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Hardinge

Yes I've read about how fine and accurate they are but have never seen one in person. $4900 seems like enough for a used lathe that size (although new is probably 5 times that?) I wonder if they really are worth it.
 
well 'worth it' is a relative term LOL

I never gave it serious thought because of price but depending on the model (and there are many) 20-30K was the going price for new when they were available. And that's US bucks not chickensh*t C-bucks. i did see one operate in a toolroom & they are fascinating. Features you never see on regular lathes, motor drives & such.

i was curious about some clones/remakes which I think go for at at least half
http://www.babinmachine.com/index.php?TML5CEN

The issue is parts. Its like owning a 60's Corvette. Unless you have fraternity connections its hard to find stuff and when you do its kind of obscure to off the shelf tooling.
 
I cannot see pictures at work but found this: https://www.kijiji.ca/v-other-business-industrial/mississauga-peel-region/hardinge-lathe/1390614461

That is half the price they are asking....

https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...sion-lathe-sale-mechanically-near-new-345373/

They are asking 6x the price.

Bottom line is the lathe is no longer even close to factory precision (until proven otherwise) and should be seen as a sturdy 11 x 18 lathe.

That being said if anyone shells out $5000 for one I would not mind taking a look at it and playing with it.
 
I really like the look of those Hardinges they have a nice smooth solid bed that would be handy as an anvil.
 
DPittman said:
I really like the look of those Hardinges they have a nice smooth solid bed that would be handy as an anvil.
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Yeah if someone parts one out you can get the bed cheap and have a great heavy anvil! Or anvil like object. Definitely a talking point.
 
PeterT said:
Blasphemy! That would be like using a Ferrari to haul gravel across a field!
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Well for a moment there I thought I was not going to be able to ruffle any one feathers but I am glad to see that such an act would be considered blasphemous. Now I must get back to to hauling goats and gravel.
 
A machinist from Ontario that I bought some gun screw assortments for antique guns from used a Hardinge lathe to build them all. They must be quite "repeatable" at batch making as he sure did a nice job. Just looking at the prices mentioned here I can see why he wasn't bashful about charging what he did ( not complaining as he was the "only game in town" and when you need one... you need one).
 
Can they be mounted with regular 3 and 4 jaw chucks or are they a collet only machine? I've never seen one.
 
Tom Kitta said:
Someone has deep pockets - add only went down to $4900 so I don't think it went for much less.
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Not deep pockets, just didn’t want to waste money on cheaper junk and have to buy sell buy sell!
Figured I’d go all in... this is my first lathe and I really liked the fit and finish vs the China stuff I looked at.

fc69e3159e4b9296faa77f7bc1d71594.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looks good to me. I’m sure it will be great. Read up on moving lathes. An engine hoist is very helpful.
 
Overkill19 said:
Not deep pockets, just didn’t want to waste money on cheaper junk and have to buy sell buy sell!
Figured I’d go all in... this is my first lathe and I really liked the fit and finish vs the China stuff I looked at.

fc69e3159e4b9296faa77f7bc1d71594.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
You've done the hard part already...giving up the cash to begin with...now the rest will be enjoyable and I would bet that the great quality machine you purchased will bring you lots of joy and satisfaction. You are often able to obtain good resale value down the road if you should decide to resell.

I don't own a whole lot of real good quality items but the few I do are so enjoyable to use and admire! On the other hand, I own quite a lot of Asian made stuff and usually after cursing their deficiencies, I remind myself that I am able to own the machine/tool because of its low price. And that does bring some comforting.
 
Overkill19 said:
Not deep pockets, just didn’t want to waste money on cheaper junk and have to buy sell buy sell!
Figured I’d go all in... this is my first lathe and I really liked the fit and finish vs the China stuff I looked at.

fc69e3159e4b9296faa77f7bc1d71594.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I'd agree with you. A 14x40 would be more than that lathe, and harding is known to be in the top 3 toolroom lathes. I personally was up in the area and checked it out and spoke with the guy for quite a while. The hlvh he has is pretty damn nice too. Better get saving for all your tooling, you'll need money and lots of it for good quality tools that will suit that machine. I wouldn't think putting shitty chucks on a toolroom super precision lathe would be a good idea, even poor quality spindle adapters would make me concerned about hurting the spindle nose.
If you haven't already check out Robin Renzetti's videos for a lot of reasons but he does have a lot of harding hlvh specific things buried inside his videos which would be valuable.
I know I said harding a bunch of times, autocorrect doesn't seem to know it's hardinge. I'm not going back to replace them all.
 
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