Cincinnati lathe

jcp

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Guys, I need some help identifying and pricing a lathe for the sons of a friend of mine. The father passed away some months back and the boys are faced with his lifetime of accumulated machines and materials, woodworking and metal working.
The lathe is a Cincinnati Hydro Shift. It appears to be in the 12 x 48 range. Has a few lantern type tools with Armstrong holders, 3 and 4 jaw chucks, steady rest, carriage stop, taper attachment, live centers, etc. It's in excellent condition with minimal lead screw slack in all axis and minimal, if any, bed wear. Has a phase convertor also. There may be more tooling but the brothers are just getting started cleaning out the shop. The lathe is located in central Oklahoma.
Any help in direct knowledge of these lathes or where to look would be greatly appreciated.

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From the markings on the head and bed, it looks like it is rated 10 X 36; it may indeed swing more, and have a somewhat longer center distance, as that is commonplace with lathes. The only thing that I know about hydrashift lathes is that if they do not shift properly, it can be quite troublesome to fix them. So far as value, this depends on location, but my guess is that about $2,000 - 2,500 might be a start; You can always come down, but you can't go up. This is a relatively modern machine that looks to be in nice shape, and should be desirable.
Hydrashift is a feature, but commonly they were known as "Tray Tops".
 
Thanks for your input. I measured the centerline of the spindle to the closest part of the bed rails at around (only had a tape measure) 12 inches. Then measured length of the v-ways from the headstock the to the opposite end. I did see the '10' and the '36' cast into the headstock and the bed. The 10 x 36 is more realistic actual working room. Never understood why manufactures would not post the actual working dimensions....SB being about the most overstated.
Altho I have ran Mazaks, Monarchs, Southbends, Summits and Americans, this is the first Cincinnati I have ever seen.
Thanks again for your prompt and helpful post.
 
Below the page with the item on it, there is a link to another Tray Top on Craig's List the same size, but it had collets and Aloris tool post, etc, they were asking $2,800, so I think the range that I suggested is close. They say that there is a "Wishing price, an "Asking price", and a "Selling price".
 
I have the identical Hydrashift lathe. I paid $2500 for it and it came with plenty of accessories (two center rests, following rest, Aloris toolpost, faceplate, 3 and 4 jaw chucks, 2J collet chuck and a taper attachment).
The Hydrashift feature is nice, but make sure the pump works and the shifting is working good. Mine improved a lot with an oil change.
The coolant pump on mine was bad, which wasn't a problem, as I don't use that. The right leg of the lathe is the coolant reservoir, and mine was quite the mess!!
Good luck!
Jack
Fort Loramie, Ohio
 
Thanks for the feedback Jack.
The owners and I have been working with the lathe in the past few days. The machine hasn't been run in years. Besides that, I discovered that the owner used it as a wood lathe......never engaging the lead screw or apron. The cross feed lever was stuck in the 'engaged' position for some reason but several doses of penetrant and patience freed it up. The lead screw reversing lever will not shift and is stuck between fwd and rev. We did start the motor and gently engage the clutch and let the spindle run. After a warm up the headstock shifts just fine. The clutch slips in top gear and will not attain full rpm. I think a click or two on the clutch pack adjusting nut will cure that.
We filled the QCGB completely with a mix of oil and kerosene and let it sit for several days hoping that would penetrate what ever has the lead screw reversing lever and the lead screw itself, stuck. No joy yet.
We do have a copy of the owners/maintenance manual and are probably going to have to remove the QCGB to free the reversing lever. Appears not to be a difficult job.
 
Sounds like you are working your way to a nice lathe. The leadscrew reversing lever has a very short throw and even when working good, it seems like it's hard to tell if it moved from forward to reverse.
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We pulled the QCGB off and found the woodruff key under the drive clutch sheared (#27 in parts fiche). Also the lead screw drive worm was seized in the apron. It was probably the cause of the key shearing. Looked like no one had pumped the oilers in years. Dressed up the galled marks, changed the woodruff key, cleaned and re-lubed everything thoroughly, reassembled and it's running fine again.
 
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I'm glad that you found an easy fix for it. Also great that you know that it's all lubed up properly now.

Sometime in the not so distant future, I'll be selling my Jacobs 2J collet chuck that fits this. Just switching over to a Jacobs flex-collet system.

Jack
 
This lathe has the Jacobs flex-collet system with it. Pretty rare find.
 
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