Photo Index - Oliver Machinery Co. - 260-D Dual Arbor Saw

Machinery Photo Index

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

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Table Saw
Machine Size:	16" Blades x 2
Submitted By:	Chuck Hess

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	260-D Dual Arbor Saw
Date of Manufacturer:	1943
Serial Number:	58429 (View SN Registry Entry)
Last Updated	2/25/2006 4:03:20 AM

Comments:

Oliver 260-D Table Saw 1943 Vintage.
Aloha,
This saw was an ex-Navy machine and was already on the island of Maui but it came from Pearl Harbor on Oahu. It was in the shop right next door to mine and the story that cabinetmaker used to tell everyone was that the 2 arbors rotated in different directions so when working below decks you could cut in both directions. He has a vivid imagination. When he took this saw out of service I inquired about it and he informed me that he loved the saw and that they would bury him in it. He then left it outside for several months under a blue plastic tarp and then when his shop went out of business he moved it to another location were it sat outside for around a year. Finally he called me and offered to sell the saw; he decided not to be buried in it after all and could use the money.
So by the time I finally got the saw it was a giant ball of rust and one of my most challenging restorations. I could not get near it without going home with black on both arms from the shoulders down, and it was that way for quite a while. The sliding table was not operational and only 1 motor functioned. The table had a broken/missing piece to the right of the blade about 1" wide by 16" long. The previous owner had tried to weld a piece of steel in there and of course that didnt work. The machine had been damaged in days gone by and someone had done a little bit of nice brazing, probably while still in the navy.
This was the restoration job that I really got to know Rich Fink at Oliver corp. and he has always been most helpful. During this restoration I was amazed at the engineering and fine craftsmanship that Oliver put into these machines. This was my second Oliver machine and during this process I definitely decided that I would seek out Oliver machinery whenever possible for the rest of my career. Realizing that I had so much to learn, it was also during this time that I started trying to acquire dirty paper of my own.
It did have the tilting micrometer fence but was devoid of all other accessories including the table extension. The guy I got the saw from said he had the table extension and a miter gauge for it, but couldn't find them at the moment. He later told me they must have been tossed in the dump. I had an amazing bit of luck, a friend who also has cast iron fever, located a table extension in New Jersey, I am in Maui, and everything matched up well. What are the odds of that happening? He also located for me a miter gauge, quadrant gauge and blade guard. This was before the ebid thing. I also picked up wrenches, dado arbor set and fence block for this saw in a shaper deal.
For cutting compound angles this saw is da bomb! It cuts so nice. I usually run a 14" or 16" combo blade for crosscut/angle work on one head and a 12" dado stack on the other. We really dont do much ripping on this saw probably only because we have several other saws. If you were going to only have one saw in a shop this would have to be a serious contender. The dust collection does not work well on these saws. Notice the Maple half moon piece in front, without that the chips hit you right between the legs, hope that's not a problem!
I just had a couple of surprises with this saw recently. I was going to wire this baby over to 480 volt power and discovered it is 220 volts only. The other is that I finally got around to having the sugar companys machine shop change my 12" dado stack from a 1" puka to an 1 1/2" puka so I could use my Oliver dado arbor extension. There is just one design flaw is that the door won't close with arbor extension installed. Imagine my surprise!
Aloha,
Chuck

Photo 1:

Comments: Front shot
Source: My beautiful wife's camera.

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Photo 2:

Comments: Front shot w/ maple cod piece
Source: My beautiful wife's camera.

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Photo 3:

Comments: 14" combo & 12" dado look small
Source: My beautiful wife's camera.

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