VN The mythical Van Norman 13

[Cal Haines]

Eric,

Your serial number, 13199, may be from 1935. I asked around on another forum and a guy with a serial number book that goes back to 1935 helped out. His book only has three entries prior to 1937:

1935: No. 22 s/n 13247
1936: No. 22 s/n 13510; No. 32 s/n 13442

But it seems very odd that they would have made a few No. 12s in 1935, then started producing them in earnest in 1937, building more than five thousand over the next eighteen years. Then there's the problem of the No. 22 with serial number 13744, which I guess would have been built during 1937, when they started building No. 22s with serial numbers starting at 5000.

Here's a photo of No. 22, serial number 13744:


Note that the bottom of the motor bracket on top of the ram follows the curve of the ram, just like yours does. All other No. 12s, starting with serial number 5000, have motor brackets that are square on the bottom.

 

[ericpelletier000]

i love that you caught that detail in the ram. I missed it completely. Now it sticks out to me like feathers on a fish.

There’s a possibility this mill is a prototype or more likely an early production model. I’m guessing the serial numbers were added later in the production process — once they were sure minimal acceptance was met but well prior to finishing so they wouldn’t have ‘skips’ or ‘redos’. This would account for some fudge in the serial number to year correlation. I also have a feeling they rolled out new models slowly and let market uptake control production so the 12 may have taken a while to take hold.

1934 or ‘35 sounds right in that context. The switchgear is similar to what appears on the 22 in your pic. So 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of another.

It would be nice to find some mid 30’s literature which would help piece it together.

Any way here’s some more detailed “head shots”: