Hendey lathe, Farmington CT

My name is Joe Polaski. I am looking to buy this and I'd like your opinion. I am not trying to hijack this thread.

Facebook Marketplace: 40” Metal lathe - Tools - Farmington, Connecticut

Thank you. My Facebook page is Viceman Vises

joe.striper

The lathe in the posted listing you show here looks complete, not abused, nothing broken or repaired with brazing. From the photo of the bedway, it looks to have reasonable wear for a lathe of this age. There is a cast iron bracket with multi-speed gearbox (Drive-all ? Uni-drive ?) included with the lathe. This solves the matter of providing a drive for a lathe designed for overhead drive. My 2 cents is that the price seems fair, and the lathe looks like something that could be set up and put to work with not too much work needed. The big question is whether the spindle turns freely by hand. Plenty has been written on this 'board as to how, in this design of Hendey lathe, bound spindles due to "Hendeyitis", or wear on some of the thrust surfaces at the front spindle bearing, can cause this binding to happen. It is repairable, but a bit of a job.

The seller has done you a favor by either not mounting, or dismantling the bracket and drive. This lowers the center of gravity for moving the lathe and transporting it. It looks like some tooling is with the lathe.

If I were looking for an old cone-drive or cone-head lathe, I would jump on this one. Size is right for a good range of work, and Hendey built a very fine lathe. Plenty of information for these lathes exists and plenty of people here own, restore, repair, and use these "cone head" or "tie bar head" Hendey lathes.

Probably another good selling point is the distance you have to go to inspect the lathe and, if you purchase it, to haul it home. The lathe is in Farmington, CT, and you are in Massachusetts (not specific as to what part of MA). No disrespect to either MA or CT, but neither is a particularly large state. Distances between you and that lathe may be fairly close.

Old lathes, in good condition, of the types we ('board participants here) tend to want for our shops are in short supply and no new ones are being built. If this lathe meets your needs, is in close reach to you, and is in serviceable/good condition, it would seem like a good deal.

Hi Joe S.-we've exchanged comments on the Garage Journal Forum and I bought a Prentiss vise from you a while back, tombell572 over there. Joe Michaels' comments are (as usual) right on target. A fine old lathe at a good price and location for you. I'd go for it, not much else needs to be added.

Tom B.

Thanks

Thanks for the intelligent and thoughtful response.

This lathe was running recently and has seen regular use. My 2 concerns are that it only has a 4 lathe chuck and that it is a basement. What do these weigh?
Also what is the through size of the headstock?

Can you direct me to a board or site with info? I really appreciate everything.

If 14 x 6 (what ever is cast into face of bed casting) it likely has 1 3/16 hole thru spindle

Four jaw chuck is what you want - it is far easier to learn to center up work in a four jaw than it is to struggle every day with a sorry worn out "self centering" three jaw chuck

It weighs 2130 if a 14 X 6

Thumbnail is scan from twenties catalog on the 12 and 14

Here is the manual scan

http://pounceatron.dreamhosters.com/docs/hendey/1920-Hendey-manual.pdf

Here is my old write up on using their lead screw reverse or "threading system". It starts at post #17 in the linked thread

Hendey lathe "emergency"!

Here is a great old book of generic info on running old lathes if needed

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/5795.pdf

Serial number will be right end on top stamped into machined cast iron in between the two front ways adjacent the pair of screws holding up the right hand lead screw bracket. Member hendeyman can often provide history related to that number. It will be four or five digits, no letters

joe.striper said:

Thanks for the intelligent and thoughtful response.

This lathe was running recently and has seen regular use. My 2 concerns are that it only has a 4 lathe chuck and that it is a basement. What do these weigh?
Also what is the through size of the headstock?

Can you direct me to a board or site with info? I really appreciate everything.

Click to expand...

John is spot on re the 4-jaw chuck. About 5 years ago I bought a piece of cast iron bar to make a backing plate for a nearly new Buck 3-jaw I was given. It's still on the floor beside the lathe and I doubt I'll ever make the backing plate. The only thing I've ever found the 3-jaw useful for is drilling a hole in the center of a piece of hex stock that was too large for a collet and for that I just put the 3-jaw in my 4-jaw and indicated it.

Posts moved to this thread to avoid hijack, at request of the author of the original thread.

@joe.striper please note the stickies at the top of this forum. When posting a link to craigslist, ebay etc please include pictures from the listing in the posting here. This is to keep the thread useful when the record of the sale is gone. Thanks, mod