Should I sell my hendey 14 x 8 tiebar lathe?

Help me Obiwan, you're my only hope...

Two years ago I bought the subject hendey lathe (1921 according to hendeyman). The machine is complete with the taper attachment, steady rest, collet drawbar, collets and centers in the original box, stantion for the collets and the original countershaft cone pully. It was and is a perfect candidate for at least a cosmetic restoration which was my intent.

Fast forward two years, and i've filled the shop up with other vintage machinery, most from the 40's and 50's and most of it functional today. One of the machines, a 14 x 30 reed prentice gear-head from 1935 is basically redundant to the hendey although with no taper attachment and a shorter bed. I bought it, so i could fabricate the drive tower for the hendey.

Last week a Monarch 16C x 78 came up for sale in the local craigslist which although too long for my shop, somthing like this would allow me to do a larger class of work and it got me thinking. At the rate i'm going, and at the rate the honey-do list fills up, it'll likely be another two years before i can get to the hendey. Also, given the collection of machines and tooling i've accumulated to date, i wouldn't mind doing a little job-shop work on the side and maybe into retirement. Not enough to ruin a good hobby but enough to present me with interesting problems to try to solve. With this as an objective, the hendey's proprietary tapers and extensive manual oiling points are no longer novelties one might be willing to live with.

So the obvious question is, what would you do and why? The rational answer is probably to sell the hendey and replace it with a suitable 40s or 50s gear head (16-18 inch swing, 54-ish between centers, hendey, monarch, leblond etc.). However, buying up big, old, filthy industrial antiques is not a rational endeavor so it's not as simple as out with the old and in with the less-old.

Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him...

With this as an objective, the hendey's proprietary tapers and extensive manual oiling points are no longer novelties one might be willing to live with.

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After my first lathe, a flat belter, I've set some rules for myself such as no flat belts, no plain bearings. Too me the hassle factor of a really old lathe. The constant fixing, maintenance and the limits meant the lathe was the project. I wasn't looking for that. I wanted a lathe to make things. If you goal is to make things, I'd get a semi-modernish lathe that meets your needs.

Then again, I might be an iconoclast. I just want tools to complete my projects. I'm not interested in collecting tools just to have them. When I out-grow my current lathe, I'll sell it and get a better one.

At the rate i'm going, and at the rate the honey-do list fills up, it'll likely be another two years before i can get to the hendey.

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Are you actually using the machines you're collecting or are you just collecting them? You make it sound like you buy machine tools and just sit on them without using them.

I started my shop with Flat belt lathes, at the time they were all I could afford. Yes I had a few Tie bar Hendeys and yes I sold them to up-date to gear drive lathes. I don't regret it at all! 40's and 50's machines are light years ahead of the older Flat Belt versions. I have 6 lathes in my shop, 4 are 50's vintage Hendeys. On the other hand there is nothing wrong with the old flat belt machines they are just slower.

If I understand you right, the Hendey has been there two years and still isn't up and running.......................I believe you have answered your own question.
The Monarch seems to be a deal, unless there is some unknown.

Quade said:

Are you actually using the machines you're collecting or are you just collecting them? You make it sound like you buy machine tools and just sit on them without using them.

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Fair question; I like to think that what i'm doing is "judicious outfitting". I'm an engineer and closing in on retirement. I've been a life long wood worker and have always wanted to take up metal working. I'm fortunate in that i have a large shop (by most home standards) with the means to move and lift stuff up to about 6000 lbs. This puts a lot of stuff within financial reach that is just too big for the average guy with a garage or basement workshop. It is ironic that the larger and more capable the obsolete machine, the less it tends to cost. Anyway, i enjoy the challenge of machining and now, much of the use i get out of the lathe, mill and shaper is really intended to build skills. There is a world of difference between what you read in a book and what the machines actually do.

Anyway, thanks to all for the feedback. My priority is to use the machines for their intended purpose and not simply to work on them as a labor of love.

When the old Flat Belt lathes a set-up and running properly they don't need that much maintenance. Hendey has the spindle bearing oil in a reservoir and a slinger ring to keep the spindle oiled plus end caps to return the oil to the reservoir so as not to put the oil line on the wall, floor and operators shirt. A few oil holes to oil but newer machines have them too though not as many.
I doubt anyone here can make the decision for you, it's yours to make. If you have room a second lathe is good to have. A 14 X 8 is a little big for most hobbyist, the long length adds a bit of weight and space needed. But if you are interested in doing work I would by the Monarch, as I said before the Monarch or any newer top of the line lathe is light years ahead of your tie bar Hendey.