skipd1:
I sent you a private message regarding your lathe, that it was built December 1, 1938 and the original owner was the Naval Gun Factory,
Alexandria, Virginia. This might be a good time to make a few addendums or corrections to information that has just been posted.
The Serial Number Book that John Oder post represents the last serial number for a given year, not the first. Also, none of the numbers
listed are for Hendey shapers, only the lathes. Shapers had a different numbering system.
In 1929, Hendey stopped production on four machine tools; The EBM/ECM, 18 speed, introduced in 1922, The Hendey Junior lathe, introduced
in 1922, The eight speed Geared Head, introduced in 1907 and the Milling machines introduced in 1900.
On December 23, 1935, the D1-6 Spindle Nose was introduced and became available on the 12 inch lathes in February 1936. At that time
the 12 inch 12 speed model was available with a standard swing of 12-5/8 inches or as a Raised Swing RS model, which allowed a swing
of 2-1/2 inches greater than the nominal swing.
The new 18 speed model was made available late in 1936, but was not shown on the Price List until April 1, 1937. Until the new Price
Lists were printed, the old February 1, 1936 Price Lists for the 12 speed lathes were used with new prices written in and a new title
also, written in. When the 12 speed was being sold in 1936, it still had the old bore of 1-3/16 inches. By April 1, 1937, the bore had
been increased to 1-1/2 inches to allow the use of No.6 collets on the various 12 inch lathes, the exception being the No.1 High Speed,
which retained the original 12 inch lathe bore of 15/16 inches.
When the new 18 speed was introduced, Hendey added a few extras to off-set the higher price. The Quick Withdrawal to the Cross Slide
and the built-in High Speed reverse to the Leadscrew, both intended as an aid to screw cutting. In April 1937, the 12 inch, 12 speed
sold for $2590.00 and the 12 inch, 18 speed sold for $2990.00. These prices are for a basic 12 x 30 lathe with no accessories. These
prices were in effect when this lathe was sold in December 1938.
Hendeyman