Axelson way hardness

[JW Machine]

Is there a way to determine via serial number or photograph whether an Axelson lathe has hardened ways?

 

[hvnlymachining]

I can't answer your question directly, but most industrial lathes made during or after WW2 had hardened ways. Also check out vintage machinery.org for the factory manuals. Lots of good info on there.

 

[gary s moore]

easy way to tell. take a file to it you will know if its hard or not,

 

[john.k]

A pic of the ways directly under the chuck will tell.....most WW2 lathes did not have hardened ways....it became industry standard in the 1950s.

 

[Garwood]

I don't have any literature on the early ones with cast ways. Don't know if they were hard or not, but if I had to guess, based on Axelson's pride in cutting no corners I'd imagine they were hardened somehow.

The post war lathes had toolsteel insert ways. You can tell by looking at the tailstock end where you can see how they're keyed into the bed.

 

[4GSR]

Simple way of determining if the ways are harden. Take a flat file and try to run the flle across the top of the ways at the tailstock end of the bed. If it takes a bite and cuts like soft butter, they are not harden. If the file skips and slides across the ways they are harden. Can't get any simpler than that. Ken

 

[dana gear]

Just seen a new Jet lathe at a supplier's store. Tag attached to the end of the ways stated
"Hardened bed wats" I can only guess that China has not yet figured there is a Y in ways.