Hi all,

I noticed some folks had a way to de-code the old Oliver jointer serial numbers. I googled for a while and couldn't find a good reference. Can anyone tell me about this machine? I have the opportunity to buy it at a good price.

Model: 144-BD; serial#58159. Seems to be quite old.

The reason I ask, I read a few threads that said this machine should be 3-phase however it's not, it's single phase. I also read that the -BD should be belt drive but again it's not, it's direct drive (at least it looks like it from the picture, see below).

Lastly, I noticed the Shelix head's for these are $800. Any insight into why the heads for this machine are significantly more than most other 8" Byrd heads?