Schedule a Meeting · Talk to a real woodworker: +1 937-890-5197 · 8:00AM – 4:30PM ET

1959 Greenie!

agleason

Hello All

although I am not a regular poster on the forum I wanted to share a great old Greenie I scored. I have a 50th anniversary MK V 520 that I LOVE! I always thought how cool it would be to have a Greenie and in the back of my mind I thought if I could find one locally that is affordable. I saw one on Ebay last week about 3 hours away and purchased it.I bought it from the original owner who is now in assisted living. His son met me at the storage location and filled me in on the history of the old SS. His father bought it new in the very early sixties and he believed the unit is a 59 model. He stated his dad used it little and it had been in that storage unit for more than 30 years. It's missing a few items but is overall in great condition! I will post more pictures after I clean it up tonight. I'm not sure what to do with it now that I have it. Make a shorty sanding station? A Shop Deputy? Thoughts?

[attachment=1]$matches[2][/attachment]
[attachment=2]$matches[2][/attachment]
[attachment=3]$matches[2][/attachment]

rpd

Looks in great shape. Set it up as a dedicated drill press. Use as a spare when your 520 is set up for a specific operation and you need to do something else, someone posted recently that they used their spare one as an outfeed table for sawing operations. I am sure you will find many uses now that that is an option. :)

chapmanruss

Your Greenie was made in December of 1959. Of course it is your to do with as you please but I would keep it original. Making it a shorty means you may never be able to go back to being original. The bench tubes on the Greenie were 1-7/8" diameter not 1-3/4" as all later Mark 5's are. With that the base and headrest castings are different too. Later you may find it harder to get full length tubes to replace the cut bench tubes. If space is not a problem keep it original and you can still use it as a sanding station it will just be a little longer. Plus you will have two full size machines to use on projects.

agleason

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I really don't want to alter this beautiful machine, but space is definitely an issue. Squeezing another full size in may be a problem. Time will tell. Here are few more pictures...

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

agleason

More pictures of a much cleaner Greenie!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

jsburger

That is very very nice. I would not alter it in any way.

JPG

Having a Goldie carriage places it in the the transition period between Greenies and Goldies so 59 makes sense.

I assume the vent plate says Yuba Power Products.

If you want to make it a shorty, get a set of tubes and store the originals.

A 1 3/4" bench tube will fit and the only difference will be the bench tube spacing will increase by 1/8"(typically not a problem - especially with a shorty).

Do not overlook the possibility of mounting the end castings on the wall vertically to create a fixed drill press.

Geez she looks purty fer her age.

agleason

JPG wroteHaving a Goldie carriage places it in the the transition period between Greenies and Goldies so 59 makes sense.

I assume the vent plate says Yuba Power Products.

It may be one of the last Greenies produced, December 1959 should have been the end. It does have Yuba Power Products on the vent plate.

agleason

According to the serial number chart there were 600 more produced after this one.

chapmanruss

Greenies were still being made into 1960. S/N 363155 is a Greenie and was made in February 1960. I do not know which month they changed to Goldies but it was by May. I do wonder about the Goldie carriage. Was it replaced later, was it painted or did it originally come that way? We may never know for sure. To me the "gold" color looks different than the "Gold" color used on the Goldies when I compare it to the before pictures of the one I restored. Is the gold paint hammered finish?

368624 r.jpg

edflorence

Wow, what a score! That is a beautiful looking greenie. Lots of good suggestions have already been made on what can be done with it, from keeping it as is, which I sort of understand, as in its original condition its like a classic '57 Chevvy, but on the other hand, it is still a very functional tool and can be used as well as admired. So I will toss into the mix another idea, one that has worked out great for me.

I took my old late '50's greenie and had the motor rewired so that it became reversible and then mounted the headstock on a shorty base. I think mine was one of the last machines Bill Mayo worked on, and he did a great job. The headstock is now equipped with a switch that allows me to select the direction of rotation, so I have the bandsaw mounted on one end and the jointer on the other and it is just a matter of sliding the headstock from one end to the other and flipping a switch to use either spt. This is a really convenient setup; it solves the storage issue for the two spt's and also means that I rarely have to lift and move them.

Just another idea to consider.

agleason

chapmanruss wroteGreenies were still being made into 1960. S/N 363155 is a Greenie and was made in February 1960. I do not know which month they changed to Goldies but it was by May. I do wonder about the Goldie carriage. Was it replaced later, was it painted or did it originally come that way? We may never know for sure. To me the "gold" color looks different than the "Gold" color used on the Goldies when I compare it to the before pictures of the one I restored. Is the gold paint hammered finish?

[attachment=0]368624 r.jpg[/attachment]

Here are a couple of pictures of the carriage. The entire assembly appears unmolested, all original.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

JPG

One more thing to puzzle over. :D

The SPT clamp has the finer grooves like later Goldies.

agleason

I think I've made a decision. If I shorten her by 15 inches then I can squeeze her into the space I have for another piece of equipment and not completely ruin a beautiful machine.

So, that's the plan. shorten her 15 inches and keep a lot of the functionality. I have my 520 which will be the "GO TO" machine anyway.

dusty

Nice looking machine!

But cut 15" off of the bench tubes? Are you sure.

From the positions shown in your two photos:

Move the headstock to the left end (all the way). Lock it. Move the carriage to the left 15" (the planned cutoff length) and lock it. Mount the chuck. Now mount the table assembly and tilt it. Does the table clear the chuck? Without moving the carriage, can you setup for all of the operations that you intend to use when it has become a shorty?

I cut off 14" and frequently wish I had cut off a little less.

agleason

dusty wroteNice looking machine!

But cut 15" off of the bench tubes? Are you sure.

From the positions shown in your two photos:

Move the headstock to the left end (all the way). Lock it. Move the carriage to the left 15" (the planned cutoff length) and lock it. Mount the chuck. Now mount the table assembly and tilt it. Does the table clear the chuck? Without moving the carriage, can you setup for all of the operations that you intend to use when it has become a shorty?

I cut off 14" and frequently wish I had cut off a little less.

Luckily I already own two standard size drill presses. The likelihood of me having that scenario on this Greenie is very remote. Thanks for the words of wisdom though.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

agleason

Completed...

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

jsburger

VERY NICE!!!

JPG

Do hang on to those tube cutoffs.