Shopsmith Forums

Lathes Chisels - Through the Years

Picked up a vintage Yuba lathe chisel set this week.
. Looks a lot like the Magna-era lathe chisels in the traditional mustard-colored accessories box of that era. And of course I always like to see those original price tags still attached!
. It’s nice to add this to the collection, as now I have a better view of all the key packaging changes from the Magna/Yuba/Magna American era.
. These are clockwise from top left: 10-E era chisels from Magna Engineering, 10-ER through Mark 5 era chisels also from Magna Engineering, Yuba chisels for your Mark 5 or Mark 2, and Magna American chisels for your Mark 5 and (if you were daring) Sawsmith!

Of course what first struck me was the package shrink in the Yuba and Magna American boxes, but a quick comparison of the chisels inside shows they were largely unchanged despite the smaller box.
. …and despite the part number changes over the same period.
.

John,

Nice set of Shopsmith Lathe Chisels. They appear to be an early Yuba set still having the red SS logo. I have a later Yuba set still having the red SS logo but with the other (3rd version) handles as seen in the picture below. Eventually Yuba put their logo on the Lathe Chisel Handles followed by Magna American. The later box size change was reducing the space around the Chisels but the Chisels remaining the same. There were more box variations (at least 9) than the 5 Chisel variations from 1947 through the 1960's. The number change you mentioned occurred in 1964 for all Shopsmith/Magna products going to the 505??? part numbers.

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chapmanruss wrote: ↑Sat Nov 04, 2023 2:34 pm There were more box variations (at least 9) than the 5 Chisel variations from 1947 through the 1960's.

DEFINITELY want to see some of those box variations. Please do share!

Sanding Discs - Through the Years

Russ Chapman was kind enough to post a picture and share some background on the 10-inch combo (flat and conical) sanding disc that was standard on the Mark VII, and he motivated me to look for one. Happy to report I succeeded in finding one, and it arrived this week!

So, this gave me an opportunity for another “family portrait” of Magna/Yuba sanding discs through the years.
. In each of these pictures from left to right we see:

• 6-spoke disc shipped with the 10-E

• Better supported aluminum disc provided with the 10-ER, Mark 5, and Mark 2

• 10-in combo disc from the Mark VII

• 9-in flat disc from the Sawsmith RAS

A little out of chronological order, but ordered by size!

Nice comparison John. Something to know about the 12" Aluminum Sanding disks is there were two versions of the six ribbed Sanding Disk as seen in the pictures below. The earlier version, on the left, is heavier.

There were two versions of the later 12" Sanding Disk with more ribbing. For the Model 10's it had a 3/8" Set Screw while the one supplied with the Mark 5 and Mark 2 had a 5/16" Set Screw.

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chapmanruss wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2023 12:50 pm Something to know about the 12" Aluminum Sanding disks is there were two versions of the six ribbed Sanding Disk as seen in the pictures below. The earlier version, on the left, is heavier.

Russ - thanks for sharing! What’s the provenance that confirmed for you that the heavier disc is Magna-made?

I think we are looking at another example of sand cast first then later die cast parts similar to the M5 headstock history.

Mostly by the Model 10E's they came with. Some of my earliest Serial number Model 10E's came with the heavier Sanding Disk, if they had one, and observations of other Model 10E's I have seen. It's the same way I find most, if not all, of the changes and their order besides reference materials like manuals, catalogs, etc. Another source of that kind of information has been from other forum members like yourself and JPG who in this case wonders if it was the type of casting used. All this kind of information put together "paints a picture" of what happened when.

A heavier Sanding Disk still came with Model 10E serial number 13223 and some earlier S/N's while serial number 19541 and later ones had the lighter 6 rib Sanding Disk. Unfortunately, once restored and resold some of my Model 10's did not have the original type Sanding Disk (early 6 rib heavy, 6 rib lighter or 12 rib) as some were missing or had been replaced over the years. Because of this I am not sure when they changed from the second 6 rib Sanding Disk to the 12 rib one.

chapmanruss wrote: ↑Fri Nov 10, 2023 12:33 pm Mostly by the Model 10E's they came with. Some of my earliest Serial number Model 10E's came with the heavier Sanding Disk.

That’s exactly what I was looking for - that’s always the best provenance!

Sandpaper - Through the Years

While I find the disc sanding feature to be one of my very favorite features of a Shopsmith, it’s pretty clear America bought an awful lot of sandpaper back in the day that it never used! Maybe it was evidence of what a pain it was to change sheets before the days of self-adhesive sheets, but I have definitely found sandpaper to be one of the more common vintage accessories that survive with vintage machines I’ve acquired. Here’s a sampling…
. The Assortment seems to have been the favorite pack. Clockwise from top left, paper for: a 10-E, a Greenie or 10-ER, a Mark VII, and a Goldie.
. Some closeups…

The Magna American-branded paper illustrates their change to the venerable Shopsmith logo when they introduced the Mark VII.
. Assorted wasn’t the only type of paper sold, as plenty of Coarse, Medium, and Fine are still out there.
. This is even some made in my home state!