Photo Index - Oliver Machinery Co. - 66-AC Heavy Gap Lathe

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Oliver Machinery Co.
Grand Rapids, MI

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Lathe, Wood
Machine Size:	48" swing & 8 1/2' center w/gap open
Submitted By:	Chuck Hess

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	66-AC Heavy Gap Lathe
Date of Manufacturer:	1952
Serial Number:	75272 (View SN Registry Entry)
Last Updated	6/12/2011 1:13:18 PM

Comments:

Oliver #66-AC Gap Bed Lathe. Serial # 75272, 1952 vintage. 6-12-2011.

Hey All,
Well here are some pics of our new lathe we thought we would share with you all. I got a call from a maintenance supervisor at a foundry who was looking at my web site after googeling Oliver lathe. He told me they had a lathe that was "in pretty nice condition" and that his supervisors had told him to get rid of it because the patternmaker that did use this lathe was now retired. He told me that it would be a shame to scrap it and I asked him for pictures. The photos arrived that day and as all can see, it would indeed have been a shame to scrap it. So we quickly made a deal and started exploring shipping options, as this was about 1000 miles away from us, one way.
Due to my schedule, picking this up myself, like we usually do, was not going to be an option. Now as luck would have it, one of my helpers shoots bow competitively and had an upcoming competition somewhat close to the lathe. He offered to pull my trailer up and pick it up for us. It took me a few days to get used to the idea but I finally decided that I would trust him more than anyone else I know to pick up a large and heavy machine for us and that my only reservations were simply feeling guilty about how easy that option would be for me. So we agreed to pay his expenses for the trip, which were about 1/3 of most other shipping options, and we were all set. So on one Sunday he called and left me a message that he was back in town and I thought I better go down to the shop and get ready. When I opened the shop door the lathe, on my trailer, was already in the shop (Dusty has a key to the shop, by the way you can't do better than a woodworker named Dusty). Anyway what a pleasant surprise that was! Not only was it there but it looked great as well. I was definitely feeling guilty at this point; that was just toooooooo easy!
So we proceeded to take her off the trailer and discovered that this lathe really was meant to be in our shop. What I mean is this, the lathe already had a cord with the correct male end on it to match our electrical system, and when we plugged it in it was even rotating the right direction! That never happens. Anyway the lathe was running very smoothly and upon closer inspection it doesn't look like it ever got much use during it's career.
The seller offered to give me the retired patternmaker's phone number and told me that he would probably like to talk to me about the lathe that he used to use. I did call the retiree and found out that he retired 13 years ago and didn't use the lathe for 4 years before that. The lathe had not been used in 17 years, wow. But the patternmaker was very glad it was going to a good home, rather than the grapple jaws.
This is 4th one of these that we have had our hands on and we have sold several other lathes to make room for keeping this one in our shop, unfortunately the pitfall of having such a small shop becuase I would like to keep them all. My son loves this baby and wanted to be the first one to ever turn a pen on one of these, so we mounted a pen mandrel and he turned a pen on an Oliver 66! You've seen it first right here on Vintage Machinery; where else are you going to get entertainment like that?
Thanks,
Chuck

Photo 1:

Comments: Front Shot
Source: HessWoodwork.com

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Photo 2:

Comments: as found
Source: HessWoodwork.com

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Photo 3:

Comments: da Badge
Source: HessWoodwork.com

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Photo 4:

Comments: pen turning
Source: HessWoodwork.com

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Photo 5:

Comments: gap open
Source: HessWoodwork.com

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Photo 6:

Comments: motor & countershaft
Source: HessWoodwork.com

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