Photo Index - Oliver Machinery Co. - 51-B (after)

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:	12" Swing, 60" Bed
Submitted By:	Chuck Hess

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	51-B (after)
Date of Manufacturer:	unknown, probably 50s
Serial Number:	unknown
Last Updated	2/2/2008 12:28:19 AM

Comments:

Oliver #51 B, 12" Swing, 60" Bed, Motor Head Speed Lathe, After, 2/1/08.
No serial number or brass chicken badge, age unknown but probably early 50s.

Hey,
Well here is the Christmas lathe after restro, its been done for a while now but its been hard to photograph because there is always a kid or 3 in front of it. Even before the restore was done they have used this almost every day after school and on Saturday. You can see the before pics here;
http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=6980

This was part of the kids Christmas and they helped restore their own present. They also used it to make presents for everyone else and each other as we did not do much shopping this year, our family made a lot of things ourselves. I think that was a very valuable lesson for them and this has been probably my very best machinery project and investment, of all time, because of that!
The restro was pretty easy because all the electricals were in working order and we also have another one of these for a parts donor and that helped. I have also been fortunate in scoring accessories, so we are pretty well equipped now. The most time consuming thing was that hand carriage and compound and the tailstocks were completely disassembled, buffed out and painted. There are a lot of little parts on those but I enjoyed seeing such great machinery casting and machining that went into those. I did not replace headstock bearings now but probably will someday when there is more time. Like I said before, as soon as the lathe was in minimal working condition the kids were chomping at the bit to start turning on it, and they did, so all the accessories were done after the fact so to speak. Actually this project has kicked off a series of restorations (pics will follow soon) that have been driven by their relentless kid pressure on me. I feel like I am working for them now and they are harsh taskmasters, oh well, theres worse jobs in life ;^). I have also been scrambling to stay ahead of them with turning tools, turning material, sharpening jigs, etc. etc. Auntie stepped up with homade turning smocks for each, as seen in the photos, very cute. We have had a tremendous amount of fun turning, watching turning videos from our club and getting wood together, and it has been really neat for me to watch and nuture their creativity. I think we will all remember this for a long time.
As luck would have it we are very close to the Blueridge Folk Art Center which is where the Carolina Mountain Woodturners meet once a month. What a great resource that has been for us! I am most impressed at the high level of excellence that they operate on, and let me tell you there are some turners round hea! I would recommend that club to anyone in the area thinking about turning, they really do it right.
Thats it for now,
Chuck
Cashin in fun chips in NC!

Photo 1:

Comments: Christmas Lathe & Oliver vise handle in progress
Source: My Nikon.

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Photo 2:

Comments: My Son, 12
Source: My Nikon.

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Photo 3:

Comments: My Son, 13
Source: My Nikon.

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