DV-59 Incoming or DE

[Shopsweeper]

I think I just joined ranks of Hardinge owners in an odd way. I was stalking a forklift at an industrial auction online when I threw a bid on a second operation Hardinge because it looked like it came with enough tooling to make a safe investment.

My bid did not even pass the minimum bid (reserve) limit and I thought about it no more. My idea was to load it up with some turret tooling (it showed a lot included in pics) and fab up some fasteners in brass for some of my toolmaking projects.

The forklift got away from me. Anyone who wants a 30 year old forklift with a busted radiator and leaky hydraulics enough to pay 2k for it is going to beat me every time. Some 2 weeks later I get a call from the auction house asking if I want the machine for my low bid. It took me a few moments to recall that I threw a bid on it. My thought was that I could make one trip and fetch both items... Now I am headed to the Midwest to pickup a a lathe I kind of wanted - but not enough to chase it.

I expect lots of drama as the Company has a ton of removal requirements including worker's comp paperwork and tax exempt forms to fill out. I don't know a simple old hobbyist like me is going to ever qualify to go on site. The company makes aluminum and brass pneumatic filters and fittings so it's possible that this old machine has not cut much steel before.

I will try to keep you all updated with pics and stories about the move and the machine.

 

[ecdez]

That's a great story! Funny how the bid was too low until someine realized it was still sitting unsold a few weeks later. They're stout little machines; you're gonna love it.

 

[Silverbullet]

I agree once you set it up and start using it , soon it will be your go to for any job more then one.

 

[Shopsweeper]

First corrected information: that title should have read "DV-59 Incoming or DSM-59" since I don't know the difference. Just because I am awake at 4am does not mean that I am awake enough to post properly.

The data plate reads; "MODEL: DV-59/DSM-59" It looks like a dovetail bed in the few auction house pictures. I thought one was a split bed but I have never been a Hardinge man enough to know what model is what - grandpa ran a South Bend so I kind of assumed Hardinges were for rich folks...

I have a turret 'for' my Clausing lathe but I never run it that way (in fact the turret is not indexed perfectly and will require a project to setup right). I am planning to set this thing up as turret all the way. There is a machine shop in KS that offered me by a 'by the pound' price on a bin of old W&S production tooling 3 years back. I am going to go see that owner with a case of root beer and see if that offer still stands. He HAD a pallet-sized triwall full about 13 inches deep with 5/8 box tools, knurling tools, drill holders, offset do-dads and a million other tools that I can't even ID that all seemed to be shafted for 5/8". The problem with turret tooling is that so many holders are doing 2 things at once (time is money) - you have to have a vivid imagination to even know what you are seeing.

I could drag home a blown-out of husk of production machine or a tight little 2nd Op that has only ever seen brass before. But pics did show a full set of collets (no cut-off slide or cross slide visible) and bins upon bins of other collets, a collet closer with what looks like coolant trough the headstock.

I'm embarking on a complex tour of the Midwest that includes a stop to pickup an electric pallet jack (a $140 auction win that will be worth a gloat IF it even runs), and a stop to get some German ( Sortimo) racking equipment for my work truck in MO. Look for me on highway 66 eating pie and stopping to tighten chains every few hours or so.

 

[ecdez]

I could be mistaken, but my understanding is the DV is the dovetail version and the DSM is the earlier split bed version.

Here's an old pic of mine showing the bed

That sounds like a good road trip to me!

 

[Shopsweeper]

ecdez,

I cannot see the picture you posted. It comes up as an icon of a generic picture with a red X over it.

I expect this is a DV-59 since the pics looked like a dovetail.

I'm changing the oil and rotating the tires on my pick-up tonight in anticipation of the trip!

 

[Shopsweeper]

Update:
Home. Not unloaded. Too much driving. Need sleep.
DV-59 for sure.

Included:
43-odd 5C collets.
Turret tailstock, operational but well used.
About 9 turret tool holders
Cross Slide (Model E) in very good shape
One brass production part that the last user must have left in the collet!

Not included:
Riser blocks or tool holders for cross-slide (I kind of expected a pair of these)
Regular tailstock
Any kind of compound or taper setup (didn't expect this)

I need to organize an unload solution tomorrow.

