Hardinge HLV new owner requiring information and help

Hi folks, I’m new to the forum and have recently (yesterday) bought a Hardinge HLV. I’ve identified the s/n to be HLV 0186 and is a British built machine. What age does this make the machine?
The machine has had the original feed motor replaced with a 24v dc motor made by hunter manufacturing co but is not wired up as of yet but it seems to work wired up to a 12v car battery fine.
The machine itself needs a good general tidy up but will be a nice we project for me to work on over the winter.

Are there any second hand dealers or private sellers in the uk who specialise in Hardinge bits and pieces (metric change gears, taper attachments 4 jaw chuck etc) I received very little with the machine apart from a number of collets and a three jaw chuck.

I would like to get a new chuck for it, what is the best chuck to be looking out for? Are spindle adaptors available?

Is there a way of adjusting backlash on the carriage movement. Although the bed has very little wear or dinks I suspect it is worn towards the head as if I apply the carriage clamp lightly at the head and move the carriage towards the Tailstock it is gets harder to move after the general working area of the bed.

The machine will require a bit of work but will be a nice addition to my workshop.

Any help or advice on the lathe is greatly appreciated

Scott

The lathe doesn't look too bad. Almost certainly repainted a few times :-) I believe they were made until the early sixties (1961 or 2) that looks like a low serial number so yours could b early fifties.

Chuck backplates are arund but very pricey. If your chuck is knackered or damaged then you could use the back half (the bit with the taper) to mount a new chuck (5") - I done that with a couple of my chucks.

Interesting use of a skateboard motor for the powerfeed . I wonder though if it might be a bit high reving for that application (you should look for a resistance compensating motordriver , it'll help to keep the speed constant).

The backlash in the carriage feed will be general wear in the carriage rack gear and bearings (a common harding problem) - can be expensive to fix so get everything else sorted first.


BTW don't run it with the collet closer tube installed without a collet. It knobs up the tube!

you can use myford gears , much cheaper than hardinge , metric requires a suitable banjo (check the hardinge yahoo group file section for a drawing

Bill

It looks pretty good considering the vintage. Try this link for some information.

Rebuilding a Hardinge HLV Toolroom Lathe

Minor detal: the Hardinge nameplate should be on the left side cabinet door. Maybe I'm wrong. If that's the way it was built then don't change it.

Welcome to PM Scott

As others have said it's had a few coats of paint ... oh and Rons right label is on the wrong door.

Accessories pop up on eBay from time to time, even three or four last week. Sadly though Hardinge accessories and parts demands higher than normal prices - plain fact here in the UK.

There is really only one supplier of spares for the Hardinge in the UK and that's ZMT Services ... but be WARNED they or to be precise Paul will not be around in a years time!

GandM tools occasionally have bits as do BW Machines ... but in honesty use the net.

Most of my tooling I've bought from the US as that's where it is BUT you will pay high postage plus import tax, plus VAT!

I will confirm the build year for you ... but really it matters not. You could have a young/late production machine that's been hammered or an old machine that's been cared for and well looked after.

John

This may be a stupid question but what would the original colour of it be? I have seen a few hlvs the same colour as mine but is that just a coincidence? Should it be grey?

The chuck seems fine. I haven’t had a chance to chuck up a ground bar to check for run out. Or what would the best way be to check the chuck for wear?

Another silly question, if I’m running the machine with the chuck on it do I need to remove the collet closer tube?

I have linked the motor up to a 12 volt battery and it seems to be powering it quite nicely. It will need wired into a pot for adjusting the speed but that is something to look in to.

I will look into the myford gear setup, sounds like a good alternative.

What tooling do most people use with these machines, I was given some cemented carbide tools along with it that have Hardinge stamped into them. I’d like to get some tipped tooling for it to suit the multifix tool post but if the Hardinge tools are available I would happily use them.

What make of drill chuck and rotating centre for the Tailstock would you recommend? The eBay special ones are cheap but I don’t mind spending a little extra for a better quality setup.

Some photos of the machines close up, I did a few test cuts with the machine using the temporary 12volt feed and it works fine. The z axis feed can be a bit hesitant to start some time. I adjusted the clutch mechanism quickly and seems to be a bit better, will need some more fine tuning.
I ran the machine up to full speed and set a 20p on top of the head. Amazed bt the balance of the machine as it didn’t topple over.

Mine was a light blue originally judging by the paint that's under the grey.

scott_walker said:

This may be a stupid question but what would the original colour of it be? I have seen a few hlvs the same colour as mine but is that just a coincidence? Should it be grey?

The chuck seems fine. I haven’t had a chance to chuck up a ground bar to check for run out. Or what would the best way be to check the chuck for wear?

Another silly question, if I’m running the machine with the chuck on it do I need to remove the collet closer tube?

I have linked the motor up to a 12 volt battery and it seems to be powering it quite nicely. It will need wired into a pot for adjusting the speed but that is something to look in to.

I will look into the myford gear setup, sounds like a good alternative.

What tooling do most people use with these machines, I was given some cemented carbide tools along with it that have Hardinge stamped into them. I’d like to get some tipped tooling for it to suit the multifix tool post but if the Hardinge tools are available I would happily use them.

What make of drill chuck and rotating centre for the Tailstock would you recommend? The eBay special ones are cheap but I don’t mind spending a little extra for a better quality setup.

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Hi Scott ... colour wise, here's one on a number I had ... they were all this colour out of Middlesex.

Middlesex Original HLV

Hardinge recommend that you remove the 5C collet closer mechanism when using chucks.

As you've got the Multifix Toolpost, I'd stay with that as it's pretty much the favorite for the machine. All you need to do is get some tool holders ("A" size) ... they will take 12 or 16mm square tooling. You certainly don't need Hardinge ones ... you can look at Glanze (Cheaper end) through to Seko or Kennametal etc ... so many to choose from on eBay.

5C Collet wise ... big choice too from original Hardinge or Crawford (123 Series) to far eastern. Depending on your work will determine the tolerance of the collet.

Drill chucks are like buying cars (or lathes) ... its what you can afford, pricy ones are Albrecht but there's nothing wrong with Jacobs No.34's ... or others

Hope this answers some things for you.

John

BTW: S/n.0185 recorded as built mid 1965

"The chuck seems fine. I haven’t had a chance to chuck up a ground bar to check for run out. Or what would the best way be to check the chuck for wear?"

First check the outside spindle taper. It should be within +/- .000025.

"Another silly question, if I’m running the machine with the chuck on it do I need to remove the collet closer tube? "

Just screw in a collet first then install the chuck. I use a $5 plastic emergency collet for that.

Jersey John said:

BTW: S/n.0185 recorded as built mid 1965

Click to expand...

That'd be for an HLV-H of that serial number. My HLV is No 247 and is of 1952 vintage.