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Date Posted	April 01, 2009
News Title	Issue # 30: Oliver’s 200 Series Disks
Spring is in the air and thoughts turn to fieldwork and preparing the soil for the years bounty. Oliver built a successful line of tillage tools and the 200 series disks were quite popular 50 years ago. With the popularity of “working shows” more people are pulling the Oliver disks out of the fence row and putting them back to work. Signage was minimal on Oliver’s disk so this article will highlight the differences in the 200 series to help you identify your model. The first rubber-tired disk to be produced for use with a hydraulic lift cylinder was the 240. It used a 15” tire so any automotive tire would work on it. This was a tandem disk with a semi-flexible frame. This was the first Oliver disk that could actually be lifted at the end of the field and driven home on the highway and backed into the shed. It was a very modern disk for that era, compared to previous models. The 240 was available in four different sizes. The 9 ¼ foot cut had 32 blades. The 10 ½ foot had 36 blades. The 11 ¾ foot cut had 40 blades and the 13 foot cut was equipped with 44 blades. Blade spacing was 7”. It was available with 16”, 18” or 20” plain blades or the 18” and 20” cutaway type. The front gangs were identical to the rear gangs. The main drawback to this model was the bearings. These were not sealed bearings and did not survive well with the dusty conditions of disking. In 1957 Oliver introduced the upgraded model of the 240 making it a 241. This model did have the modern sealed bearings. When the early 241 came out, it used the 3-piece steel spacer spools just like the 240. However, it was later improved with the new cast iron spacers between the blades. These narrower spacers provided even more trash clearance. Read all about the 200 Series of Disks in Oliver Heritage #30
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