You aren't far at all. Years ago I lived on Baron Lake there by Niles. I loved the area.
The apron on my Hendey has an oil reservoir and level sight glass. whenever the feed screw runs oil is pumped through a series of galleys to the ways and screws all about the machine. Your Machine being older my not be equipped.
Are you able to read the serial number? There is a very nice fella that so far as I know is the worlds foremost authority on Hendey tools. He used to be connected with the company in some fashion and has ended up with the records from the now defunct company. I have talked to him in the past and purchased some old "new stock" parts for my Hendey. I will look up his contact info for you. He was able to provide me with a lot of information about my Hendey by the serial number. Mfg dates. Mfg for whom. Weight. Price. He even provided me with original manuals and the original sales invoice. Mine was ordered by and made for the US navy during the war. I also have a DVD about the Hendey company that is very interesting.
As far as threading goes... You got it. When you get to the end put your "F and R" in neutral back the cutter out to clear the thread and then reverse to the starting point. Zero dial plus cut and do it over again. Sense you close the half nut the very first pass and never open it again you never lose register on the thread and therefore don't need a thread dial to "Time" the thread every pass. Do you set your compound over to 29 degrees when you thread? Also the smooth shaft parallel to and below your feed screw has adjustable cleats on it. You can set them to Neutral the machine at a given point. Very cool.
A great aid in threading is a retracting tool holder. You definitely don't need one but they make life a little easier. Kinda like motors on a snow blower chute (that's for another post). Here is a link to Hemingways retracting mechanism. At the end of your thread just neutral then pull the lever and reverse. At the beginning push the lever, add the cut and forward.
http://www.hemingwaykits.com/acatalog/Retracting_Tool_Holder.html
Your Hendey has an Air Lift motor drive. Is that an after market unit I wonder. I think your Hendey is designed for line shaft power. I wonder if the Air Lift was made by Hendey as a retro fit or another company. Very interesting. You got yourself a real nice lathe at a great price.
Well its nice to know there is another Hendey owner out there and close by. I hope we can exchange ideas and learning experiences on an ongoing basis. Very good to meet you sir!