Oliver 91-P Hollow Chisel Mortiser Restoration.

Origins · Purchasing · Relocation · Repair · Restoration

Origins.
This mortiser was used at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Although it is covered with several coats of paint, the mortiser looks to have received very little use.

Purchase.
I purchased the mortiser at a government surplus auction in Springfield, Illinois early May 2005.

Relocation.
Like many of the older machines, this mortiser is made of cast iron. I estimate this machine weighs around 900 pounds and is awkward, although not as awkward as a large bandsaw. The auction was run in the evening and the forklift operators were not working that evening so I had to pick it up the next day. Well as usual, when you leave something behind at an auction something always turns up missing when you arrive to pick it up. There was an extra handwheel on the pallet with the same yellow paint when I purchased the mortiser, and not there when I picked it up. Of course I couldn't get it out the door the evening of the auction because of security so you leave it behind and hope for the best... not this time. The auction house workers loaded it into my pickup with a forklift and off I went. The only problem I had was getting it out of the truck. Since I do not own a forklift and there are none in my neighborhood to borrow, I was stuck. Usually I get machines on a short tilt trailer and am able to slide them out onto the ground. So, I started disassembling the machine. I removed every major component except the plunge mechanism housed inside the base.

My neighbor Ron cam over and gave me a hand tipping the base over and sliding it out of the truck and onto a pallet. From there, I was able to get everything into the shop.

Repair.
This mortiser needs no repair that I can see. The only item that may need work is the motor and the pushbutton station. I only say this because the motor is filled with sawdust from being idle for so many years and the pushbutton station was removed. My guess is that the previous owner needed it for some other machine and robbed the mortiser. This, however, is good news for me. The less this machine was used the more likely I will find no trouble with it.

Restoration.
The restoration of this machine began almost as soon as it was unloaded. I stripped several parts the same evening that I unload it from the truck. This aggressive restoration is only out of need for shop space. I have other items to be worked on, but they are not currently in my workspace.

My first new item is special thanks to Jeffrey McVey for diagrams of a complete 92-D unit. This will help in reassembly, and as it stands, I will need it. Every part on this mortiser has now been removed.

I have cleaned up, primed and painted the fence. I used the new 'Hammered' paint since the back of this fence is the rough cast iron. It came out pretty good. I guess we will see how this paint holds up over the next couple of years.

This week I stripped the base. Aarg! This machine is covered with body filler. Now I will have to get some filler and fill my new gouges.

Well, it happened. I had a fight with the bandsaw and lost. Restoration will resume after healing and therapy.