Hey guys, my uncle keeps wanting to buy a lathe, which I think is cool since I could conceivable use it for stuff. I want to make sure he gets a good one though and it is useful for my purposes too

I have a coworker who's mother in law is selling a lathe her husband had, id is a Hendey, 16x30", 16 to 1000rpm (this is the info they wrote down for me, I haven't seen it yet), 15" 4 jaw chuck, cam lock spindle D-1-6, taper attachment, 1 1/2" hole, cleaned and painted. 10hp 220/440 3 phase (apparently it has a converter and can be hooked to standard 220).

with tools and a mechanics chest they're asking 1250.

Red

They were a high quality heavy duty lathe when new.
You might have to make something to fit inside the spindle to hold the end of the barrel.

I am going over to a guys house house tomorrow, I can mearure his if you want.
If that lathe is in fair shape tthat is a good price for my area.

Hal

Thanks, we're looking at it on Saturday. I'm sure I/we'll have a very steep learning curve, and there are no machinist schools around for us to learn anything at. too bad, he's retired and could go to classes somewhere if they had them.

I did a bit more research online, apparently this model goes about 4800 lbs, I told my uncle but that doesn't phase him, he was a heavy equipment operator for 38 years and nothings "too big".

I'd just like to be able to do simple things, turn threads, crown barrels etc. I'd like to get a milling attachment for it so I could do things that a mill is better for.

Red

At one time many years ago I taught machining for a very short time at the local college. The Hendey is a quality lathe. If it has been cared for it should be fine. The 30" bed may be a little short for gunsmithing, but there are ways around it. As far as learning, there are a lot of good books on the subject. If you take your time and make some simple projects before you attemped expensive stuff, you will be fine. As far as the milling attachment... a stand-alone mill/drill would be cheaper and more useful.......Tom

The biggest problem might be the lack of chucks.
The 4 jaw is a bit large for a lot of jobs and you have no 3 jaw.
You might look at the cost of a small three jaw suitable for your work. I recommend small so it is easy to lift. Maybe later in the future you might get a smaller used 4 jaw for the same reason.
A 5C collet setup is very useful.
Most turning is done between 200 and 600 RPM.
The upper RPM on that machine may be a bit slow for really small work.

The Hendey is an excellent industrial quality lathe. Just a couple comments on the size. The headstock is probably too long for spider mounted barrels. Yoy will have to build some sort of a cat-head within the length. You will need a hoist for that 15" four jaw unless you are a gorilla.
Chuck

No problem getting chucks. The D1-6 camlock is a standard mount. The Hendys are brutes, lots of cast iron. Might be better suited for Caterpillar parts than guns tho.

Hendey Lathe

Good information here.

Guys thanks very much. I also got a PM or two that had great info. I went and saw it today with my uncle. Lathe looks to be in great shape. It actually had a smaller chuck on it (the big one was there too) maybe 10" across the face of it, 3 jaw, self centering (is that what it's called, has one key that moves them all simultaneously).

had some tooling, gauges etc. etc. I told my uncle ahead of time it was monster big and maybe not the best thing for him/us. It does have a thingy that mounts somewhere in the bed to keep the piece you're working supported, I don't know if it is a steady rest or a spider. has a hole straight through the chuck/head end that is 1.5" so probably could put barrels in through there.

The good thing is the price stopped him. 1250 is a bit higher than he wants to spend. So then we went out to shoot trap and he ran into his old buddy and they got to talking. turns out that a gunsmith they knew died, his son has cancer and wants to sell his stuff. sounds like he has a lathe and a mill amongst the stuff.

He's gonna check on that this week and on another one a guy has with tooling for maybe 500.

I will get the pics off my phone uploaded and post them though, cool old lathe. Probably somebody out there that wants to buy it. It wasn't repainted like the thing said, this looks like original paint. the guy was a retired machinist, when he closed his shop he put this one in at his house and kept doing side jobs till he died about 10 years ago.

Thanks again guys.

Red

Man I wouldn't pass the Hendey for that price! The guy may have been a smith, but makes sure it is suitable for your purpose.
Butch

$1250 for an industrial machine is a bargain.

Where is it located if you are going to pass?

All right guys, here are some pics. I took a lot (didn't know what to show, tried to show the ways, which to my untrained eyes looked perfect) because of size and since not everybody cares to look at them, I'll link to most of them and you can look if you want.

I am curious, the quill I think it is, where it goes into the tailstock, is tapered, but there is not threads or anything to lock it in. it seems like, in playing with it a bit, that it goes in (i.e. the no3 morris taper chuck that was there) and locks just from friction. I inserted it and turned it clockwise and it locked up tight. Is that how they're supposed to work?

