Hendey lathe

Just wanted to see if there was any known history for my Hendey lathe. Model 18x10 serial number 27523. Thanks

Both earlier and later manuals linked in my post here

Hendey lathe # 32522 sold!

About 1929 - possibly Hendeyman will stop by with more detail

Thanks for the info. I welcome any info the Hendeyman may have. I do have a question. This lathe has a flat belt, is there a spec or rule of thumb on belt tension. Maybe a deflection measurement? Also is there a good source for flat belts. I have three machines that use them. Thanks again

To make a properly tight belt, subtract 1/10" per foot of measured length around the pulleys with a steel tape. If you measure 5' around the pulleys then subtract 1/2" plus allowance for any gap in the splicing. The tension should be about 600 pounds per inch of cross section of the belt.

Another Hendey 18x10 tiebar owner! Nice machine, I was sure glad to find mine. According to Hendeyman's records, mine was made in 1912...
Pics by chance?

bboesel:

Hendey Lathe No.27523, an 18 x 10, 12 Speed Geared Head model, was scheduled for completion during mid-April 1929. It was shipped with a
compound Rest, an Oil Pan, a Taper Attachment and a BMD (Belt Motor Drive) System. The original owner was the Nash Motors Company, Ravine
Division, Racine, Wisconsin. There are very few Patterns, Castings or Repair Parts left in inventory for this lathe. All of the original
drawings are still in the files, so parts can be made if required. As a matter of interest, your lathe with the above mentioned items
would have cost $3008. That would explain why individuals rarely bought Hendey products, too expensive.

Hendeyman

Indeed! In 1929 that one Hendey price would get you close to SIX new Fords

hendeyman said:

bboesel:

Hendey Lathe No.27523, an 18 x 10, 12 Speed Geared Head model, was scheduled for completion during mid-April 1929. It was shipped with a
compound Rest, an Oil Pan, a Taper Attachment and a BMD (Belt Motor Drive) System. The original owner was the Nash Motors Company, Ravine
Division, Racine, Wisconsin. There are very few Patterns, Castings or Repair Parts left in inventory for this lathe. All of the original
drawings are still in the files, so parts can be made if required. As a matter of interest, your lathe with the above mentioned items
would have cost $3008. That would explain why individuals rarely bought Hendey products, too expensive.

Hendeyman

Click to expand...

Price might be high at the time but there seems to be a lot of them, probably;y they were so well made they lasted forever! One of the Hendeys I have is my go to lathe 14X30 Built in 1950, I have no problem holding .0005" If extra careful I can hold .0002". Have been thinking of changing the crossfeed screw to double the pitch that way my dial will be in .001/grad. not .002/grad. on the diameter. However I owned from time to time all the top American brands, they all were great. 2 things I don't like is the carriage lock is on the back side of the carriage and the clutch on the carriage in in the center of the carriage on the bottom with a short handle. Also one stupid design flaw is a slotted screw to hold the apron onto the carriage is under the cross slide near the rear, chips fill the slot and cause gouging to the cross slide and carriage. On my 14X30 I shortened the screw slightly and filled it with clear epoxy.Put little oil on the head and slot but cleaned the hole with Acetone so that the epoxy is sticking to the sides. But hot chips are making the one time filed smooth epoxy surface rough. I have the same thing on the 24" Hendey 1956 Vintage. Previous owners made a quite deep groove in the carriage under the cross slide. I filled it with Molecular Metal epoxy, remove the slotted screw and deepened the counterbore, shortened the head of an Hex socket head cap screw so that it's about 1/8" below the surface and put in a tight fit bronze plug. Putting paper on both front and back of a file so I don't file the ways got it to .003" above the surface. I then hand scraped the bronze flat, placed a flat file and carefully made sure it was flush with the ways. It's working great. I used brass so as to see the location that way I can drill and tap a hole due to the hex socket and use a jack screw to remove it.

I will try and post a picture soon

Hendeyman You stated that there are very few parts left. Would there be a rear apron cover left? Or maybe someone knows of a good used one. The one I have is broken. I have repaired it the best I can, but would like to start the sure for a different one. Thanks for the history on the lathe.

bboesel said:

Thanks for the info. I welcome any info the Hendeyman may have. I do have a question. This lathe has a flat belt, is there a spec or rule of thumb on belt tension. Maybe a deflection measurement? Also is there a good source for flat belts. I have three machines that use them. Thanks again

Click to expand...

McMaster-Carr sell leather belting, they are on the web. Your lathe is probably the constant velocity type so the belt is not on the spindle. Might be able to use a belt that don't require lacing. I hate the click clack sound they make. I have a Hendey #1, has flat belt drive in the base. Flat belt on the 4 step (maybe 5 I forgot how many)to a matching pulley that drives multi Vee belt to the spindle. I replaced it with a serpentine auto belt turned Up-side down. I got one that was wider than used on most cars, when it came in I was told there is even wider however having the one ordered it was very near the with of the belt I removed so I put it on, been quite a while ago and it's working great!! If it fails I'll probably order the wider version,seems to be room on the faces of the pulleys.

I saw this thread and wondered if a set of 6H collets would be useful to anyone. I am cleaning out a shop and have a complete set w/ storage box and adapter. $100 for all plus large flat rate box. Extra shipping for box/holder. Craigslist ad here
Vintage Hendy #6 collet set - tools - by owner - sale