Oliver #54 Lathe with Kimble motor

[lafester]

Picking this up on Friday...
Not a you **** deal but quite fair for CL in my area.
Actually since there really isn't much for sale anywhere it may be a great deal for anything other then a lucky auction find.

My Craftsman just felt like a toy, I think this beast will handle anything I will ever throw at it.

Once I started looking at these motors I knew I had to have one.

Youtube example of motor running:

The seller actually sent me a video of it running and it is much quieter then that one.

 

[bubinga]

nice single phase?

 

[zkling]

Kimble motors are a engineering marvel. Lord help you if it ever needs repair.

 

[lafester]

yeah single phase 1/2 hp 110 or 220v.

nice single phase?

 

[lafester]

well they are tanks and have lasted this long so I'm not too worried. If something were to blow up I'm sure the remaining parts would cover the cost of a replacement.

Kimble motors are a engineering marvel. Lord help you if it ever needs repair.

 

[bubinga]

Kimble motors are a engineering marvel. Lord help you if it ever needs repair.

zkling, How does the system work?
I know, Google is my friend (Yes it is BTY.....L0L)

well they are tanks and have lasted this long so I'm not too worried. If something were to blow up I'm sure the remaining parts would cover the cost of a replacement.

You're gonna love the lathe?
(Chatter????? You won't have no stinking chatter. Vibration?????? You won't have no stinking vibration!..........L0L)

nice single phase?

good deal!!

I have A 159 A.
It's A tank too.
It was 3 phase, So I put a under powered 1/4HP single phase on it at first.
(Only Bogged down in "High Gear" though.)

Then changed out to a 3 phase VFD duty motor, with a VFD, and it still has the reeves drive.
It's a SWEET set up.
Oh, My lathe just takes a 5/8" shaft, standard 56 frame motor.
So swap out was A breeze.

 

[lafester]

zkling, How does the system work?
I know, Google is my friend (Yes it is BTY.....L0L)




You're gonna love the lathe?
(Chatter????? You won't have no stinking chatter. Vibration?????? You won't have no stinking vibration!..........L0L)


good deal!!

I have A 159 A.
It's A tank too.
It was 3 phase, So I put a under powered 1/4HP single phase on it at first.
(Only Bogged down in "High Gear" though.)

Then changed out to a 3 phase VFD duty motor, with a VFD, and it still has the reeves drive.
It's a SWEET set up.
Oh, My lathe just takes a 5/8" shaft, standard 56 frame motor.
So swap out was A breeze.

Yeah those 159s look pretty versatile. If I ever come across one it may be an upgrade candidate.

 

[ttpete]

It probably came out of a school wood shop. My 7th-grade shop had Oliver 159s.

 

[bubinga]

It probably came out of a school wood shop. My 7th-grade shop had Oliver 159s.

The 159 did come from A school auction about 20 years ago.

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[bubinga]

Yeah those 159s look pretty versatile. If I ever come across one it may be an upgrade candidate.

It's An nice lathe indeed.
Good luck with yours!

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[lafester]

Leaving in a couple hours, then a couple hour drive and a couple hour drive back.
The seller is meeting me half way though so it could be worse!

Surprised he didn't just lower the price and make me drive all the way.

 

[bubinga]

Leaving in a couple hours, then a couple hour drive and a couple hour drive back.
The seller is meeting me half way though so it could be worse!

Surprised he didn't just lower the price and make me drive all the way.

Be SAFE

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[lafester]

Omw back with the beast

Be SAFE

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[bubinga]

Omw back with the beast

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Omw back with the beast

 

[lafester]

Ahhh, back safe and sound and unloaded.
The Beast is heavy but not unbearably so, except for the motor.
Oliver would have been wise to put some handles on that damn thing.

Only thing that really surprised me was the size of that banjo and tool rest. It's deceivingly small in the pic but that's because the motor and tail are so much bigger then what I am used to. I was originally kind of worried that it might be week and fragile but I am no longer. The banjo probably weighs 15 lbs.

Time to get a drink and look it over.

Update:

That was fun! Once I cool down I'll post up a couple pics.

Tailstock ram wheel has multiple repairs (brazing) and is a little wobbly but seems to work fine. Ram itself is really smooth and solid. Otherwise just dirty like the banjo. Almost looks like he found another oliver or similar and swapped out the worse parts... or someone else did before him and he just never cleaned it up.

Only markings on the tail are on the back side. This one looks very similar to all the others I have seen.

Banjo looks fine, no cracks or repairs and the knob is very solid. I think the rest is like 16-18 inches long. Would like to find the one with the handle on the front but this will work for now. I've been pondering making and free standing rest out of a dp base and column, mainly because I have one that isn't really doing anything useful.

The clamp plate is obviously home made but seems to work well.

The head/motor is ridiculously heavy and bulky. That thing is not going anywhere. We got it up on the bed and slid it down to it's home. It's in the corner so we simply could not lift it straight in. Funny thing is once it is in place it doesn't look that big anymore.

I see 3 colors of paint so far. Black as the og color, then green, then grey. The tail and banjo are just black. I'm thinking a dark forest green to go next to my blue craftsman walker turner band saw. We shall see as I'm not painting it until it cools down some.

I don't think I'll wire it up until tomorrow... don't want to make any stupid mistakes.

 

[lafester]

Got it all lined up and wired. Fired up the motor and it sure does purr.
I bet it will pass a dime test no problem.
It does flicker the florescents a bit but not terrible. Long term I should probably get some 220 outlets installed anyway.

 

[bubinga]

Got it all lined up and wired. Fired up the motor and it sure does purr.
I bet it will pass a dime test no problem.
It does flicker the florescents a bit but not terrible. Long term I should probably get some 220 outlets installed anyway.

Nice.
Take a video if you get a chance.

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