[Lathe] Going to look at a 12x30 Hendey

[magnethead]

I'm going to look at a 12x30 Hendey this evening. I'll post some pics when I get back. Guys father passed away and he trying to sell everything in his dads shop. Hopefully the lathe isn't too beat up and just needs a good cleaning without any major repairs.

I'm looking to get a bigger more rigid lathe than my Grizz G0602. Tired of fighting the chatter The Hendey is definitely a leap up it size and rigidity, like to the head of the class.

Give me your thoughts on the lathe.

 

[Nogoingback]

Apart from the obvious questions regarding general condition and tooling, an old lathe like that could be badly worn.
You can still make parts on it, but you may have trouble accuracy wise, particularly on long parts.
If you decide to buy, don't over pay.

The other option of course is to sell the lathe you have and replace it with a larger, more modern machine. In the long run,
this might be a better option.

 

[magnethead]

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually considering more than one lathe at the moment. The other one is a South Bend 13 that seems to be fairly well outfitted and recently gone through by a lathe service person. Haven't seen it yet, but trying to get something set up.

 

[NC Rick]

Some of the hendley lathes used motor/generator variable speed drives which can be an issue if you have trouble with them. They were well built machines from my limited experience.

 

[Nogoingback]

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually considering more than one lathe at the moment. The other one is a South Bend 13 that seems to be fairly well outfitted and recently gone through by a lathe service person. Haven't seen it yet, but trying to get something set up.

Do you know how old the Hendey is?
A South Bend 13 sounds like a good option assuming the condition is good.