Machine Any Hendey lathe experts on here?

Machine

scrap

New Member
Spotted this odd duckling locally on kijiji. I'm somewhat familiar with the Hendey cone head lathes but this is not what I'd expect. No quick change gears or leadscrew, so no thread cutting. So maybe a production model or ex-govn't article.

Anyway, I don't think any of their cone head lathes had hardened ways or high speed spindles; add to that no screw cutting, so not the most desirable machine technically. Definately has some charm though, seems to have at least half of a long taper attachment at least!

Does anyone know anything about these variants?


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DavidR8

Scrap maker
Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
I'd shoot some pics off to Tony at lathes.co.uk and see what he might know. Heck you may even add to that knowledgebase!
 

Bandit

Super User
Perhaps, a bit of a dum question here. Does the carriage not have power feed to it? The carriage appears to have 2 knobs for drive engagements on it, one is on the traverse hand wheel, and there seems to be a lever for some kind of transmission.
There is a power shaft coming from a gear box, transmission, on the head stock. Maybe a manual set of change gears to change the power shaft speed. I have also seen a big old lathe that had the lead screw on the back side, was a bit of a head scratcher till I noticed that.
The power shaft drives gears etc. to pinion and rack.
 

boilerhouse

Ultra Member
If you could get the lathe's serial number, the best source for information would be member Hendeyman on the Practical Machinist forum. He could tell you date of manufacture, original customer, and general specifications of the lathe.
 

scrap

New Member
These are the photos from Kijiji, I haven't been to see it... but I can confirm there are *some* change gears in the pedestal.

Yeah definitely has power feed and you can change the carriage advance with those gears. All that clock work ultimately drives the carriage via the rack, even with the right gearing, the precision just isn't there for thread cutting. A hidden lead screw would be a great find, but on Hendey's that unused boss on the right side of the apron is where you'd find the halfnut lever, sadly not featured. I'm sure this only a turning, facing, and boring machine :(

I do really like the belt setup for an old flat belt machine they don't really get much more compact. Half the time you see some sort farmer rig, this one is certainly factory.

I haven't reached out to Tony or Hendeyman yet, I'll report back when I do though.

Only just noticed the key is loaded in the firing position lol

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