new hendy lathe

new hendey lathe

Hi everyone. This is my first post although I've been reading as much as I can the past few days. I came across an old Hendey lathe for the low price of $100. I figured I can't go wrong if it has too many issues to resolve as it's worth more in scrap/resell than what I paid. I have yet to pick it up and didn't know where the serial numbers were when I first saw so I don't have those but I do have a couple pics. Just looking for any help as to what size/type of Hendey I acquired. I believe it to be a conehead with a 12 or 14" Chuck built around 1920 from info I've gathered on this amazing site. I won't be able to get serial numbers until this monday for exactness but some insight into my new toy is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Murphytools:

This is a Standard 14 inch Hendey Cone Head built after 1907 and certainly before 1920. The Serial Number is located at the right hand end of the lathe bed, between the two front bedways. It may be necessary to clean the area within a few inches of the end of the bed with a small wire brush and some solvent to be able to read the number. Post the number and I should be able to give you the history of this machine. No Patterns, Castings or Repair Parts left in inventory for this lathe, but all of the original drawings are still in the files
so parts can be made if required.

Hendeyman

Congratulations for your purchase!
One word of caution: especially in the current setup, the lathe is very top and headstock heavy: I strongly recommend removing the motor, transmission and the heavy arm holding them before moving it.

If I read correctly on the quick change gearbox plaque, at the bottom says "Feeds 7 times threads per inch" and I believe that it is an indication that the lathe has the older style apron. Our 16x8 gearhead at Tuckahoe, which is from from 1915 or 1916 (I forgot which year precisely, and I don't find the picture with the serial number right now) has already the newer apron and the plaque says "Feeds 4 times threads per inch".
I don't know when the transition happen and if it happened at the same time on all the models or not. But I would expect your lathe to be at least 100 years old.
Hendeyman will shed more light on this and, likely, correct me. ;-)

Paolo

Paolo_MD:

No correction necessary, but you do bring up an interesting point regarding the "dating" of Hendey lathes based on the type of Apron used. I may have posted this information sometime in the past, but this is a good time to repost when the Aprons were changed on the various sizes of lathes. Other indicators such as the information on the Index Plates and the type of Leadscrew used are all helpful in determing the circa of construction.

The normal practice at Hendey was to build a Sample (prototype) and test it at the factory before putting the design into production.
At the same time that the Double Walled Apron was introduced, a new Gearbox, Carriage and Cross Slide were also introduced. These
changes, in some cases, were subtle enough that they are easily overlooked. For the present, I will confine my remarks to the Aprons
used on the 12 inch through 20 inch lathes, the 24 inch lathes were changed at a later date and I will not deal with them at this time.
Besides the Sample build date, I will list the first lathe of each size that was built for sale, the date of manufacture and the
original owner.

12 Inch: Sample No. 13927, built October 1912 (later sold to Warren Telechrom Company, Ashland, Mass.)
12 Inch: Production No. 15541, built October 1914 (Sold to Charles Churchill and Company, Liverpool, England)

14 Inch: Sample No. 15002, built October 1913 (Later sold to Merriman Bros., Boston, Mass.)( Rebuilt: January 13, 1928)
14 Inch: Production No. 15648, built December 1914 (Sold to: No Owner Listed)

16 Inch: Sample No. 15324, Built May 1914 (Later sold to Unishear Company, New York City) (Rebuilt: No Date Listed)
16 Inch: Production No. 15753, Built January 1915 (Sold to Bethlehem Steel Company, no city or state listed)

18 Inch: Sample No. 16401, Built July 1915 (Later sold to Lathrop Engine Company, Mystic, Connecticut)(Rebuilt on May 11, 1933)
18 Inch: Production No. 17122, Built February 1916 (Sold to Keller Mechanical Engineering Corporation, Brooklyn, New York)

20 Inch: Sample No. 18519, Built April 1917 (Later Sold to Chase Company, Waterbury Manufacturing Company Plant, Waterbury, Connecticut)
20 Inch: Production No. 19920, Built March 1918 (Sold to F. Auberthy Company, Paris, France) (Metric Lathe)

Hendeyman

Thank you guys very much for the quick responses. This is my first lathe and I'm hoping there isn't much wrong with it. I was told it needs a motor and not much tooling comes with it. If I can get it cleaned up and running this lathe should last another 100yrs. For the price I couldn't pass it up. I have a motor off an air compressor but not sure if it will be compatible yet. What do most people use as replacements for these machines? This Monday I'll see the machine again and I'll be able to get the serial numbers off the bedway. Thank you for the info thus far on this lathe handyman.

