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Hardinge DSM/HSL Compound Question

defterGoose

Plastic
Joined
Apr 20, 2021
Hello everyone,

I'm looking at buying a small footprint lathe that will do precision work, and the HSL seemed like a possible option. I will definitely be needing the compound as a primary tool, and one of the ones i went to look at seemed like it was missing some parts. Basically the cam that attaches the slide to the dovetail is sitting right on the dovetail, whereas the other side has a normal looking gib on it. Can someone who owns one let me know what the cam lever side is supposed to look like, or maybe provide a picture? I didn't inspect it super close, but it didn't look like there were bolt holes on the underside to which the dovetail keeper for the gib would attach. However, even with the lock engaged there was a ton of play, and not having a bigger bearing surface for the cam is certainly not the way it was designed.

Thanks for any help.
 
Hardinge made two completely different slide rests that fit the HSL, DV, and DSM-59 lathes with 3" wide dovetail bed. The first was designed in 1946 for the first lathes with that bed. In 1960, the lathes and the slide rest were redesigned with improvements. Either type of slide rest will work on the HSL, which has a short bed, too short to use a tailstock.

Hardinge had a policy of selling current model tooling to customers with older model machines. Slide rests often wore out after production use and had to be replaced. So Hardinge made versions of both the 1946 and the 1960 model slide rests to fit the older 9 inch lathes with a T-slot down the center of the bed. The split bed slide rests share most of their parts with the dovetail bed slide rests, but the means of attaching to the bed is completely different, A split bed slide rest will not work on a dovetail bed.

I will take some pictures of the 1946 and 1960 model slide rests for the dovetail beds so you can see the very different design of the lever bed clamp used. In my experience with buying used slide rests, the 1960 clamping lever assembly is often in bad shape. The 1946 model looks like it held up better in that regard. I only have one 3" dovetail bed Hardinge, an HSL, which I do not use. For that reason, I have not taken the time to design a robust replacement for the 1960 model bed clamp. Hardinge should have done that redesign long ago. The lathes and slide rests are out of production so they are probably happy to sell original 1960 design replacement parts, if they still have any.

1946 slide rests. Probably the older one has a non-adjustable stamped steel guide that bears on the front of the bed. The newer one has the same adjustable front guide as the 1960 model and the small white plastic dial that was introduced around 1955. These are both incomplete, as received and need work, but the bed clamps are all there.

DSC02712.jpg DSC02714.jpg DSC02713.jpg

1960 slide rest, complete, but needs cleaning.

DSC02710.jpg DSC02711.jpg

Larry
 
Thanks Larry, that's very helpful.

It does indeed look like the cam is the only part that bears on the dovetail, which is quite interesting. Maybe, as you noted, the mechanism on the one I looked at (60s version) has become loose over the years and is no longer providing the required clamping force. I may go back and look at it again to see if maybe there's a way to adjust/refurbish it, or if there's anything else I'm overlooking.

For anyone else who may find this thread, I also found this youtube video which provides some great information about these slides.

David Lindow - Hardinge Cross Slide - OTI Symposium Denver Colorado - YouTube
 
The 1960 slide rest rear clamp has no adjustment, but can get worn and loose. The tightness adjustment, which also adjusts squareness of the bottom slide, is in the front bed guide. There are four set screws, two for locking the other two, which move two small beveled parts that bear on the front of the bed.

Larry
 








 
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