Oliver Table Saws

[Jack Dickey]

Anyone have one , new or classic ?? Almost skeered to price them .. Appears a somewhat limited dealer network ..

[Frank Drew]

Jack,

Apart from the name, there's no connection or similarity between the old and new Oliver machines.

But the old stuff was, and remains, marvelous, although in table saws there might be more flexible modern machines, or machines more suited to your needs. (Personally, I think it was especially in jointers that Oliver had no peer.)

For the best sources for info on all things old cast iron, check out:

www.owwm.com (http://www.owwm.com) or www.owwm.org (http://www.owwm.org)

[Danger: You might not emerge for days from browsing these sites.]

[lou sansone]

I had a nice oliver 260 that was really awesome. I eventually sold it and bought an Italian slider

Lou

[Mike Zipparo]

Have an Oliver model 2005 table saw. 16 inch blade, 5 hp direct drive motor, huge table (single casting). Runs but still waiting for some tlc and getting close to the top of the list.

[Brian Ashton]

Anyone have one , new or classic ?? Almost skeered to price them .. Appears a somewhat limited dealer network ..


Had an old Oliver 12". It was built like the proverbial brick s%%% house, much heavier castings than even an old powermatic. It was three phase so I had to make a rotary phase converter for it. I was very happy with it, except for it was a 12". When doing close work where I had to lean over the blade for long periods it was hard on the back. The blade is set back from the front edge by a couple more inches than a 10" which can put some extra strain on the lower back over long periods of time.

If and when I move back to North America I'd definitely snap one again but this time I'd use a VFD to power it. I think being able to dial back the rpms would be a good added feature.

[Glen Dickey]

Hey Jack, I own a older Oliver 232-D tablesaw. This saw is just awesome. The physical size is not much bigger than a Unisaw, but way better built in my opinion. If I were you, Id look out for an Oliver 232 or a 270. The 232 was the smaller saw, and the 270 was the bigger one. The only diference is the table size, blade size, and horsepower. These two machines are great for a small shop. Oliver also made a 260, which is a dual arbor saw, and the 88, which is just a big saw. Both of those are kinda big for the small shop.
The things that I really like about my 232 is that is extreemly well made, the casting for the base is 3/4" solid cast iron. The arbor is direct drive from the motor (no belts), The trunions are massive, and the blade tilts very easy due to the counterweight. The saw blade raises and lowers on a dovetailed slide, and is very smooth and easy. The fence is a rack and pinion type fence, and very rigid and easy to adjust. The table is thick cast iron with T-slot type miter guage slots. And the saw runs smooth as glass. No vibration at all. The 232 saw came with either a 2 or 3 hp motor to spin a 12" blade, and the 270 saws are usually 5 hp. and spin a 14" or a 16" blade.
The only cons I see with theese saws are, there not portable, mine weighs about 1300 lbs, and its the baby, so the bigger ones are beasts. You will probably need help moving one. I moved one with a wrecker and a pallet jack. Also, they are three phase, so you either need a rotary phase converter, or buy it off the line if you are lucky enough to get it. The motors are not really replaceable, as they are custom built for the saw, but they are repairable, and can be rewound. The miter guage slot is not a standard size either, most of them are like 1-1/4" x 1/4". If your lucky enough to get the miter guage with it, they are well made too. I had to make one for my saw, since it was missing. The rip capacity on the saws with a rack and pinion fence is limited to about 25" but you could always add an aftermarket fence, if you do a lot of sheet cutting.
I would highly reccomend an Oliver saw. There are also many other quality machine brands out there too, and some like them better than Oliver too. Look for Oliver, Yates-American, Fay & Egan, Whitney, Tannewitz, and Greenlee. These are all great brands.
Now is a good time to look for a big saw, as with the economy the way it is, I see them pretty cheap now.

Glen

[Frank Drew]

I think being able to dial back the rpms would be a good added feature.

I'm curious how that would be an advantage, Brian.

[Walter Plummer]

Vintage Oliver equipment is far superior to anything sold today.Our shop was lucky enough to get an Oliver 260D 16" dual arbor saw intact.
Rip blade on one arbor crosscut blade on the other. Turn the crank and one blade goes down and the other comes up. Sliding table on the left of the blade. Not your go to saw for a quick rip, but when you need the HP and capacity WOW. It is very tall to work at since it needs room for two blades below the table. We also have Oliver jointer,dual 16" disc sander
and 36" band saw. If you find one that fits in your shop and you have the power for it you wont be sorry.

[David DeCristoforo]

I can't imagine finding anyone who will not rave about vintage Oliver equipment. At their most basic level, woodworking machines are pretty simple. Oliver machines were overbuilt to the max. Very heavy, lots of power and "spot on" alignments. Mostly "no frills" machines that performed their intended functions very well and would (will) run continuously and "forever". Sadly, as is the case with almost everything these days, the newer offerings are no match for their predecessors. The current Oliver table saws are pretty much in the same class as a dozen other Unisaw clones. I would get much more excited about a vintage model in good condition or, at least, one that was "restorable"...

[Martin King]

I own 4 restored vintage Oliver machines including a 260D tablesaw. All
of the machines are a joy to use and blow away anything you can buy new
today except for maybe Northfield equipment and some of
the high end German saws. Vintage industrial equipment isn't for
everyone. It usually means going 3 phase in your shop either with
VFD's or an RPC. It also usually means getting into machine restoration-
an area not everybody wants to go. I highly suggest hanging out at
http://owwm.org/ for a while before you decide to take the plunge.

Martin