What's new
What's new

Kearny Tracker 2HL age and best way to lift?

Crank

Aluminum
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
San Diego
I just bought a K&T 2HL Universal today and will debate over having a rigger do the 14 mile trip or DIY with a rented trailer. The first question is age, it's a war finish serial number 67 4396. If one of you historians have a way to date it, that would be great. Any additional information would be icing on the cake.

Second question, what is the safest point or points to lift from? Any guidance will be appreciated.

I took a chance and bought it not running, for two reasons. First, he had drained the oil for transport and second was that even though it is absolutely filthy with a layer of black dust, this is what I saw...

Rescraped and possibly still the original paint? The column has just as much scraping and flaking present. I'll take a series of photos when I get it home and start cleanup.

Mark
7eeb683ad177155906922d03c3eef26b.jpg
66c091c596e7e498c9a6fb22c8a0533b.jpg


Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
Yes, that's the one. I also bought the original dividing head and about 20+ tool holders. I couldn't stand the thought of the DH being separated.

Mark

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
Looks like I found out the age.

Lot: 4396, Qty: 70, Description: 2HL Horizontal Machines (MIEHLE), Completed: June, 1943

Much thanks to Vintage Machinery and those that have provided great information like this so that we can have it for reference!

I am now having second thoughts about getting rid of my Bridgeport, the compact size of this little beast makes me think I can shoehorn it into my shop without taking yoga classes to operate both of them. Sneaking it past my refrigerator and workbench (which has a SB shaper on it) might take some creativity and witchcraft, but I will make it happen.

I have never been around one of these in my life, but oddly enough, I seemed to know what and where all of the controls were. It just felt like this machine and I will get along very well. The seller was keen on emphasizing that many of the YouTube machinists have these and personally I never noticed, much less cared. I have zero aspirations to become a YouTube star, but I want to make a lot of chips and this machine seems to have the grunt.

It was funny, the seller was horrified that I would consider selling my Bridgeport and didn't appreciate my comment that it's a big drill press. I'm not belittling what they can do, but I have always felt it wasn't rigid enough and with the 1hp motor, definitely oriented towards lighter work.

I will have my work cut out to give this thing a good cleaning and I'll flush the oiling system thoroughly before I do any serious testing of all the functions. The whole machine is covered in a layer of thick black dust, it reminds me of stuff when I used to work in older car dealerships. The plus side is that layer seems to have kept the rust at bay.

Mark
 
Glad you found the info on VM helpful ....I, and others put it there exactly for that purpose...I too have a 2hl war baby with model h dividing head...I was lucky enough to find a low lead attachment with all the gears many years ago on ebay and I could afford to buy it without a second mortgage on my home....

Be sure to change all the fluids, make sure the motor is running in the proper direction BEFORE putting belts on, and be sure that after you get the garbage out of the coolant sump left behind by soluble to refill with light bodied cutting oil and you and your machine will both be happy for a long time...

You will find that this machine is not as handy for things like drilling and tapping holes as with a Bridgeport, but you will soon see that you can run circles around a bridgeport for smooth, rapid metal removal...

I have three K&T machines.. I have a 2d, a 2hl universal, and a 2h plain with various attachments and all of them will fill a five gallon bucket with shavings before you know it...Cheers; Ramsay 1:)
 
Local mover has shot me a quote a bit higher than that, but he loads with a forklift and has been doing this for years. Still worth it, but he's stacked with jobs and it may be a few days. Waiting to hear back to arrange the move.

Mark
 
It's in the garage! No bloodshed or foul language. A shameless plug for Carl, from Carl's Machinery moving here in San Diego. Great job and just a decent guy to work with, not to mention a fair price to save me the time and sweat.

I only have it located in the middle of the shop until I get it flushed out, cleaned up a bit and make sure everything is running right. Then I'll play Jenga to shoehorn it into a corner and move the Bridgeport over (still not sure I want to keep it).

I went yesterday to bring the vertical attachment and the support bars. NOTE TO SELF: vertical attachment is not sensibly a one-man lift... I'll either make or locate the parking "crane???" attachment, I don't want to kill myself with that thing in the future.

I had to rush out of work, move it and haul butt back, so pictures will have to wait until later today. I'm just glad it's safely at the house. Is there any trick to removing the drawbar from the back of the spindle to remove the drive gear? I tried to loosen it and it barely turned and never loosened. Maybe I'm missing something, so if I'm not thinking this through, please enlighten me.
Thanks

Mark
 
Well, here are some "dirty pictures"[emoji16]

A couple of questions, what happened to the protective brass sleeve on the table axis and what is the plate dangling on the coolant tube?

Mark
24559309f206a5b25ed145bc788dc023.jpg
d37e23b71be75a344ce3fa842629e74a.jpg
a79fc7931ccf5f6069422c4438c2d4ab.jpg
bbcb41d7ee71e0245c5a99153d19dae5.jpg
f83bdcf6f963508b01ed77ede70b0e9a.jpg
47677810a984022d934581e0134d9841.jpg
870c3819ea6f1ef73d61246d4bc56535.jpg
8292b245719514bbef30ed1ddac6426d.jpg
6d95d288947eb15d31d4ff9135f5ceb4.jpg
dea1913834a6bcbd709863502b0c5bb5.jpg


Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
The plate goes on the front of the saddle.
The brass telescoping tubes get gunked up and when one binds up it gets ripped out instead of sliding.
 
The plate makes sense. That's where they had the Trav-a-dial and it seems to be an oiling point.

Is there any chance the sliding tube could be repaired or remade?
Thanks

Mark

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
Probably. The tubes have a ring soldered on the inside like you see on the outside.
The 2HL vertical I'm working on now has tubes that look just like yours or worse.
They look cool and everything but there has to be a better way.
 
Great ideas there, the big question is how much is involved to remove the shaft to get a new cover/bellows on it???

Mark

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 
The drive gear is still in there under the plastic bag. That's what I was asking about to remove it. The drawbar doesn't want to loosen. I pulled the vertical head before the move to minimize top weight.

Mark


Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
 








 
Back
Top