Hardinge DV59 New to me

Guys, just recently (May) acquired this Hardinge DV59 model, with turret and cross slide.
The serial is in the 13xxx so would like to know more about when it was made. Lathe came from a friend of mine who closed his shop down after 70yrs. had several lathes all for doing small miniature work. We ran the lathe briefly while connected to 3ph at his shop and it seems to run ok, does have a squeak in the counter shaft bearing that may need attention.
The chip tray has been damaged from what I can tell the lathe fell over on the front side and crushed it. Happy I was not there that day. Some collets and minor turret tooling was included. Finally got er into the grr-rage this eve to drain the oil and begin the process of going through it. It is my understanding that the 2sp motor in these do not like the freq drives and need a rotary unit to run well. Any advise on areas to pay close attention to are greatly appreciated. Doug

Date is around 1972, but I don't have a complete date chart.

The lathe is called a DSM59 when set up with a turret and lever cross slide.

If you use a VFD to drive only the spindle, wire it directly to just the high speed wires in the motor. Use the VFD controls to select forward and reverse and 30 HZ to get the low speed range. You will have to figure out a separate power supply for the belt speed changing motor. That is why a rotary phase converter is simpler to hook up. It connects (have to be careful which wires go where) directly to the mains input on the lathe and all the lathe controls work normally with no internal wiring changes. Hope it is a 240V machine. It gets more complex if you bought a 440V.

Larry

Thanks Larry, it is a 240vt thankfully, and my intention is to go rps since the speed change motor and coolant pump all are 3ph. The motor is a ge 3/4 -3/8 hp so not very big. spent the this eve trying to remove the spindle carrier from the bed, the Hardinge parts list is pretty vague. found additional 4 socket screws under the head and got the head to slide 3 inches forward and back but it's still hitting something solid. the belts are toast and spindle feels pretty dry to me. perhaps will be ok to run for awhile with clean and repack of the brngs. Working on this lathe you can sure tell they put a lot of effort into producing a quality lathe.

Did you get a collett closer and colletts with it?

Hodge said:

Did you get a collett closer and colletts with it?

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I think I have a spare Hardinge lever closer assembly if you need one. Collets are easy.

Larry

That closer will be a big help for him. Your right the colletts themselves are easy enough to acquire. Is the handle for the turret leaned up on the backside of the pic?

Thanks guys, exciting working on this beast in the eve, really quite a lathe. another pic of the it before began removing stuff. Did come with a closer and some collets. The guy even included one of the head mounted parting tools and an older cross slide and compound. Will be in the hunt for a tailstock at some point however. For now trying to figure out how to slide the spindle housing off the bed, everything is loose all the bolts are out and can move it 3in both direction but its hitting a pin or something, cant see it anywhere. Suggestions? Anybody have a good line on the motor and spindle belt/ bearings? thx - Doug

I have an orphan tailstock of the correct model in nice condition for that lathe.

Replacing spindle bearings to get OEM accuracy is a complex job, and very costly if you have Hardinge do it. There are some other shops that can do the job.

Larry

Definca said:

For now trying to figure out how to slide the spindle housing off the bed, everything is loose all the bolts are out and can move it 3in both direction but its hitting a pin or something, cant see it anywhere. View attachment 261213

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Have you removed the speed indicator rod that attaches to the speed control box, and comes through the area you are trying to move and winds up in the box above the spindle with the faster slower buttons on it?
Bill

Thanks guys, got er apart this eve, finally, was simply a large pile of chips blown in with compressed air between the bed and head stock. There is a one inch hole in the dovetail and a rectangle in the head casting, they pass right over each other when you slide the spindle head back off the lathe. The chips get stuck in between and cant shear. Tried all my soft blow hammers and brass etc to slide it, frankly thought it was a dowel rod or pin in a groove because it hit that solid both directions.

Once I pulled the lathe off the base and got it on it's side and could look under, realized the dovetail actually bolts onto the bed casting with 22 socket head screws. 4 of which I had removed from under the head stock, thinking they held the head. Once I removed the other 18 bolts from the dove tail, I could remove the head and the dovetail together from the base, only then could I see the chips catching in between. The base covers this area so you can't see it from anywhere. Short story do not blow off the lathe with compressed air.

The tail stock you have L Vanice, sounds very interesting, please pm me further details.
It is my understanding that the bearings in the spindle head can be replaced?
Thanks again for all the help guys.

I have three DV59 tailstocks. Two are the original 1946-1960 design that used parts from the 1940-1955 split bed lathes. In 1960, Hardinge redesigned the DV59 and a much heavier tailstock was one of the changes. All have 2MT tapers.

Larry