# Heres my Hendey lathe



## Michaeljp86 (Jan 3, 2013)

Heres a picture of my lathe I got at auction. I think its a 16x48, it came with a new 3 jaw chuck, a 4 jaw, and small and huge faceplate. Also a steady rest and some tooling and some dogs, I think thats what they are called. And other stuff that Ill have to figure out what it is. Its a 3 phase so I had to get a converter. I paid $361 for it and another $50 for a used converter. 

There doesnt seem to be many Hendey lathes around. If anyone has any info on them Id be glad to hear it.


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## hermetic (Jan 3, 2013)

I thinks sir, that you got an absolute bargain at that price, especially as you got tooling as well, as that often costs more than the machine! Clean her down, send in some pics, and have fun.
Phil 
UK


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## hermetic (Jan 3, 2013)

Have a look here, you will love it!

http://www.lathes.co.uk/hendey/index.html


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 3, 2013)

hermetic said:


> I thinks sir, that you got an absolute bargain at that price, especially as you got tooling as well, as that often costs more than the machine! Clean her down, send in some pics, and have fun.
> Phil
> UK



A lot of the tooling is junk, broken carbide but there is some good stuff.


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## Tamper84 (Jan 14, 2013)

Very nice!!  I have heard that hendey's don't have a threading dial. Is that true? If it doesn't how do you thread with it? 

Thanks,
Chris.


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## Richard King (Jan 14, 2013)

I see a Hendly lathe has a $1.00 bid on an online auction. hoffonlineauctions.com

Probably cost more to ship it then to buy it.


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## Tamper84 (Jan 14, 2013)

Richard King said:


> I see a Hendly lathe has a $1.00 bid on an online auction.   http://www.hoffonlineauctions.net
> 
> Probably cost more to ship it then to buy it.


Do you know where it's at? I clicked on the link but its broke...


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## dwdw47 (Jan 14, 2013)

Hi: how far did it have to be shipped? Was it dismantled to be shipped? 
These questions relate to it being an English manufacture and your in the US.
I never get a deal quite that nice! but almost!
dwdw47


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 14, 2013)

Tamper84 said:


> Do you know where it's at? I clicked on the link but its broke...



Try this one http://www.hoffonlineauctions.com/



Tamper84 said:


> Very nice!!  I have heard that hendey's don't have a threading dial. Is that true? If it doesn't how do you thread with it?
> 
> Thanks,
> Chris.


Mine has a gearbox and a chart, you just find the TPI you want on the chart and set the 2 levers. 






dwdw47 said:


> Hi: how far did it have to be shipped? Was it dismantled to be shipped?
> These questions relate to it being an English manufacture and your in the US.
> I never get a deal quite that nice! but almost!
> dwdw47



I see mine has Torrington Connecticut USA cast into it. I picked mine up so I dint have to have it shipped. It was at a shop called Niels automotive, they didn't work on cars but they did custom work like installing snow plows and dump beds.


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## Glmphoto (Jan 21, 2013)

Nice to find another Hendey owner. Mine is a 40's 12 X 30. Have had it for several years now. These machines are rock solid heavy units. Mine is over 3000 lbs. It is true Hendey doesn't use a thread dial. Once you bring in the half nut you don't open it till your finished with the thread.  Yours is considerably older than mine but you can see similarities.  I have had the entire apron and cross slide off of mine to clear the automatic oiler oil galleys. They were fouled from lack of maintenance by the previous owner.  If I can help in any way by answering questions you may have, don't hesitate.

Best Regards


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 21, 2013)

Glmphoto said:


> Nice to find another Hendey owner. Mine is a 40's 12 X 30. Have had it for several years now. These machines are rock solid heavy units. Mine is over 3000 lbs. It is true Hendey doesn't use a thread dial. Once you bring in the half nut you don't open it till your finished with the thread.  Yours is considerably older than mine but you can see similarities.  I have had the entire apron and cross slide off of mine to clear the automatic oiler oil galleys. They were fouled from lack of maintenance by the previous owner.  If I can help in any way by answering questions you may have, don't hesitate.
> 
> Best Regards



Thats nice lathe, when I thread I use the F&R switch since it doesn't have a thread dial. Im not sure if that's the proper way to do it or not. 

Whats the deal with this automatic oilier? Is that something I should look into?

I see your in portage IN, I dont think thats real far from me. I live about 15 miles north of new carlisle IN.


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## Glmphoto (Jan 22, 2013)

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!


