Oliver Model 232 Tablesaw Restoration.

Origins · Purchasing · Relocation · Repair · Restoration

Origins.
This tablesaw was originally owned by Sangamon State University. Since, the school has been renamed University of Illinois @ Springfield. The saw has changed hands in Springfield, Illinois, home of Abe Lincoln, several times.

Purchasing
In February 2005, I purchased this saw from a cabinet builder in Springfield, IL named Quinto Cimarossa. He had purchased the saw but never used it and stored it in his son's metal shed on a farm west of Springfield. 

Since my purchase of this saw, I have been looking for the fence-side extension. In April, Pleasant's Machinery, a dealer out of DeKalb, Illinois put one on ebay with an opening price of $150. I waited patiently until near the end of the auction to place my bid. Just three hours before the end, no one had placed a bid. I called Pleasant's with some questions about the extension and decided that I would bid on it. Later that morning I attempted to dial in and place my bid. The pc blew up and I had to reboot. Of course the boot up was extremely slow. I finally got dialed in, although only at 33.6 bps, and brought up ebay. I signed in and went to the auction only to find that it had just ended. A sole bidder won the auction at the opening price! Aarg!

Hurray! I received a call from a firefighter / machinery restorer / machinery dealer in Golden, CO. He had read my entry here and happened to have an extension for the saw for sale. I purchased it from him and another part for the 91-D mortiser. 

I received the extension but it was not the extension I had been wanting from the auction. This extension was the U shaped far right extension. So if anyone knows of a right side extension with the graduated scale on it, please let me know. I don't even care if it is not for sale. I could use some measurements... and will probably make an offer anyway, you never know. 

Relocation
I was lucky enough to borrow a friend's tandem trailer for hauling this machine. Even better was the Bobcat with forks that I was able to load it with at the farm. When home, I rolled it right off the trailer and into the garage.

Repair
No repair needed, everything is in working order!

Restoration
After good news on the extension I couldn't stand it anymore, so, I cleaned up the top of the saw. I used several methods. First I sanded the rust with 220 on the orbital sander. Then I used naval jelly. Next I broke out the 3M conditioning pads on the angle grinder. Where there were stains, I introduced some grinding compound. This help in some cases and not in others. Now the saw is looking better, but is back against the wall with a coat of Slip-ease on the table to keep it free of rust and other staining until I can get help in removing the table and continuing the restoration of the inner workings.

September 19, 2005
Well I have regained enough use of my right hand to start back to work. This weekend, I had a friend help remove the top. Watch out for the alignment pins that hold the top in place.

Once off, we turned it upside down and I finished the bottom with some green paint. Ain't she 'purdy'?

The nameplate is in good shape, a little primer and some paint and it'll be good as new. Wait until you see the new color!

Here is a couple pictures of the hand operated motor braking mechanism.

Belowis the brake assembly for the saw. It is a simple design, I hope it works well when reassembled. 

Here is the blade cover/door ready for paint.

I am taking the motor out tonight and will have it tested, poked and prodded tomorrow. Hopefully I can get the rest of the machine cleaned up and painted by this weekend. Of course I have said that before.

September 23, 2005
I got a little side-tracked, it happens. I did well at a state surplus auction which took up an entire day of my time. But I did get the motor out, cleaned up and tested. I even removed the paint and added a new coat to match. This is about it for the parts I am willing to remove. I would need a hoist to remove the rest. I need to get the hand wheels off this thing and clean it up everywhere I can. Then, the final painting lubricating and reassembly.

September 29, 2005
Well, I did get more off the machine apart. I have cleaned up everything except the base and the tilting mechanism. I hope to have all parts cleaned, primed and painted this weekend. We'll see how it goes. This rainy fall is killing me.

October 4, 2005
The base is almost clean. I went to the junkyard today to find some angle iron suitable for the mobile base, but nothing good enough was available... or at least not still attached to a farm implement or something else big. Looks like I'll be purchasing new and expensive steel. Ouch.

October 6, 2005
I visited another metal recycler yesterday and found a 10' piece of 2 1/2" angle with 1/4" thickness. It weighed in at 39 lbs., but the guys said just take it. So I have my steel for the base.

October 12, 2005
Thanks to a neighbor and his metal cutting bandsaw, the frame for the mobile base is cut.

Also, the base of the saw is painted!

I have got a project to finish up, then I will returnconcentration to the mobile base.

November 13, 2005
The saw is complete. My neighbor welded up the mobile base for me last week. I cleaned it up, painted it and attached the castors. The saw went back together much quicker than disassembly. I am now acquiring plans and talking with several people about building a rotary phase converter. It would be great to turn this machine on!

Thanks to the members of the www.owwm.com forum for their expert and often humorous advice.