Thread: Hendey 16x30

Later this week I am going to make a 800 mile one way trip to look at a 18 sp, 16x30 Hendey gear head lathe with a L1 spindle. I have no pictures or serial number but the owner believes it is a 1943 model. I have been told that it has a war production board plate and has a top speed of about 750 rpm and a low of about 20. The owner (a retired pilot) tells me he has had a number of Hendey's in the past and this is the best one he has ever had. He has been using the machine with a 3 jaw chuck but believes he has a 4 jaw and a face plate for it and some Hendey collets that he has never used (he has been using a set of Jacobs flex collets) there may also be a steady but he is not sure. The lathe does not have a taper attachment. It seems as though there may be a number of other accessories but I will not know what and how complete they are until I get there.

I am thinking that this machine will have a operating foot print of about 10' by 4' but that may be too small. If so, my 12x14 shop will likely also be too small

At the same time I am also considering a somewhat newer (at least in years) 12x42 with a L0 spindle. It has a taper attachment (seems to be missing the tall binding lever and linkage), 3 & 4 jaw chucks, a dog plate, carriage stop and live center. However, this machine is located on the east coast.

So with all of that in mind what should I really look at and what is the likelihood of finding a taper attachment for it and anything else anyone wants to chine in with.

Thanks,

Earl

Just as easy as "finding" a parts machine that still has the T/A. 16 X 30 is 103.25" long. Late thirties catalog says they are either 10-652 or 16-1000 on speeds

[QUOTE=johnoder; Late thirties catalog says they are either 10-652 or 16-1000 on speeds[/QUOTE]

I think it must be a low speed machine 10-652 I probably misheard. But that brings up the question as to what differentiates a low speed from a high speed mechanically? Different gears or pulley or both? The ratio between the two high and low speeds is not exactly the same but is close (less than 5%). Might they also have different bearings? Is there any easy way to determine what spindle bearings the machine has?

All that changed was the pulley on the motor (and possibly belt length). TRB stamped on the piece behind the chuck means Timken Roller Bearing. They were also available with angular contact ball bearings (both precision class naturally). Some Hendeys, not necessarily the 18 speed, were available with either of the above plus a third choice being Hendey Standard, which had been around for at least 35 years and are addressed often on this forum.

Every lathe I ever bought that had a taper attachment was locked up due to lack of use. Are you sure you need a taper attachment? There are lots of full time machinists that have never needed to use one in their entire career. Just something to think about. Good luck with your search.

A few pictures of one of the machines (sn 36578). Hope to post some of the other soon.

To John Oder:

Just for the record, can you give a more precise description of the location of the "TRB" stamp on Timken Roller Bearing-equipped Hendeys?
Is it on some part of the spindle, or on the headstock itself?
Does the chuck have to be removed to see the TRB stamp?

I take it that this applies to gearheads only, and that TRB would never be found on a tie-bar cone head.

From now on, every time a PM member sees a geared-headstock Hendey, they'll be looking for the "TRB" !!!

John Ruth

Seems unlikely cone heads (other than Hendey #1 High Speed) would have been built with other than Hendey Standard (plain) bearings, but you never know.

TRB, as stated above, is stamped on the piece behind the chuck (and spindle flange)

I assume this is some sort of closure for the front (anti friction) spindle bearing. The stamping is on top in clear view.

If you look in Earl's photo above of the close up of the chuck, you can see this circular closure to the left of the draw back nut for the L1 (or L type if not L1) spindle

Picture of Hendey 12x30 PB stamp. Hendey standard bearings fitted.

Thanks for that volero - how straight forward of Hendey to identify their plain bearings as PB. You can see they avoided "HS" for Hendey Standard - which would have been immediately interpreted by joe blow as HIGH SPEED

I am going to guess that the ball bearing equipped gear heads out there will have "BB" stamped there.

I'm going to hitch a ride on EarlF's thread as I just made a deal on a Hendey 16x30 geared head with 18 speeds. Unfortunately, the guy selling the machine got it with other stuff he needed and doesn't have any history. I haven't seen the beast in person yet, only several photos but it appears to be in reasonable condition. I was hoping someone could provide some more information through the serial number: 32598.
For the record, while mechanically inclined, I know very little about operating or objectively evaluating a lathe. Any suggestions on what to look for on this specific machine?
I have read numerous posts on this forum the last few months and I enjoy it immensely. You folks have an unbelievable amount of knowledge (somewhat shameless suck-up on my first post!). I'll take any input you are willing to contribute.
Thanks,
Kenny

Hendey 16 x 54. Timken I guess.

