I wanted to point these out to members who might not have seen them. Two of Oliver's most ridiculous machines. I have been watching these two for a while, they will most likely not sell at these prices.
The first is their Pattern Mill, pendant control, rotary table, This thing is huge, but insanely beautiful. Condition looks excellent.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Big-Oliver-103-Patt ... 0160029631
Secondly, their enormous pattern lathe. The bed is on the floor. I believe it will swing 8'
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0158995063
I know a number of us have seen both of these types in person. For me it is great seeing the refresher pics. Perhaps I should load some up to the Oliver section for posterity.
Pete
Great machines on eBay
Moderator: crzypete
Pete,
That Oliver mill is an impressive machine. I've owned two of these machines. Both of them are older models from the 40's. The foot print of these machines is alot smaller than the one on e-Bay.
The first one came out out of a cabinet shop in West Virginia. It's the smallest model of the 103. It doesn't have a power table, but it did come with the original tooling cabinet from Oliver. This machine is now in a friend's shop in Tarboro, North Carolina.
The second mill came out of a pattern shop in Whitehall, PA. It's the larger version of the 103 with the power table. It also came with the original tooling cabinet from Oliver. This mill is now in my shop.
I plan to do a more complete write-up on these machines, including a complete set of detailed photo's. That may take some time to get done.
Http://www.soyafoam.com
That Oliver mill is an impressive machine. I've owned two of these machines. Both of them are older models from the 40's. The foot print of these machines is alot smaller than the one on e-Bay.
The first one came out out of a cabinet shop in West Virginia. It's the smallest model of the 103. It doesn't have a power table, but it did come with the original tooling cabinet from Oliver. This machine is now in a friend's shop in Tarboro, North Carolina.
The second mill came out of a pattern shop in Whitehall, PA. It's the larger version of the 103 with the power table. It also came with the original tooling cabinet from Oliver. This mill is now in my shop.
I plan to do a more complete write-up on these machines, including a complete set of detailed photo's. That may take some time to get done.
Http://www.soyafoam.com
Hi Arthur,
Thanks for sharing the pics of the mills. I didn't realize they were made in multiple sizes. Do you know if this was something they offered as an option or did they get bigger as they got newer? What sizes were they offered in?
I vaguely remember a story that another company was producing a mill in England that the oliver mill was a copyright infringement of. They shipped one to America to contest the patent, unfortunately it didn't make it, it is now sitting on the floor of the ocean in the hold of the Titanic!
I don't know if this is a true story and whether I have the details quite right, any better info would be great.
Pete
Thanks for sharing the pics of the mills. I didn't realize they were made in multiple sizes. Do you know if this was something they offered as an option or did they get bigger as they got newer? What sizes were they offered in?
I vaguely remember a story that another company was producing a mill in England that the oliver mill was a copyright infringement of. They shipped one to America to contest the patent, unfortunately it didn't make it, it is now sitting on the floor of the ocean in the hold of the Titanic!
I don't know if this is a true story and whether I have the details quite right, any better info would be great.
Pete
Pete,
I'm not that familiar with the later versions of the 103. The older models could vary in size quite a bit depending on the options installed. Just the power table option would make the machine almost 4' wider. I've also seen a 102 and a 104. The 102 is huge. The 104 is in also a bit larger than the 103. The story is that Oliver was involved in a lawsuit with Wadkin over designs on several woodworking machines. The mill was one of them. Take a look at Olivers' early machines and tell me you don't see a very close resemblance to Wadkin.
I'm not that familiar with the later versions of the 103. The older models could vary in size quite a bit depending on the options installed. Just the power table option would make the machine almost 4' wider. I've also seen a 102 and a 104. The 102 is huge. The 104 is in also a bit larger than the 103. The story is that Oliver was involved in a lawsuit with Wadkin over designs on several woodworking machines. The mill was one of them. Take a look at Olivers' early machines and tell me you don't see a very close resemblance to Wadkin.