Honest Review of my Oliver Machines after 3 Years

[@OliverMachinery]

We appreciate it! We have added the new fence support as well as an infeed table lock on the 12" and 16" planers.

[@AgCWby90CS]

Grew up in my dad’s cabinet shop in the 80’s in Fredericksburg with several Oliver machines including thickness planer and jointer and they were all great machines. Born in’67 and those machines were older than me.

[@TalkingJohn88]

even though I can barely operate a screwdriver, I like your videos Andy. I appreciate the skill and precision of your builds.

[@sjmc-ws7tc]

Great synopsis! That lathe looks incredible!

[@colintaylor3044]

I really appreciate your work, and just got back to your channel. Now that I have more time. Thank you for your inspiration.

[@coreytighe8605]

I’m glad I’m not the only one with this problem with the jointer fence. I have the Laguna copycat and I found the same issues. I found that helps a lot is that I use some Magswitch 90* ones and put them behind the fence to help it stay at 90. I also do a lot of long glueups and seems to help. But I keep thinking of changing the whole fence to the new fence and making it fit.

[@coreytighe8605]

And on the adjustment handle I put a quick grip clamp on the handle shaft and let the bar of the clamp touch up against the power pole.

[@forbol]

Robust sells lathe tool rests with a hardened edge. So nice, worth every penny.

[@chrissteere9494]

Thanks for the honest reviews!

[@dennisclayton5844]

For your lathe, look at tool rest made by Robust Tools out of Wisconsin. They make great tool rest with hardened steel edge so you do not kick the to. I own a Robust lathe and they are quality products.

[@AndyRawls]

Thanks I’ll check it out!

[@grantwbrewer]

I'm about to spend a sizeable amount of money depending on this video. AR, I just wanted them to know you add value as a great and honest Ambassador.

[@oliver299d]

There are a few still USA made, north field, tannewitz, I believe Ritter still Is, Dodds. It's amazing as someone that has a bunch of original oliver machines like you do, the new stuff isn't anything like Oliver, other than they bought the name. I have a 166cd jointer, 299d planer, 133bd jointer 159a lathe, and small table saw I can't remember the model number, all are fabulous machines and built to last forever, Sadly nothing today compares

[@mercedesEQUA]

I've been waiting for this video for a long time (review)Andy you have a great workshop

[@keith4788]

James L Taylor clamps made in new york, Timesavers widebelt sanders still builds a few american made machines, ritter is made in Michigan, Safety Speed is made in the midwest, Entecco dust collectors are made in NC, Tannowitz bandsaw (some of them) made in Michigan. Plenty of US build machines, but the generic machine companies are all imports.

[@natebrown5588]

cast iron is the only way to go, grizzly has a nice setup for a jointer fence

[@tylerp5199]

I work at a maker space with a 12” Oliver jointer. It has the more robust cast iron fence assembly and it is also impossible to square. I wonder if they’re stress relieving the castings (at all) because it’s as if the fence is twisted. If I square it up at the infeed side it’s out of square at the outfeed side. I just don’t rely on it at all to square an edge.

[@AndyRawls]

Dang that’s not good to hear. If it’s square on the infeed side and your pressure is against the fence on the infeed side then you should get a good 90 degree joint. I don’t really have any issues with my joints being square but it still should be square front to back.

[@zacharybrosious2293]

Wish this Oliver was the same as the old Oliver

[@joeyfreeland9337]

I’ve heard other people say the same thing, but I don’t know exactly what they mean. Can you elaborate?

[@bigdogmn73]

I really like those two units. That planer is really cool with the infeed and outfeed that doesn't move up or down...and the new designed fence on the jointer is just like the powermatic...could you walk thru your adjustment process on that jointer? High level? I'm curious...

[@AndyRawls]

I’m honestly inside a video posted by The Wood whisper years ago. He has a great process using a good straight edge and feller gauges.

[@jamesallen3799]

Nice run down. Nothing compares to the original Oliver Northfield or Martin. But the cost of new usually is out of the question. I recommend good used machines.

[@joelereeves]

Did they ask for the Band Saw back when it was discontinued?

[@AndyRawls]

Nope

[@SingleStacked]

If you were to purchase a new jointer do you feel a 16" width is necessary? Seems a power feed would be necessary trying to face joint 16" wide.

[@AndyRawls]

Yes! I’ve jointed many boards at the full 16” and it handles it just fine with a light cut. I actually wouldn’t mind have a wider jointer.

[@oliver299d]

depends on what you are doing, there are times you need a 24 or a 30" jointer even, 16 will do most anything you need though

[@frankdesantis452]

Have you had any issues with dust collection on the jointer? Is that a 6" hose on it? I'm asking because my jointer has a 4" hose fitting and it clogs all the time.

[@AndyRawls]

I have not. It’s a 6” so you need a substantial dust collector to get the cfm.

[@frankdesantis452]

@@AndyRawls Thanks for the reply. I love the content and always pick up technique tips when I watch.

[@dylansousa5571]

Good video

[@joelw6215]

I got into the business with grizzly and got a TON OF equipment from them for around 10k. All my tools probably cost double now. My cabinet part supplier sells Oliver and their 16 “ table saw makes me drool every time I see it. 😅

[@AndyRawls]

Yeah their table saws look nice! I wouldn’t mind having one.

[@Meyerwoodworks]

My Grizzly are similar. The jointer is a monster, but the fence design is terrible. It uses roll pins that back out, fall out, and constantly needs to be re-squared every time. The planer still has a small about of snipe. I've calibrated it 3-times now, just can't get it "right." I just bought a Felder K700S and I'm going SCM SD10 for a wide belt. I'm done with the non-european import machines. I likely will upgrade eventually to Felder/SCM jointer & planer at some point.

[@martinheuer2316]

Hallo Andy,what do you use to wax your jointer and plainer tops?

[@AndyRawls]

I just use regular paste wax from the big box store.

[@olivier2553]

Machining oversea is not always a problem, but you have to have people there who are looking at quality control. If you only look for the cheapest price, you get the cheapest quality...

[@AndyRawls]

Very True!!

[@joepiker]

Your Oliver drill press looks exactly like my one from Grizzly ( bought about 10 years ago),,,Yours has a better light. The knobs on mine are cheap, and constantly loosen up ( or just fall off). Otherwise it's adequate (and I really do like the heavy duty motor - 1 1/2 or 2 hp) i am pretty sure no one in the US has made drill presses for decades...so we are stuck with Taiwan ( or China)

[@marcelo403polo2]

I would never buy that drill press for $1600. Looks like junk. $2000 is for Nova Voyager, and that's a Cadillac of drill presses

[@mikes1330]

the fence mechanism looks just like Laguna's (with an aluminum fence) and Laguna's is crap

[@АлександрСтепанов-ч2ю]

Станки станки станки, ( Как там Цезарь? Всё интриги да интриги, всё интриги да обжёрства)