Questions about my DV 59

I asked in another thread and don't want to hijack there thread. My DV 59 came to me as a DMS. My question is when was it built. I called Hardinge years ago to ask if I could still get parts for it. Was told no it was way too old. I told they it was at least a 1960 or newer. They said with the seral number I gave them it was very very old. So what gives my number is DV-59-00073.

Mark

The earliest serial number I can locate in our records starts at 00300 and that is listed as production beginning in January of 1946, I am guessing yours is older than that.

Tom

I want to see more pictures of the lathe before commenting further.

Larry

My lathe is not that old. It is newer than 1960. The head stock has the 4 cap screws that go in to the bed from the top. Were some of these lathes made in England? I ask this because my turret had a tag that said made in England. The tag came off but I have it somewhere. This lathe is not like the newest ones where the chip pan is more square. It also doesn't have the big knob on where you controle the speed.

Mark

Interesting...

I just looked at my cross slide and it also said made in England. I haven't seen made in England anywhere on the machine itself. Also I have the wiring diagram that come in the electric box and it is dated 2/18/69. The diagram number matches the number on controle electrical box info. Here are some pictures but I don't want to hear any shit about all the junk stacked all over it at this time in its life. Its just the way it has to be for now.

Mark

Wonder what year exactly they switched to the unified control on top of the head? (push-pull-power/faster-slower-knob/speed guage)

Must have been in the 1970's, I have a Hardinge Dsm dated 5/9/1978 with a control box with the unified control.

apoc_101 said:

Wonder what year exactly they switched to the unified control on top of the head? (push-pull-power/faster-slower-knob/speed guage)

Click to expand...

L Vanice said:

I want to see more pictures of the lathe before commenting further.

Larry

Click to expand...

That is why I wanted to see pictures. I have read of numerous HLV-H lathes made in England, but don't recall hearing of an English DSM59 until now. Anyway, the English HLV-H lathes have a serial number range different from the American product, but I don't recall the number format. I guess the four zeroes before the 73 means it was the 73rd lathe (just DV's or all models?) made in the English plant. Elmira lathes do not have zeroes before the serial number. I don't know what years the English Hardinge lathes were made, but we have UK members on PM, so maybe one will educate us.

Larry

Larry keep in mind that the only place I see England is on the cross slide and turret. All the other tag on the machine say Hardinge or Hardinge brothers Elmira NY.

I had another DV59 in the 8000 range and they both looked identical except for the head stock casting.

Here is a picture of mine in the area it looks different. The casting is more pronounced or sharp in this area.



Hoping you can see the difference in this pic.

Yea I noticed that casting difference as well... good chance if the machine was UK built, the castings came from a foundry there with small variations in the patterns.

the different serial format (preceded with zeroes) and low number, coupled with a later post-60s config does certainly give some credence to UK-made DVs... the Elmira badge on the front does kinda suggest differently.

I think I can answer these questions gentlemen, sorry I'm a bit late but I've only very recently joined this forum set-up!

I was a very young Hardinge, Exeter, Devon, UK apprentice when, around 1968, our UK works manager, Jim Blair, called a works meeting to say that we had just been granted a manufacturing order by our American bosses in Elmira, USA to manufacture an initial 300 DV59 lathe "top halves".

This meant 300 bed, headstock, tailstock and compound slide units initially, with more to follow if all went well.

Our works began manufacture and a number of these units were completed, checked against the spec sheets and sent to USA where further inspection was obviously carried out. Now, I was not involved in the manufacture of these DV59 top halves, and I have no idea how many were sent Stateside, but I do know that our machines were slated by Hardinge USA inspectors - minor stuff such as a washer on a compound slide was fitted upside down, and the complete top half assembly would get rejected (I don't know whether they were then returned to UK?) Someone said these units were being sold via adverts in America for spares or part built machines, and that as they were built in the UK they were taking away work from American Hardinge factories, so they would be looking for reasons to reject our stuff. The total order was then cancelled and we were left with all the DV parts, but this was not a machine we normally built in Exeter.

All I do know is that sometime later when I began specialising to become a fitter, I was designated to use up the spare parts by taking over from a skilled man who was leaving (he had made the top half units for America) and was at the time building part complete machines to send to Feltham, Middlesex, UK for completion, if they were to become DSM59's for UK customers.

From there onwards, using the left over parts, I manufactured about 340 machines as DV59s, DSM59s, B&S spindled DSM59 (DSM-59-BS), DSM Hot Rods (DSM-59-HR). In the years between it is entirely possible that UK built DV/DSM59s ended up being bolted onto an American built pedestal and sold as an American built machine.

Respectfully, Barry (now aged nearly 71yrs).