Cincinnati HydraShift Lathe Identification

darronreed · Aug 15, 2010

Hello everyone. I am a newbie to machining and I am not ashamed to admit it.

I have read many posts on Practical Machinist however, this is my first time posting and I need some help.

I recently purchased a 15x60 Cincinnati HydraShift Lathe with a serial number of 1WR2J5R-11 and I need help deciphering the serial number to determine what year it was manufactured as well as any other information that the serial number can tell me.

Additionally, the headstock casing tag reads 15 and the tailstock end of the bed reads 60. I assumed this means that the lathe is a 15x60 but when I look in the manual that came with the lathe, just about the only thing that matches the specs is the bed length. None of the swing dims match what is stated in the manual. They are close (+/- 1") but not as listed in the manual. The manual is for a LRT lathe but I have noticed that there is an LR manual out there as well. Could I possibly have the wrong manual?

Does anyone have any insight on what I may be missing or if the lathe really isn't what it is appears to be?

Thanks for any help that you all can give me!

MwTech Inc · Aug 15, 2010

Welcome to PM

I can't remember about the LR or LRT, but my book covers the 15,17,19,and 21" lathes.

Yep, you have a 15 x 60 lathe

I have a 17x54

Yours in good shape?

Search this forum and you will learn a lot about adjustments, clutches etc.

Depending on the units condition you may want to pop off the headstock cover and just check things out, and most likely change the oil, clean/replace the filter.

Also, not that hard to pull off the cross-slide and give that area a good cleaning and a check of the oilers.

Any more questions , just ask.

darronreed · Aug 15, 2010

Thank you so much for the response and the nice welcome to PM!

I don't know of a price range for this type of lathe but I want to see if you all think I got a good deal...

I paid $1700 for it and it came very well tooled. 2-3 jaw chucks, 1-4 jaw ind. chuck, steady rest, follow rest, taper attachment, etc. It did hame some slight noise in the hydraulic pump but the oil looks extremely dirty so I think a good oil and filter change will clear that right up. It had no gear noise to speak of and it runs through all the speeds quite nicely.

What do you all think, did I get a good deal?

Thanks again for any input!

oliverdude · Aug 15, 2010

Well, I think you did alright expecially if the chucks are in good shape. New chucks add up very quickly if you buy a good quality.

MwTech Inc · Aug 15, 2010

At least you got most of the acessories

1700 is not bad providing all is working, of course all lathes will wear on the ways,carriage etc.

Once you get everything setup do a cut test.

When you get the lathe in it's final place, level it.

Now there have been long drawn out discussions on leveling lathes, search and you will find,

In a nut shell, you want the ways to be on one plane, to be without twist from one end to the other.

Makes no difference if the entire lathe is not level.

A way to look at it: imagine a piece of plywood laying on the ways, you want the sheet of plywood to be flat everywhere across it's surface.

You don't want the front RH corner to be drooping down (as an example)

You would use a precision level placed right next to the headstock, across the ways, and then at the far end of the bed . Adjust the feet until the level reads the same at both positions.

Now your bed has no twist, which is the desired result.

Now if you want to, you can level the bed longways at the same time, but it will not affect the cut, just make you "feel" better.

Noise in pump could be starvation of oil because of a dirty filter.

Does the clutch have a bit of "snap" when the lever is pulled up?

Oh yea, don't forget the apron holds oil along with the quickchange box.

darronreed · Aug 16, 2010

Thanks so much for the advice on leveling the lathe as I need ALL the advice I can get!

All comments and/or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!

One question still remains though...
Can anyone tell me (if anything) what the serial number 1WR2J5R-11 means? I would like to determine what year it was manufactured as well as any other information that the serial number provides. I understand that this is the lathe's identification number, I just don't know if it similar to a VIN that tells a complete story about the piece of machinery.

Thanks.

Gary E · Aug 16, 2010

1WR2J5R-11

If the only that seems to matter to you is it;s age...
the 5R means it was buit in 1966
and the -11 means the eleventh one like that one that year

The rest of the Ser tells it's size but a tape measure to tells you that and being well out of warranty over 40 yrs... who cares how old it is

darronreed · Aug 17, 2010

Thank you so much for the info on the year. It is awefully nice of you to take time out of your life to find that info for me.

I also am thankful about the insight on the warranty...I was just about to try and contact the manufacturer about the paint flaking off

Seriously, I do thank you for your help.

Gary E · Aug 21, 2010

Paint flaking off??.... Ohh for that you can call Sherwin Williams... they're still in biz

Be gentle when engaging the clutch, keep the proper oil in the proper places and it wil last another 50 yrs...

6axis3 · Nov 21, 2011

hey you need that oil pump repaired? we have plenty of experiance, good purchase

scootersydney · Nov 30, 2011

Cincinnati hydroshift lathe

I have a 10" lathe with a very noisy pump. I've checked the filter and the oil has recently been changed and the operating pressure has been checked. Is there any hope to reducing the noise?

jeep534 · Jan 18, 2013

scootersydney said:
I have a 10" lathe with a very noisy pump. I've checked the filter and the oil has recently been changed and the operating pressure has been checked. Is there any hope to reducing the noise?

what kind of oil did you put in the lathe. mine is noisy when cold and shifts slow in winter. the spindle oilis pretty thin.

archie =) =)=)

Barron · Jan 18, 2013

Darronreed,

welcome,
Sounds like a reasonable deal for the included tooling and size. I have a 15X42 Hydrashift and like it a lot. Pardon me if this is old news, but remember to perform speed changes in the proper order:
1. Turn dial to select speed or neutral, then
2. Hold clutch lever down for a couple seconds for the gear change to take place.

For some reason, this was not intuitive for me (too many years driving a stick shift)!
enjoy your 'new' lathe,
Barron

johnoder · Jan 18, 2013

About the only sense the serial book can make from your serial is the 5R before the dash, which means 1965 - according to this book

cmike · Apr 13, 2013

1Wr2 is a 15L DR 15 ( raised 13 inches) lathe 5R is the year 1965

cwalker1960 · Jun 7, 2014

This thread is a little old but I'll try here anyhow. Anyone using a VFD on a hydrashift? any bad side effects to overspeeding it slightly say maybe 90hz ? Am a little concerned whether the oil pump will take it.

Barron · Jun 7, 2014

I run my 15 X 54 with a VFD, but I really haven't had a need to overspeed it. I do underspeed it often, especially when facing a large dia., and when threading to shoulders.

kustomtool · Nov 22, 2016

Hello,
I know this is an old post but I picked up an 18 x 54 Hydrashift for next to nothing on the hope that it works.
I found that it was previously run on 440V so I replaced the heaters and overloads with the others that were laying in the elect box.
Main motor is turning slowly but nowhere near the 1500rpm it says on the tag. I am running on a phase converter and one leg is high so that may be part or all of it.I hear the click of the push button spindle switch but can't seem to get the chuck to turn. Oil level in the front sight glass is at half way. Is this the hydr oil or another lube ?
Too slow to build hydraulic pressure required ?
Clogged filter ?
I have never run one of these particular lathes or seen one run so I am not familiar with the idiosyncracies of how they work in particular. Any insight ?
Thanks in advance.

Mike C. · Nov 24, 2016

You say you replaced the heaters, but did you swap the leads on the motor to get back to 220V? If not, that is your issue. Get that resolved first, then worry about the hydraulics. The hydraulics are actually pretty bulletproof.

cmike · Nov 24, 2016

Serial book has it as 1WR2 is a 15L inch ( raised 13 inch ) lathe, 5R is a 1965. Not sure about the J.

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