When Oliver first began supplying hay tools to the farmer in the teens, they were not of the Oliver manufacture. Thomas Hay tools were built by the Thomas Manufacturing Co. of Springfield, OH. They provide Oliver with the Thomas Crown mower, a side delivery rake, a tedder, hay loader and even a line of grain drills. The picture shows what the Thomas mower looked like, but it can also be identified by the “B” prefix on all the parts cast on it.

Following the 1929 merger, Oliver set out to build their own mower. This first mower, known as a No. 1, 2 3 and 4 was a far cry better than the Thomas mower but still not the Cadillac of mowers. The drive gear was open, which often became a problem when the crop wrapped around it and brought everything to a halt.

Seventy years ago Oliver introduced what they marketed as the “First Really New Mower in 75 Years.” After two years of testing, the new Oliver Clip-Cut Mower was about to change the treacherous, noisy chore of mowing into a Sunday drive.

Major changes had been made. No longer would the drive gear be out in the open. The gear and clutch were completely sealed, running in a bath of oil and free from dust. Not only were the gears enclosed but they were also moved to the rear of the axle. This relieved some of the pressure from the horses' neck and represented a 10-15% decrease in draft. Most earlier models did have the gears located in front of the axle which just meant more weight wearing down the team.

The frame had been redesigned to a 4-square frame. This gave the mower great strength without any flexibility. The axle was a single piece of 1 7/16” high carbon steel extending from one wheel to the other. Without a split axle, there was no need for extra gears. Extra gears just created a power loss. In addition the axle turned on a wide roller bearing, which further assured a light running machine. The wide frame also permitted a wider spacing of the wheels to counteract the side-draft. Center to center wheel spacing on an Oliver mower is 52 1/2 inches (with narrow width wheels), which is much wider than the competition.

Check out your copy of Oliver Heritage for more on this story and many others!!!