Thread: Tour the 1943 Hendy factory..

A worthwhile tour of a 1943 machine shop

Hendey Factory Tour

Very interesting. Thank you.

Tom

Thank you for sharing---qualilty!

Maybe it was because of the war, but none of the majority of employees looked younger than 50!!!! I don't need another lathe, but dammit! there might be room for a Hendey.

Thanks so much for posting! Love the history of what we do.

Thank you!!!

I always enjoy revisiting that factory tour. Hendey made extremely nice lathes,even making parts that others bought. Yes,you do see a lot of older men with great expertise. It would be wonderful to have a time machine and be able to get a job there just for the experiences one would glean from being there,picking up tips from those guys.

There's a reason those people working in that factory are called members of "The Greatest Generation", and in that set of photos one can see examples. Thanks.

Bare chested hot metal men.
my Hendey 14X30 is hard at work in the nation's premier carbon fiber fishing rod firm.
lots of TLC went into it's manufacture.

thanks

jh

Fascinating tribute to a previous generation. When you think of the skills on show it's a mighty impressive series of photos. Regards Tyrone.

Ox, did you delete my post which was #2 originally? If yes I'd like to know why as I certainly didn't write anything untoward - the opposite in fact.

If it was deleted by mistake I can still remember what I wrote.

Gordon

Originally Posted by Gordon B. Clarke

Ox, did you delete my post which was #2 originally? If yes I'd like to know why as I certainly didn't write anything untoward - the opposite in fact.

If it was deleted by mistake I can still remember what I wrote.

Gordon

I think you got this into the wrong forum, Gordon.. Ox is not the moderator here.

Milacron moved if from General to Antique. Greg Menke is mod of Antique. Doubtful either of those gents deleted your post Gordon.

Thanks for posting the link - a very interesting piece. I noted one woman had a pin with 2 Blue Stars, signifying two sons (or, much less likely daughters) serving in the military. And I liked seeing the IBM equipment, when it was still mechanical. My father worked the machine floor in Endicott as a set up man making parts for those in 41-42, although by 43 he was in pilot training. In his Gerstner chest which I inherited is a notebook with notes by part number as to how to set up the various parts. Upon returning from the service he ended up working off the machine floor, so his box was still filled with cosmoline coated tools when I got it 40 years later. The production in those years had to be something to behold, the likes of which we will probably never see again.

Dale

I've seen Hendey lathes and Shapers. Did they also make mills and drills? I have never seen one.

Did they also make mills and drills?

Mills for sure.

Page Title

So very, very cool! There is something very moving about the faces of the workers frozen forever in time.

ewlsey:

Tony's Title Page gives a good indication of the products made by Hendey during the life of the Company, but I would like to add a bit more.

While not a chronological list of the various products, the machine numbers are a good indicator of when a machine was introduced. The number
remained assigned to the machine long after it had gone out of production or until the number was reassigned to a new product. I will not go
into details on the dates that a number was assigned. Also, keep in mind that when W.P. Norton joined the firm in 1886, new numbers were assigned to improvements on the old designs, that is why you will see the same machine with different numbers. Since this is not intended as
a detailed study of the Hendey product line, I will list machines that were made during the 1870 to 1920 period without any additional explanation.

Machine Number Blank space indicates no machine assigned

1 Assigned to 16" Crank Shaper
2 10" Hand planer Assigned to 20" Crank Shaper
3 16" Planer Assigned to 24" Crank Shaper
4 22" Planer Assigned to 16"-20" Crank Shaper
5 24" Planer Assigned to 32" Crank Shaper
6 27" Planer Assigned to 20"-24" Crank Shaper
7 30" Planer Assigned to 24"-28" Crank Shaper
8 15" Shaper
9 22" Planer
10 16" Planer
11 16" Crank Planer
12 15" Hand Lathe Turret
13 12" Hand Lathe
14 15" Hand Lathe
15 18" Hand Lathe
16 18" Brass Lathe
17 20" Traverse Shaper
18 24" Planer
19 30" Traverse Shaper
20 24" Centers
21 Pulley Lathe
22
23 3-Spindle Drill
24 1-Spindle Drill
25 15" Back Geared Lathe
26 12" Back Geared Lathe
27 2-Spindle Drill
28 Pulley Tapping Machine
29 3-Spindle Drill (Large Size)
30 10" Gang Slitter
31 25" Shaper (also 28" Shaper)
32 Roll Finishing Machine
33 15" Turret Lathe
34 18" Engine Lathe
35 10 Hand Lathe
36 Horizontal Boring Machine
37 Emery Grinder
38 Screw Press
39 Machine for Straightening Sheet Metal
40 24" Shaper
41 Reducing Machine (Used to Produce Needles)
42 12" Planer Centers
43 9" Shaper Centers for 24" Shaper
44 Wire Machine
45 Multiple Spindloe Drill
46 27" Planer (New Pattern)
47 14" Engine Lathe
48 16" Engine Lathe
49 18" Engine Lathe (Heavy Pattern)
50 15" Traverse Shaper
51 15" Shaper Centers
52 20" Turret Lathe
53 2-1/2" Cutting Off Lathe
54 30" Planer (New Pattern)
55 21" Engine Lathe
56 24" Engine Lathe
57 Cooper Brass Lathe
58 Hand Wheel Turning Machine
59 30" Engine Lathe
60 Automatic Rack Cutter
61 #2 Milling Machine
62
63
64 19" Shaper (Also, 20" Shaper)
65 Portable Shaper
66 Suspension Shaper
67 Combination Shaper
68 4" Special Drilling Machine
69 6Ft Traverse Shaper
70 6-Spindle Boring Mill
71 2-Spindle Vertical Milling Machine
72 Patent 14" Engine Lathe
73 Patent 16" Engine Lathe
74 2"x4" Drilling Machine
75 20" Hendey-Norton Engine Lathe
76 12" Hendey-Norton Engine Lathe
77 24" Hendey-Norton Engine Lathe
78 Center Grinding Machine
79 Automatic Drill Press
80
81 #2 Lincoln Miller
82 #2-1/2 Lincoln Miller
83 #5 Lincoln Miller
84 #8 Lincoln Miller
85
86
87
88 #4 Screw Machine (2" Capacity)
89
90
91 #1 Universal Milling Machine
92 #2 Universal Milling Machine
93 #3 Universal Milling Machine
94 #4 Universal Miling Machine
95 #2G Universal and Plain Milling Machine
96 #3G Universal and Plain Milling Machine
97 #2 Gear Drive Milling Machine
98 #3 Gear Drive Miling Machine
99
100
101
102
103 #3 Oscillating Milling Machine
104 #4 Oscillating Miling Machine
105 #5 Oscillating Milling Machine (Never Built)

Hendeyman

I liked that their dedicated lead screw lathe was old enough to be single wall apron.