Information wanted on Hendey 12X4 No. 15308

Hello,

After a 2 year process of acquiring and moving I now have in my shop a 12X4 Hendey. For something this old it is in good condition and still has most of the parts. Everything is working well except for the main spindle gets stuck. I have removed it and am making a shim for behind the oil seal.

The serial number on the bed is 15308. The son of the last owner said the gentleman worked for Winchester Firearms in New Haven and may have gotten it from them. It does have a tag saying it was sold by the Botwink Bros. ( Used machinery dealer ? )

I grew up in Litchfield CT and know the area in Torrington where this lathe was made. Part of it is now where the Stop & Shop is. After reading the Hendey history I recognized some of the last names as people who still lived in the area.

I would appreciate any additional information. One item I am concerned about is the tailstock taper. I think it might be a Jarno taper. Has anyone reamed this to a Morris #3 ?

Thanks in advance,
Eric

Thumbnails are Hendey tapers

Manual scan a bit later - thanks to Greg Menke for hosting this for me

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

My old write up on their lead screw reverse system - starts at Post #17 in link below

Hendey lathe "emergency"!

My Hendey is a little older than your's and it has MT3 for the tailstock. I'm fairly certain other others of that time did as well.

elieberman:

Welcome to the forum>

Hendey lathe No.15308, a 12 x 4 Cone Head model was completed during the last week of april 1914. It was shipped with an Oil Pan and a
Taper Attachment. The Original owner was the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, Hartford, Connecticut. The 12 x 4 Cone Head was the
smallest lathe Hendey produced at the time and was popular with toolmakers. The correct Center size for this lathe is a Morse-Hendey
Taper No.2 and the Center bushing is a Morse-Hendey No.4. This will explain why a standard Morse No.2 or No.2-1/2 will not fit properly.
There are enough differences between the two tapers to prevent them from interchanging. I believe that I have posted the dimensions for
the M-H Tapers sometime in the past, but I am no longer sure of the date. In the past, I have made new M-H Tapers for my older lathes,
but that may not be convenient for most people. Your lathe should have the Single Walled Apron because the first twelve inch released
to the trade with the Double Walled Apron was No. 15541 in October of 1914. There are no longer any 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.

Hendeyman

Here is the usual handy dandy info when you get ready to work on your sticky front bearing

Thank you everyone !!!

It is cool that I am only the third owner of this lathe. Should I paint it Winchester Firearms red ?

I have the spindle out and should have the shim made and back in this weekend. The last owner filled the headstock bearings with greese so getting that cleaned out is going to be a PITA. That is the only repair needed. I don't think I am going to take any more apart then is necessary for it to run.

Thanks for all the information on the tapers. I am lucky that I have the sleeve for the headstock and a few centers that measure out as H-M 2-1/2



The tailstock is still an issue for me. I don't have anything that fits it well to measure. The opening at the end measures 0.74. Its confusing because I have a live center and one dead center that came with the lathe and are both marked Jarno #6, They sort of fit but don't eject correctly. I think my best option is to get it machined to MT3.

Eric

Nice looking lathe, good for another 100 yrs of service. Do you need a steady rest?

Botwinik Brothers were (are still but now into other investments) a machine tool dealer post WWII of Worcester, MA. They also seemingly existed in Connecticut pre-WWII as described at Botwinik Bros. Co. | Making Places Look up "History" at this link.

My 1978 dealings were with John, a son of the then principle owner, who is now probably in his late 70s if still present.

Sometime in the early 2000s, I looked them up online. By then they had closed as a machinery dealer but had instead invested first in Video Cassette Rental, and later a Radio Station.

My comment on this board in 2008: "I see today that the Botwinik name is still around the internet having bought into telecommunications and grand jury investigations/indictments. Their business reputation during my period was not exactly stellar. Sharp would be the appropriate term."

Joe in NH

I am all set with the steady rest. Thank you.

Hello again,

The refurbishment of the lathe is going well. I have it mostly cleaned and repainted and am starting to put things back together.



I did have a few questions.

1. One of the brass tubes for an oiler was loose and came out. It looks like it is twisted around its self and pinched off. Should I try to replicate this with a new tube ? I assume the pinched off part is to limit the oil flow. Should I just pinch it down and try and direct it to the pinion gear ?

2. The compound gib is cracked. I now need to source a new one. What is the original thickness of this gib ? I think mine must be thinner then when originally made. Does anyone know a source of gib stock ? All I can find is Durabar that would require a lot of work to use.

3. I keep finding the number 2 stamped all over the machine. Does this indicate that the lathe was factory rebuilt at sometime ? This is a different stamp then the normal part numbers.

4. I am having trouble with the disconnect gear on in the drivetrain. The gear engages when pulled out however I am not able to push it in enough to disengage.

It looks like someone tried to turn the lathe on like this and cobbled the edge of the gear. Any ideas ?

Thanks
Eric

elieberman said:

Hello again,

The refurbishment of the lathe is going well. I have it mostly cleaned and repainted and am starting to put things back together.

View attachment 265714

I did have a few questions.

1. One of the brass tubes for an oiler was loose and came out. It looks like it is twisted around its self and pinched off. Should I try to replicate this with a new tube ? I assume the pinched off part is to limit the oil flow. Should I just pinch it down and try and direct it to the pinion gear ?

2. The compound gib is cracked. I now need to source a new one. What is the original thickness of this gib ? I think mine must be thinner then when originally made. Does anyone know a source of gib stock ? All I can find is Durabar that would require a lot of work to use.

3. I keep finding the number 2 stamped all over the machine. Does this indicate that the lathe was factory rebuilt at sometime ? This is a different stamp then the normal part numbers.

4. I am having trouble with the disconnect gear on in the drivetrain. The gear engages when pulled out however I am not able to push it in enough to disengage.
View attachment 265715
It looks like someone tried to turn the lathe on like this and cobbled the edge of the gear. Any ideas ?

Thanks
Eric

Click to expand...

1. I doubt that the crimped tube is factory. From my experience, if Hendey thought a location needed metered oil, they would design in some form of reservoir or such. On my 1909 machine, all the tubes are there to direct oil to hard to reach areas, but not to restrict it.

2. You can get a 2"x1/4" cast iron plate from McMaster Carr for fairly cheap. Hendeyman can likely give you a print for the part, but if it was me I would just measure the gap on your machine, subtract some for adjustment, and make the part to fit. If your machine HAD been rebuilt in the past, it will likely have a bigger gap for the gib than a factory machine.

3. Mine has matching numbers all over it too. My understanding is that this is just how they make scrap-fitted machines, especially back then. They followed prints, but most of your parts related to the sliding axis (bed, saddle, cross-slide, etc.), were fitted together for the last .001-.0005" of material. You can't really take a saddle from one machine and drop it on another without scraping them to fit each other. The numbers were how they kept track of a "set" of parts in the factory. Stamping the serial number on each part would take up too much time/space and for some manufactures the serial number isn't generated until the machine is done. Once the machine was off of the factory floor they could reuse the same 1-2 digit number for the next machine.

5. If the gear is hanging up on burrs, I'd take it off and clean the burrs off with a dremel.

The compound gib is cracked. I now need to source a new one

Click to expand...

Compound gib is screw adjusted - thickness not critical

Twenties catalog page 47 shows the row of set screws tail stock side of compound

There should be dimples in gib for screws to shove on

Hendeyman no doubt has a drawing