"Old Arn", Oliver Model 260??

[Greg Cole]

Anybody in the Creek ever seen one of these or used one? Any info on one would be great....
A coworker and I may buy a pair of Oliver Model 260's... dual 16" arbor TS, twin 5hp motors, factory sliding table...
They are in pretty good shape, not a pile of rust and scale... the price is not even worth mentioning... the shipping is however... the manual says these tip the scale at 2400lbs uncrated!

Thanks in advance.

Greg

[Frank Drew]

Greg,

IMO, just about anything from Oliver deserves very serious consideration, even if you eventually decide it's not for you.

One of my favorites of their many table saw models, a 1946 88-DY:

http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=3958

My only hands on experience is with a few of their band saw and jointers; for everything you'd ever want to know about Oliver and other old American woodworking machinery, check out www.owwm.org, and www.owwm.com

[Greg Cole]

Hi Frank,
I've been to OWWM's web page and had a couple chats with them about these machines specifically. Seems as these are pretty rare and yes anything & everything Oliver I've seen has been good stuff. Some of it albeit in poor state of repair, but still worth looking at.
These 2 saws are seriously in better shape that any 40's era tools I've seen that haven't been restored. If we get these for the prices we're at now, I could sell them as scrap and recover that investment...

Thanks,
Greg

[Jack Vines]

That Oliver is a monster saw, designed for continuous production and far too large for most small cabinet shops, much less a hobby shop. All I have ever seen were three-phase motors. Have you considered the footprint and the reach required for smaller work?

thnx, jack vines

[Greg Cole]

Jack,
I have considered all the above. And if I manage to wind up with one, I won't sell my current machine. It has 3 phase motors now, and I have 3 phase available to use it with or can simply use a convertor.
The machine isn't HUGE (5'x5'), but it's heavy as sin.
My long term plans to relocate would put me within an arms reach of family that are loggers and one uncle has a band mill..... just thinking way ahead maybe.
I'll know in a few minutes if I am going to proceed....

G

[lou sansone]

yes
I had a nice oliver 260 dual arbor saw. awesome machine. anything oliver will really impress you. I eventually sold my 260 and bought an Italian sliding table saw. I still liked the oliver.

Lou

[Andrew Joiner]

Why the dual arbor's? Can you run two blades at once?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Anybody got a photo? Short on time this morning, and would like to see which machine this is.

[Alex Shanku]

Why the dual arbor's? Can you run two blades at once?

Yes

Here is Phil Kezele's Oliver from OWWM.com.

http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=7468

[Chris Padilla]

LOL, that is so cool. Switching between a rip and crosscut blade in under a minute would be so sweet!

[Marcus Ward]

Greg, you have to buy it. No ifs ands or buts. If you can afford it. Purely because I can't, you have to allow us to live vicariously through you.

[Jeff Duncan]

I have used the Oliver sliding tablesaw with dual arbors, not sure if they make different models of that configuration? But the one I used was a fantastic machine and if I needed it for the work I do I wouldn't hesitate.
good luck,
JeffD

[Greg Cole]

Ahhh, man I wish I wound up with one of them. But sight unseen auctions are daunting. I had a ceiling of $1500 and someone rolled in at the 11th hour and 59th minute with a higher bid. That person also both the other one as there was a pair of'em. Then again the shipping from MD to Kansas City was going to be another grand......
These 2 saws were US Navy property since the day they were brand new, so they'd been kept up well and used til the day they were shut off. OF COURSE I didn't know the navy ownership til after the auction ended.
Cheers.

Greg

[Bill White]

out to the shop to check the slab. May need to bust up the concrete and pour a special footing for that beast. (Just funnin' ya.)
BUY IT!!!!
Bill

[Martin King]

Greg,
I own a 260D. If you are into older industrial machines, the 260 is
about as nice a saw as you could ever want. I've never heard
of anyone regretting buying an older Oliver machine. It does not
have a big footprint but weighs quite a bit. I think the table
alone weighs more than the average cabinet saw. Changing
out the bearings is a bit of work on that saw, but that's about
the only downside. The saw is an absolute joy to use.

Martin