Old Lathe

[Mike Goetzke]

I'm just getting into turning and have a Delta 46-460 but this lathe just look cool:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/tls/3845267506.html

[Dennis Ford]

That was a top of the line lathe when it was built. Now it could be the basis for a pretty good home made general purpose lathe or used mostly as is for a great spindle lathe.

[Curt Fuller]

That's almost the spittin' image of the lathe I turn on. Very good, solid machine. Nothing fancy but a real workhorse. And if it's all in working order that's a pretty decent price.That appears to be an Oliver 159....12" swing. I turn on an Oliver 2159...14" swing. If you're seriously looking at it, one of the first things to check is if it has the original 220v 3 phase motor. If so it can be made to run on normal 220v single phase household electricity buy using a variable speed controller. If the motor has been changed, it will probably be either single phase 220v or 110v. Good lathe though for the money, a lot more iron than most in that price range.

[Dennis Nagle]

Just like Curt said. Great lathe. I have an Oliver and love it.

[Kyle VanMeter]

Oliver lathes were very well built. That is why so many of them are still hard at work today. I have one too and I love it.

Bear in mind that lathe has a pretty high minimum speed. I think it is 800 rpm. Like Curt mentioned, it may be 3 phase, which I feel would definitely be to your advantage. If it has the original 3 phase motor, you can get a variable frequency drive to run it off of single phase and control the speed.

If the motor has been swapped out, that shouldn't be a deal breaker, but the lathe will be more suited for spindle work. Spinning a bowl at a minimum of 800 rpm is a bit excessive to start roughing, unless it is a small bowl or is exceptionally well balanced.

Best of luck!

[Don Bunce]

Yep, that's a nice lathe, and I'm only about 20 mile away... Nope, I don't need another lathe, I have 4 already... Nope, I don't need another lathe, I have 4 already... Nope, I don't need another lathe, I have 4 already... Nope, I don't need another lathe, I have 4 already...

[Dennis Nagle]

Keep telling yourself that Don. If you do it long enough, some else will buy it.