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Hardinge HC-AT, with cut off attachment?

kencameron

Plastic
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Location
Austin, Texas
Hello all.

I’m looking to buy a Hardinge HC-AT. It would be my first Hardinge. I have never operated one, so please be gentle.

Can the HC-AT automatic threader be fully functional and have the headstock mounted cut off attachment in place at the same time? My gut says no, but I hope to hear from more experience operators / owners.

Thanks in advance.

-Ken Cameron


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My gut says no but I have been wrong fairly often with similar guesses. With an HC you have eight positions on the turret. We always used Empire holders for the T Shaped blade on the turret. We set them up so they when we indexed a minimum of cranking the dial was necessary to get in in position. We use the same holders but 1/2 tall on our Omniturns.
 
I see nothing in the catalog pictures to indicate the HC vertical cutoff will not work while the threading device is in use, but there is no picture showing both in use at the same time. Obviously, the cutoff blade is in front of the collet face, so you may need to be careful how you set up the threading tooling to avoid interference. It might come down to individual part design deciding if overhead cutoff and threading can both be done. The cutoff has three mounting screw holes and is usually mounted with the slide in a vertical position. But I suspect you could drill three other holes and cock the vertical slide toward the front of the lathe to get more clearance with the threading attachment if that solves a problem.

The vertical cutoff will only work when standard type 5C collets are in use: no large step chucks, long nose chucks, dead length collets, etc.

The Hardinge HC catalog also shows the BA bed adapter and lever double tool cross slide mounted below the spindle with a D-10 rear cutoff tool. That arrangement is probably quicker to use than the cutoff tool on the turret, which would require a lot of cranking. And the D-10 will work when a jaw chuck is in use. The HC catalog does not show a cutoff tool for the turret, though I think I saw one somewhere.

Larry
 
The VCHC attachment can be used with the AT unit however you may want to position the cutoff tool slide handle at the 10 o'clock position to make it a little easier to access it and use it as opposed to the normal 12 o'clock position where it is normally mounted. I found this info in our old master tooling reference document.

Tom
 
Tom,

Thank you for that information. I’ve been looking for such master reference documents. Do you know if they are available online? Thanks again.

-Ken


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Yeah, after I thought about it the threading unit bolts on to the back of the spindle housing and will probably clear the cutoff. Been years since I have seen a picture of one of the AT units set up and ready to run. Seems like the cutting tool holder could be moved from one extreme to another. Set towards the spindle it would be the best for clearance. I pushed the button for a day on the foreman's set up on an AT back in 1972. I saw another fellow run it a couple of times during the 2 years I was there.

The attached photo is an Empire cutoff holder I use on the Omniturns. One for an HC will be 3/4 thick and not 1". Can be used upside down for cutting off from the back side. The ones for the HC were stocked, mine was a special order. Price was very reasonable as they expected to sell you blades. The Empire unit and the Hardinge lever slide both have good points. The Empire will be more flexible and lever operated unit will be faster. If you use a chuck very often or step collets, taking the lever slide on and off will eat some time.

Tom, with the Hardinge email address I take it your are still there?

EmpireRS.jpg
 
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