Hendey 12x30 gearhead lathe

[skipd1]

I recently pulled the trigger and purchased a 1930 Hendey 12x30 gear head lathe. The lathe is labeled as a 12" swing, but it should handle more. It came only with a 8" 3 jaw chuck, so I need a 4 jaw, and at least one faceplate. My question is will a 10 inch 4 jaw work fine on this machine? I will probably look for a 6 jaw as well. I assume a BXA quick change tool post is the correct size. I have done an inspection and evaluation of it and it seems to be in very good condition, the headstock and gearbox are very clean and the lathe runs very quiet and smooth. The ways are a little worn around the chuck end, but that's to be expected for a machine that old. I haven't got it home yet and I will post some pictures and the serial number when that occurs.
I plan to off load it with a forklift from the trailer and I am wondering the best manner to attach slings to lift the headstock end. Is it possible to sling from a rod through the spindle or is that a poor idea?


Skipdi

[pete]

Nice lathe and I'm suitably envious.

Some on the PM forums say lifting with a sling behind a mounted chuck and lifting from the spindle itself does no harm. Myself I think it really depends on what type of bearings it has. Oil fed sleeve bearings are probably fine. Everything I've read about those Hendey lathes always mentions how heavily built they are. I've hoisted a whole lot of very heavy mining equipment and I can't recall once where it was decided to lift with a shaft through any roller bearing bore. Are you sure there's no lower holes cast in the bed running front to back designed to take a shaft as lifting points? A lot of those heavier lathes have exactly that. Failing that, if the lathe bed between the ways is cross ribbed, usually the one closest to the head stock and another towards the tail stock is meant as the lifting points and you balance the load by running the carriage back towards the tail stock. Make SURE to lock the carriage to the ways once you find the correct balance point if your doing it that way. And if you've never done much heavy lifting and your using strap type slings? MAKE SURE to pad anywhere under the sling that's bearing against what your lifting. Heavy card board strips, old carpet, even rags will help. I've seen a couple of loads dropped because the sling got cut against an edge on the load you wouldn't think was sharp enough to do that. My preference is either chain or cable because of that issue with the fiber slings.

My guess is a 10" 4 jaw should work ok and I seem to recall Hendey like Monarch under rated what the maximum swing was on there lathes. But I'm not 100% sure about that. If it is under rated then yeah I'd go with that 10" for sure.

[Bill Shields]

I would never lift a load on any type of spindle / bearing....no matter how 'heavily' it is built.

it just is bad practice / not a good idea / too many things can go wrong -> none of them beneficial to the accuracy of your equipment.

[skipd1]

Thanks for the advise. I agree and I plan to sling the lathe using the cross bracing between the ways and use the carrage and tailstock to adjust the balance point. This machine as tapered roller bearing in the spindle.

Skip

[Bill Shields]

Good plan...

Be sure that once you have it in place that you have a way to get the chucks on and off.

An 10" chuck probably weighs 2x what an 8" weighs

I can man handle a 6" chuck but require a chain fall for a 10"

[skipd1]

Thanks, I also am looking at some form of small lifting devise to handle the larger chucks.
Skip

[Bill Shields]

mine all have a threaded hole into which an eye can be screwed.

a few need me to put something in the chuck to 'balance' it so that it hangs level....

i have a standard 'bob weight' for each chuck sitting on the floor...

[pete]

Something you may have already thought of, but just in case. A number of years ago the HSM magazine had a short article about building what's called a chuck cradle or sled for heavy chucks. That one had a cut out that fit the front V way and flat way on the rear side of the lathe bed. Then a build up of basically construction grade fir or pine glued and screwed to it's top surface. Those were cut to the same radius as the chuck has. In use you put the cradle on the ways, load the chuck into it, then slide the whole thing up to to the spindle. Since that radius is cut to position the chuck at the spindle C/L it's an easy way to hold the chuck and move it into position without much effort. And it's just as useful when removing chucks. The drawback is it's only usable for the one diameter of chuck it's made for. For lighter chucks I just use a piece of plywood on the ways to protect them. With the usual oily hands it's not if your going to drop a chuck, only when it's going to happen. Out of curiosity I just did a quick Google search and it looks like the average 10" chucks weigh anywhere from 60-80 lbs.

[Bill Shields]

very good suggestion for getting it on / off the spindle

thought:

it does not need to be a radius to fit the chuck - a simple V will suffice....

[skipd1]

I agree, I already have a chuck saddle for my Heavy 9 but mostly for protection of the ways as the 6 inch chucks are pretty manageable.
I will definitely will build one for the Hendey, the 8 inch 3 jaw is considerably heavier than those 6 inchers I have and if I get a 10" 4jaw that will be even heavier.

I plan on getting the machine delivered in a couple of days, I will try to post some pics if the site allows me.

Skipd1