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 22, 2013)

Glmphoto said:


> 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.
> 
> ...



Im sure yours has it too, there is a lever that engages the feed drive, either F,N,R. When I was playing around with this lever is seemed like the tool always ended up on the same thread. Is it possible this is how they would thread? I read back in the day all the lathed were powered by steam and pulley systems so they would have the electric motor to shut off. The would have to work with the machine running all the time. Maybe thats why they dont have a dial because the used this lever that will always engage in the same spot. 

Now for the bad news. I needed to make a bushing for a hay wagon repair and yesterday when I flipped it on it didn't want to move. It moved really slow and the converter would click on and off and then nothing. Now when I flip it on it just hums like it doesn't get that 3rd leg. I hope the problem inst in the motor but I thought I heard a little poof in the motor.:angry: It didn't smell burnt though and I didn't see any smoke in the rear of the motor.


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## Glmphoto (Jan 22, 2013)

Do you have a rotary Phase converter -or- static type?  Have you metered the motor leads to ground and across each winding?  Let me know in a little more detail what you have.  I am happy to help

Best Regards
BEAR


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 22, 2013)

Glmphoto said:


> Do you have a rotary Phase converter -or- static type?  Have you metered the motor leads to ground and across each winding?  Let me know in a little more detail what you have.  I am happy to help
> 
> Best Regards
> BEAR


Its a static converter that sucks. I want to either get a rotary converter or a VFD. But if the motor bit the dust maybe I can replace it with a single phase. My dad was a electrician in a factory for 30 years so Ill have to get his out there. I wish it wasn't 100 below zero out. Im hoping the problem is the converter.


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 22, 2013)

Do you have any idea on how to test the motor to see if any winding burn out in it? Looks like Im getting power to all 3 legs going into the motor. So Im kinda thinking thats what happened. 

So much for my good deal.


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## Glmphoto (Jan 23, 2013)

Its still a good deal. First is the static converter rated for the HP motor you have?
To check the motor SHUT OFF ALL POWER
Unhook each of the 3 wires from the converter to the motor. Check each wire to ground. If you have continuity to ground its bad. then check across wire to wire and see if the Ohms are about the same.
If you need a hand I can make it up your way. Let me know.

Best Bear


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 23, 2013)

Glmphoto said:


> Its still a good deal. First is the static converter rated for the HP motor you have?
> To check the motor SHUT OFF ALL POWER
> Unhook each of the 3 wires from the converter to the motor. Check each wire to ground. If you have continuity to ground its bad. then check across wire to wire and see if the Ohms are about the same.
> If you need a hand I can make it up your way. Let me know.
> ...



The static converter is rated for 3hp and the lathe is 1.5hp. 

Since a static converter really only lets it run on 2 legs I think that caused one of them to get overloaded and burn out. So Ill probably have to have the motor rebuilt since its kinda built in with the gear box. I wont really be able to use a different motor. Then Ill have to get a better converter so it doesnt happen again.


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## 8ntsane (Jan 23, 2013)

You mention a static convertor, In that case they generally have a start cap to get the motor running, but only run on two of the three legs from what I understand. Many people complain they suck because of the reduced power from running on 2- legs

That later model Hendy, by what is described, is called lead screw to reverse. Very handy when threading up to a shoulder. That can save your butt from crashes


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## Michaeljp86 (Jan 24, 2013)

Some good news, my electrician dad got out some kind of little electrical manual and we tested the motor leads and it checked out. I did some poking around and came across some ancient 2.1amp fuses and one was blown. There was some extra fuses inside. The motor runs now but it still doesn't have enough power to run the lathe. I think Im going to put synthetic oil in the gear box and I still need to either get a VFD or a rotary converter.


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## Sk8ter (Apr 5, 2013)

Glmphoto said:


> Nice to find another Hendey owner. Mine is a 40's 12 X 30. Have had it for several years now. These machines are rock solid heavy units. Mine is over 3000 lbs. It is true Hendey doesn't use a thread dial. Once you bring in the half nut you don't open it till your finished with the thread.  Yours is considerably older than mine but you can see similarities.  I have had the entire apron and cross slide off of mine to clear the automatic oiler oil galleys. They were fouled from lack of maintenance by the previous owner.  If I can help in any way by answering questions you may have, don't hesitate.
> 
> Best Regards



I sent you a pm...but I am post or replying here as you live right where I do..I have a 14" hendey tiebar that i am cleaning/fixing up....

check you pm please


Lawrence


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