you will find much on the 10ER
Including a fully restored 10ER Owners Guide and fully restored 1953 Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone that is written expressly for the 10ER and much more

All free and downloadable

Kind Regards and welcome to the family

Nice shape for a remarkable machine that age.

Everett
Thanks Everett. I actually found your restored 10ER Owners Guide on VintageMachinery.org yesterday and downloaded it. I've just downloaded several things from your Google Docs. I am particularly impressed by your restored 1953 Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone. I've done a little restoration of scanned old documents, and I know how big a job that must have been for you. Thank you!

My machine came set up to run on 220V. I opened up the motor and changed the jumpers for 110V, and replaced the 220V plug with a 110V plug. The motor ran fine on 110V. I'm pretty sure it's the original motor because the color exactly matches the rest of the machine.

I've started freeing up the rust-frozen parts, and it is going better than I expected. Thank goodness for PB Blaster! I've gotten the headstock to move on the tubes, and freed up many of the set screws and knobs. I've also gotten the retractable casters to work again.

I'm trying to decide how far to go with the restoration. My first thought was just to clean up the rust and replace the belt and any other parts that need replacing. After seeing quite a few photos of beautifully refinished 10ERs, I'm started to lean towards doing a more thorough restoration.

I submitted a request to join the Yahoo 10ER Users Group yesterday, and am looking forward to looking at the information they have there.
Jim
10ER S/N 86645 ('52 or '53) with 3/4 h.p. A.O. Smith motor
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jsburger
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Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by jsburger »

jct wrote:
everettdavis wrote:If you will go to the following link
https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... 90#p185690

Follow the link My Google Drive
There you will find much on the 10ER
Including a fully restored 10ER Owners Guide and fully restored 1953 Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone that is written expressly for the 10ER and much more

All free and downloadable

Kind Regards and welcome to the family

Nice shape for a remarkable machine that age.

Everett
Thanks Everett. I actually found your restored 10ER Owners Guide on VintageMachinery.org yesterday and downloaded it. I've just downloaded several things from your Google Docs. I am particularly impressed by your restored 1953 Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone. I've done a little restoration of scanned old documents, and I know how big a job that must have been for you. Thank you!

My machine came set up to run on 220V. I opened up the motor and changed the jumpers for 110V, and replaced the 220V plug with a 110V plug. The motor ran fine on 110V. I'm pretty sure it's the original motor because the color exactly matches the rest of the machine.

I've started freeing up the rust-frozen parts, and it is going better than I expected. Thank goodness for PB Blaster! I've gotten the headstock to move on the tubes, and freed up many of the set screws and knobs. I've also gotten the retractable casters to work again.

I'm trying to decide how far to go with the restoration. My first thought was just to clean up the rust and replace the belt and any other parts that need replacing. After seeing quite a few photos of beautifully refinished 10ERs, I'm started to lean towards doing a more thorough restoration.

I submitted a request to join the Yahoo 10ER Users Group yesterday, and am looking forward to looking at the information they have there.
Just as a point of interest. Magna did not sell the 10ER with the motor included. Most machines ended up with A.O. Smith motors for what ever reason. Probably because A.O. Smith made the motor with the start capacitor on the side which cleared the 10ER bench. The 1/2HP motor is more common but some people bought 3/4HP motors. The 3/4HP is 110/220 but the 1/2HP is 110 only.
John & Mary Burger
Eagle's Lair Woodshop
Hooper, UT
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jct
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Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2018 8:50 pm
Location: Monterey Bay, California

Re: I'm getting a Shopsmith tomorrow

Post by jct »

jsburger wrote:
jct wrote:
everettdavis wrote:If you will go to the following link
https://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/view ... 90#p185690

Follow the link My Google Drive
There you will find much on the 10ER
Including a fully restored 10ER Owners Guide and fully restored 1953 Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone that is written expressly for the 10ER and much more

All free and downloadable

Kind Regards and welcome to the family

Nice shape for a remarkable machine that age.

Everett
Thanks Everett. I actually found your restored 10ER Owners Guide on VintageMachinery.org yesterday and downloaded it. I've just downloaded several things from your Google Docs. I am particularly impressed by your restored 1953 Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone. I've done a little restoration of scanned old documents, and I know how big a job that must have been for you. Thank you!

My machine came set up to run on 220V. I opened up the motor and changed the jumpers for 110V, and replaced the 220V plug with a 110V plug. The motor ran fine on 110V. I'm pretty sure it's the original motor because the color exactly matches the rest of the machine.

I've started freeing up the rust-frozen parts, and it is going better than I expected. Thank goodness for PB Blaster! I've gotten the headstock to move on the tubes, and freed up many of the set screws and knobs. I've also gotten the retractable casters to work again.

I'm trying to decide how far to go with the restoration. My first thought was just to clean up the rust and replace the belt and any other parts that need replacing. After seeing quite a few photos of beautifully refinished 10ERs, I'm started to lean towards doing a more thorough restoration.

I submitted a request to join the Yahoo 10ER Users Group yesterday, and am looking forward to looking at the information they have there.
Just as a point of interest. Magna did not sell the 10ER with the motor included. Most machines ended up with A.O. Smith motors for what ever reason. Probably because A.O. Smith made the motor with the start capacitor on the side which cleared the 10ER bench. The 1/2HP motor is more common but some people bought 3/4HP motors. The 3/4HP is 110/220 but the 1/2HP is 110 only.
Magna didn't include a motor in the base price, but they did sell motors that they said were manufactured for them. My Magna brochure/catalog dated February 1952 says "total price $189.50 complete with all attachments, less motor. special heavy-duty 1/2 h.p., ball bearing, capacitator motor, only $34.50" I included a photo of that page in a previous post.

Later in the catalog, the "3/4 h.p. Special Motor Manufactured specially for Shopsmith" is listed for $45.95. I expect most people bought one of the motors that Magna sold when they bought their Shopsmiths.
Jim
10ER S/N 86645 ('52 or '53) with 3/4 h.p. A.O. Smith motor
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