I haven't read the copy of the documentation that my buddy gave me but it has a phase-a-matic phase converter and a second, 7.5hp motor that does something??? (sorry, will read tomorrow if I get time)

It's in Fresno, CA. My uncle hasn't decided yet if he wants this one, he's waiting to find out on another smaller, less expensive lathe he heard about. But I will definitely turn any of you onto it, I'd like to help my buddy sell it if my uncle doesn't buy it. His grandmother (in-law) is in her 80's now and wants the money to give to some missionaries that she regularly helps out. (sweet).


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That looks like it's too long through the spindle and too short on the bed for barrel work without some clever center inside the spindle. It can be done but there are easier machines out there.

My uncle goes today to look at a lathe and mill that were supposed to have belonged to a gunsmith who passed away recently. I'm going to try and go with him to check it out. Not that I know anything, but to get the details first hand so I can get answers. I think the Mill is much more useful to us so he may grab those.

While the Hendey might be an excellent INDUSTRIAL lathe you DON'T want to buy something you have to rework from top to bottom and then be marginal for gun work...the headstock is WAY to wide for barrel work and the ways are WAY too short also.

You really need a lathe in the 36-48" bed length and a 2" or larger hole throught the headstock to really do the work without a lot of setups.

Most lathes nowdays sold for gunwork are 12x36". Some of the lathes have headstock holes that are slightly less then 1.5" so you CAN'T work with a 1.5" barrel without reboring the hole.

Old lathes are cool but a total PITA to get set up unless they are relatively new, have been in production NOT setting around in a garage for years and only need the dust blown off to start making chips. Getting stuck with someones dream gone nightmare isn't what you want to do unless you plan on spending lots of time reinventing the wheel.

I went through the same process looking for a "deal"...I spent 6 months working up and down California, Nevada and Oregon looking at "deals"...most were worn out beyond repair, some were excellent but were priced way beyond new for a rebuilt machine. Many sellors thought they had gold on their hands or maybe it was just a point in time where everyone wanted a lathe and were willing to pay anything for nothing.

Take your time and look around...check online see what the market is then look at new for the difference in cost between them and what the "old dog" costs to get up to speed.

Luck

unsolicited, uneducated opinion- that lathe looks like it's going to take a considerable amount of time, labor, money, and extra parts to get up and running.

differing opinions welcome.

tin can,
What parts do you see missing that would come with another lathe? Yes, it needs 2-3 hours to clean up and lube. Most barrels are 26" maximum in length unless you are doing Black Powder or some of the long barrel long range rifles. Unless you buy a lathe from a smith and he supplies all the tooling there is no difference.
Foobar, tell me of a say 14x48 lathe with a short headstock that has a 2" spindle bore.
You can do small work with a large lathe, but you can't do large work with a small lathe. Does the rotary phase convertor come with it? That is some bucks right there.
I have a 14x48 Clausing 6319 that I do barrel work on. I chamber in the headstock. The largest barrel that I can chamber in the headstock is a 1.350" diameter. My Monarch 10EE is too long in the headstock and at 20" between centers to easily do barrel work.
It will cost this gentleman over 3 times the Hendey and be a lightweight Chinese machine.
Butch

quote:

Yes, it needs 2-3 hours to clean up and lube

get to it

quote:

Hendey

That's Hedley

tincan,
If It were closer it would be in my shop. I have cleaned up a machine or 2 in my time and this one would be a snap.
Butch

Butch Well said.

I don't agree with the PITA. It depends on what you know and how good you are. I rebuilt a 1927 South Bend 9" junior. Great little machine that made me a bunch of money. Enough in fact to replace it with a Heavy 10L South bend. Granted I'd like a geared head and a pressurized lube system but that will be down the road. I've got my eye on a Mori Seki (SP?) can get one for about three grand used in decent condition.

The only problem I see with this machine is it's bulk Looks like 2 tons or so.

Butch would 200 miles closer be close enough??

I could get it, you could swing out on the 8 pick her up and be headed back to Texas in a just a matter of............ days

Problem for me Is it's too close, too cheep, and too damn heavy.

As for the Tail stock. Yep they work on friction. Just takes a mild tap to lock it up tight. and if you dial the spindle all the way back into the tail stock it will hit a stop and kick out the tool. Collets work the same way. friction fit on a taper.

Interesting topic, thought I would join in. That old Hendey will keep up with any lathe built today with few exceptions and hold tighter tolerances than any lathe under 8 grand. You have about 34 inches from the D-6 face to the tailstock face. Plenty of room. As far as work that it needs, what work? Clean and oil the gibs and possibly replace the cross slide screw and nut. If you can disassemble a Colt 45 auto and put it back together these operations will seem like Childs play.
The Hendey was one of the best built machines ever made and takes a back seat to no machine. When it was time to build my own shop I had pretty much my choice of equipment and out of my seven lathes two are Hendeys. Quality work comes from a skilled machinist on good equipment and Hendeys are some of the best lathes ever built. Compromise on machinery and you will regret it in the long run.
KC: Ditch the idea of a Mori-Seki and pick up this lathe or wrap it up and palletize it for Butch and send it down to Texas (about 400 bucks shipping I would think).