 

[Shopsweeper]

Unloaded. I still have to get a formal place in the shop setup but she is off the truck now.

First story: I was not going to pick this up until today. I was on a vacation in Iowa at Handworks and I got a phone call. Nice man says that they are closing the facility where the lathe is stored and I need to come get it last Friday.
I ask; "Can I wait until next Wed?" -Nope, he says. "What about Monday?" I say. Yes, he says.
So instead of going home after Handworks, my two youngest children and I spent the weekend in Chicago and drove on to Indiana Sunday night. Monday morning we were at a closed down plant near Ft. Wayne, IN. I didn't have my trailer with me. So I had them load it onto my pickup bed (mistake here).

Then I swung over to Ohio to pick up a pallet jack that I took a chance on at an auction for $140 (not a mistake).

Here we are loading the pallet jack "next to" the lathe - it was really on top of the edge of the pallet:

The pallet jack is a "Big Joe EZ30" and it is full of flaws (and lots of grade 2 hardware) but so far I LOVE it. I have not owned a pallet jack in years and I never had an electric one. (enough about the Chinese non-lathe).

In any case I had 3 options for unloading the lathe:
1. Overhead hoist and proper chip tray sling method that the manual recommends.
2. Going to a freight terminal or freight dock and getting it loaded on my trailer (lower, but not perfect).
3. Cook up a ramp of some kind.

I opted for #3 (mistake here too).

This resulted in about 3 min of pulling with a come-along and about 30 min of "letting down slow" from a winch on the top side. Not fast. 4x4s as the main legs on the ramp - four of them. The ramp was rock solid.
The pallet it was on was beat up some by the end. But we got it unloaded without any cussing or dropping.

 

[Shopsweeper]

Now for the Lathe:

The turret looks like it has never moved from that spot - the grub screw was not rusty but it was sure dusty.
Note Cross slide in chip tray. Several of the turret socket caps are "wallered out" so I will need to learn how to make those (or buy if they are cheap).
Brass chips everwhere on this machine - no white or blue chips at all. Paint is rough from what looks like parted off parts bouncing around.

A full set of collets in the drawer - but not all of the Hardinge. I noted some Phase II in there too.

Here is the rest of the "stuff" that she came with:

More collets, tool holders, a face plate, lever for the capstan, some files, a little chip brush, etc.
And one "part" that I can only assume was the last part she made:

I will keep it for posterity but I have no idea exactly what it is.

Next steps:
Clean up location in shop for lathe.
Setup Vidmar cabinet for its tooling.
Drop 220 line into location and hookup static phase converter.
Look for cheap tailstock (in case I need it)
Hunt down some tooling (like a Geometric die head) in 5/8" size shafts (I own die heads in 1" (Geo DSA 9/16") and 1.5" (Geo C 2 1/4") but none in 5/8s". I have a ton of dies already.
Scrounge up other 5/8" turret tooling.

The first project: some brass saw bolts for some hand saws I am making.
The next project: A yet-to-be designed collet/adapter to go from 7/16" hex down to 1/4" hex for a tool project.

 

[Shopsweeper]

Friday update:
Lathe still sitting in the way by the door of my shop while I make ready.
I started the electrical exploration by consulting an Electrician. I h ave a ton (literally) of 3-ph donor motors for an RPC but I was hoping to use an existing Static for this machine. Not sure yet what I will do.
I cobbled up a Vidmar box full of drawers from 3 or 4 donor boxes:

And I painted it to look less like the military surplus frankenstein that it is:

I will move all of my machine tapping tooling, some Van Norman collets, and all of the 5C stuff, and the turret tooling that came with this machine into this new box. I tend to do this - organize a box near a machine so I am not running all over the shop.
I am sorry that this is taking so long - I am taking the time to "rodent proof" these boxes since I had a mouse nest in one of my Vidmars last year and chew up some paperwork. Now I am plugging every hole larger than 1/4" with metal of one form or another. I fix up a lot of Vidmar and Lista boxes so I am prepared but the work is still work. Drawer handles and lables to follow.