I have another question.. My headstock has 3 site glasses. The middle one is the large center cavity. The right one is the bearing near the chuck, and the left one is the outboard bearing. When I add oil to the left one, it does not show at its siteglass. Instead, it seems that the oil is going into the center, over filling it. I can blow air from the siteglass (without the glass intalled) up through the Gitz fitting, so it seems to me that the passage is free. How can I get oil into this bearing chamber?
Thanks,
Greg

EarlF:


Hendey lathe #36578 is a 12 x 42, 18 speed Geared Head model. According to the records it was one of the
last three lathes built in September 1945. Hendey did not produce any machines during October and November
1945 and only three lathes during December 1945. No production during January and February 1946. I mention
this because your lathe was ordered on November 27, 1945, essentially, it was built before it was ordered. The
original Order Number was 48696, but was crossed out and 48298 was entered. A search revealed that 48298
was entered in the books on November 10, 1944 for an identical lathe. It was ordered by the Saginaw Steering
Gear Division (no city or state was listed), but the order was cancelled, presumably, after the lathe was built,
but no serial number had been assigned. In accordance with Hendey policy, the lathe was left in inventory until some customer ordered that model (a firm order) and then the serial number was assigned. This would
explain the order anomally.

The original electrical equipment featured a frame 254, 1200 RPM, 208 volts, 60 cycles, 3 phase motor. The
clutch pulley should run at 575 RPM. One more thing, the original owner was the Ivers-Lee Company (no city or
state was listed).

Hendeyman

My apologies if I stepped on any toes here. I just realized the machine I made a deal on is one that EarlF may have potentially been interested in...

Originally Posted by KNHeaton

My apologies if I stepped on any toes here. I just realized the machine I made a deal on is one that EarlF may have potentially been interested in...

No apology necessary, if I snoozed my bad. However, if it is the one in San Antonio i am thrilled you got it.

KNHeaton:

Hendey lathe #32598 was ordered on September 8, 1941 and as you have stated is a 16 x 30, 18 speed Geared
Head model. The original owner was the Washington Navy Yard. The original electrical equipment was a frame
324, 7-1/2 HP, 1160 RPM, 220 volts, 3 phase, 60 cycles motor. The clutch pulley should run at 575 RPM. The
completion date was the third week of February 1942.

Hendeyman

Thank you to both EarlF and Hendeyman. And yes, it is the one in San Antonio. Luck doesn't befall me too much, but on this one, I have to go to San Antonio on business next week anyway. So I'll get to pick up the lathe and the company will pay for the travel! I hope it looks as good as the photos and runs as good as the owner claims.

Originally Posted by KNHeaton

Thank you to both EarlF and Hendeyman. And yes, it is the one in San Antonio. Luck doesn't befall me too much, but on this one, I have to go to San Antonio on business next week anyway. So I'll get to pick up the lathe and the company will pay for the travel! I hope it looks as good as the photos and runs as good as the owner claims.

I looked at that one on CL but already have a similar sized Colchester so didn't pursue it. It does appear to be a nice machine. I think that Hendey was once at Kelly AFB (my cousin used to work in the machine shop and remembered there was at least one in the tool room).

HWooldridge - If the machine was at Kelly, then hopefully it was maintained well for a good portion of its life. The guy that has it now owns a torque convertor repair shop and says he has had it for about four years. He said he wants to get rid of it because he doesn't use it much. I'll obviously know more next week.

Originally Posted by KNHeaton

HWooldridge - If the machine was at Kelly, then hopefully it was maintained well for a good portion of its life. The guy that has it now owns a torque convertor repair shop and says he has had it for about four years. He said he wants to get rid of it because he doesn't use it much. I'll obviously know more next week.

I agree - I owned a Sheldon that came out of Kelly and it was a good machine ...used but not abused. I had it for over 20 years and only got rid of it because I upgraded to a couple of bigger lathes I bought in a good deal. In fact, I talked to someone out of Abilene when I had it posted on Ebay for a while; perhaps that was you? It finally went to a retired machinist in Austin.

I live just north of SA so am close to the city but this area is a real Sahara desert for machine tools - just not much around anymore since the military privatized most of that work.