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New (to me) Hardinge HC Turret Lathe

DIYShopTools

Plastic
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
I just picked up a Hardinge HC turret lathe about a week ago. Moving it was quite the adventure. It's quite filthy and seems to need a deep cleaning and some routine maintenance. I have absolutely zero experience with maintaining a lathe. So any help would be super appreciated.

My primary questions are:
What oil/lubricant do I want to put in it?
What coolant should I use with it?
Any tips, tricks, hints or parts/accessories that I should add?

Thanks again
 
#1 ATF for the carriage gears and clutches, Vactra #2 for the pump oiler.
#2 I would use cutting oil Mobilmet 427 now used here. Others in the 42X series may be available in 5 gallon pails. Other brands OK also, I would stay away from heavy sulfured oils as they corrode brass parts.
#3 Get the Hardinge catalog of HC tool holders and get what you NEED from Hardinge or used elsewhere. Buying all the tools new will cost a bundle. Learn to balance your set ups so all the tools are near the same zero to reduce cranking fatigue and lessen errors.
A badly worn machine should be able to hold plus or minus .0005, a pristine machine would hold plus or minus .0001 or less with the right gauges.

I downloaded a PDF from the Hardinge web site recently HC tooling catalog is still there.
 








 
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