oliver 2159?

[Jeremy Pyatskowit]

There is an Oliver 2159 coming up at an auction near me next week. Does anyone have any experience with this lathe or what the average going rate is for them?

[Roger Chandler]

I have no personal experience, but that lathe looks like one that David Marks, of DIY network fame restored in his shop. He has had it for years, and it is reputedly a workhorse of a lathe. He painted his blue and white, but the headstock is a giveaway.

[Harry Robinette]

I'll 2nd Roger,Ive been told the same, old bullet proof lathe veri-speed hand crank.Price ? I thinks thats going to be your call at what the auction brings.Hope you get it I think it would be neat to have.
Harry

[tom martin]

Jeremy,
I did a quick search and turned up two that were listed for 900 and 750.
Some other info-14 inch swing x 36 long with a bottom end of 600rpm-fast for bowl turning. It probably has a three phase motor so you could probably fit it with a vfd to give yourself better speed control.
Looks like a solid lathe and heavy too -better bring a few strong buddies with you. You may get it for a song with the economy being what it is. You never know at an auction

[dan carter]

It's a good lathe. I always liked the way you powered it up. Was a buildt in safety. No oops by starting it too fast. It is buildt pretty stout. I turned on them many moons ago. The 3-phase would be something you would want to think about. I don't remember threads per inch or morse taper, but you could easily research that on owwm

[Jeremy Pyatskowit]

Thanks guys!

[Curt Fuller]

I turn on an Oliver 159 that is slightly older than the one you've pictured. I have one of the few that were made with a 14" swing verses the standard 12" swing. They are truly a workhorse of a lathe. Lots of iron, good bearings, and an excellent reeves drive system. But....they're build originally with a 3 phase 220v motor. That's a good thing is you're electrically inclined and know how to hook it up with a variable frequency drive (VFD), not so good if you were just planning to plug it in and start turning. Mine has the original motor replaced with a 1hp 220v single phase. Without a VFD they have a limited minimum speed of about 700 rpms. That's considered too fast by most bowl turners, but because it's all I've ever used I've adapted to it by taking a few extra precautions when cutting blanks and making sure my wood is securely chucked. As for the price range, they seem to be selling in the $1000 to $1500 range lately, some for even more if they've been restored. At that price and the cost of a VFD they're getting pretty close to what you could buy a new Jet 1642 or comparable lathe. Also, Oliver lathes have 1 1/8" x 8 tpi spindle. You can get face plates, chuck adaptors, etc from Oneway or have them made but it's not one of the standard sizes that are usually stocked at most woodworking stores.

[Mike Willeson]

The guys at "Old Woodworking Machines" can probably tell you everything you ever wanted to know about this lathe:

http://owwm.org/index.php

Lots of Oliver fans over there.