Paolo,
I'll definitely be removing the motor and such to keep it from being top heavy. The guy I bought it from has a forklift so loading shouldn't be an issue but unloading should be interesting when I get it home. It definitely says feeds 7 times threads per inch. It's amazing to see machinery this old still in good shape considering. They don't make stuff like they used to that's for sure.

Looks like you should have a wider (2"?) belt between the gear box and the spindle cone pulley. Get the thinnest belt you can get. Amazing how much power bending an thick belt requires. If you are going to remove the spindle--go with one of the endless synthetic belts, they pull like mules and last forever--and they don't stretch.

As to motor size, I used a 1/2 HP motor on a 14" cone drive lathe (Monarch) for years, but something larger would be better--and I didn't have the drag of the gearbox either--so I would say 3/4-! HP.

A fine lathe when new.

Herb

Good generic info on running old lathes if needed

http://campkahler.com/files/How_to_Run_a_Lathe_SB_1of2.pdf
http://campkahler.com/files/How_to_Run_a_Lathe_SB_2of2.pdf


Handy manual scan - thanks to Greg Menke for hosting it for me

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

My old write up on their lead screw reverse / threading system

Starts at post #17

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...-emergency-113621/?highlight=Hendey+Threading

Be very careful unloading it. In addition to it being top heavy, even with the drive tower removed, most of the weight is in the headstock (call me captain obvious). When i unloaded my 14 inch x 8 ft long hendey, i removed the steady rest and tailstock and moved the carriage all the way to the headstock. I wrapped a lifting strap around the web closest to the headstock and it balanced perfectly. With the much shorter bed yours has, you may want to play with the carriage location until you get the machine balanced around the pick point or lift point as the case may be.

Looks like a nice find. I see it still has the fixed steady with it. In the box underneath looks like a Sjogren collet chuck. The Hendey lathe makes screwcutting easy thanks to the one-tooth dog clutch, and there is an explanation of how to use it on this forum.

David.

Indeed - right in Post #8

davjo said:

The Hendey lathe makes screwcutting easy thanks to the one-tooth dog clutch, and there is an explanation of how to use it on this forum.

David.

Click to expand...

Thank you everyone for all the great info. You are all very knowledgeable with these lathes. I'm glad I found this forum. As I soon as I see the lathe again I'll make sure to get the serial number and post it up. Thanks again everyone.

Ok so I've had this lathe about a yr and with a new little running around and general life I've come to the realization I just dont have time for this lathe. The serial numbers on the bed are 11166. Also on one of the legs is a tag with the name J•L•Osgood machinery buffalo, ny. I'm assuming this is where it was first purchased but I could be wrong. I'm looking to sell this fine piece of machinery and figured i would give you guys first dibs. I'd rather see it go to a good home where it can be appreciated instead of some random guy off craigslist. I'm not sure what it's worth but I'm sure someone here could give me a rough estimate and a fair price for this lathe. I apologize in advance if it's not ok to post this here. Let me know and I'll make a new post in the right spot. Also if more information or pictures are wanted just ask. Thanks.

Hendey for sale

A few current pictures would be nice for prospective buyers as well as little more refined location as New York is a mighty big state.
Best of luck

Harold

*

I dont know why there is duplicate pictures. My phone gave me a run for my money trying to post any at all. Lathe is located in cheektowaga, ny.

I found myself in the same predicament. Found a 1917 Hendey 12x6 in the woods on a dairy farm. There was zero interest in it whole or parted out. It was in rough condition to be sure. I scrapped the bulk of it. Saved the table, it’s currently for sale to be repurposed as a coffee table, lol. Good luck with your lathe.