Hendey Lathe Refurbish

I have pretty much finished the headstock...

20210123_135150.jpg

And moved on to the transmission. Disassembling this was not the easiest thing to figure out. There are 2 shafts, both have a bearing pressed on both ends with no easy way to press the bearings off... even planning to replace the bearings didn't make it easier... every idea I came up with would risk breaking a gear.

There are already 2 chipped gear teeth...

20210123_135116.jpg

20210123_135052.jpg

I would guess someone tried to slam it in gear while running and chipped both of these teeth.

I had to machine a pin spanner to remove the bearing caps...

20210123_135221.jpg

I used a piece of 2" x ½" mild steel, bored a 1.032" hole for shaft clearance, then drilled and tapped two ¼-28 holes and used bolts for the pins. It worked, but the caps were sealed with something resembling tar, so it wasn't easy...

20210123_135243.jpg

The internal assembly...

20210123_135313.jpg

I finally managed to disassemble everything. It is soaking in the degreasing tank now... I have removed the shaft seals and ordered new ones.

I'm hoping reassembly will be easier... at least I won't have to deal with everything being coated in thick slime... and I can hopefully press the bearings back on with the arbor press. It will fit in the press... with a few thousandths to spare...

-Bear
 
These old Hendey lathes have a number of oil ports on every part of the machine. I haven't counted them, but there must be 40 or more.
Thanks @682bear for sharing in such great detail!
I'm the new owner of a 1939 Hendey 12x30 gear head and I'm trying to learn how to lubricate it correctly. Do you know where I can get a list of my lubrication points, what lubricant each one prefers, and how often to apply lubricant?
Also: I just figured out how to get oil into the tank on my carriage apron and now I'm wondering whether any of that is automatically dispersed, relieving me of needing to oil certain locations, or whether it rather just bathes the feed gears and is meant to remain in that tank. (It doesn't appear to be leaking so unless the previous owner drained it I'm guessing that apron reservoir is gradually pumped out during use.)
 
Thanks @682bear for sharing in such great detail!
I'm the new owner of a 1939 Hendey 12x30 gear head and I'm trying to learn how to lubricate it correctly. Do you know where I can get a list of my lubrication points, what lubricant each one prefers, and how often to apply lubricant?
Also: I just figured out how to get oil into the tank on my carriage apron and now I'm wondering whether any of that is automatically dispersed, relieving me of needing to oil certain locations, or whether it rather just bathes the feed gears and is meant to remain in that tank. (It doesn't appear to be leaking so unless the previous owner drained it I'm guessing that apron reservoir is gradually pumped out during use.)

Congrats and welcome to the Hendey club!

I am not very familiar with the gearhead Hendeys... I have done some reading about them, but have never seen one in person.

My understanding is that the later Hendeys had an oil pump in the bottom of the apron that pumped oil to the various parts... starting sometime in the late 20's maybe? My guess is that it only oiled the apron parts... I don't know how it could possibly oil the other assemblies.

I have read that it is pretty common for the oil pump and passages to become clogged with gunk and need to be cleaned out. It is 80+ years old...

Have you looked at www.vintagemachinery.com? There is a wealth of information there, including many original documents and instruction manuals that have been digitally scanned and are available for download.

I will send you a PM...

-Bear
 
I haven't posted an update lately... I am still working on the Hendey, just not anything particularly interesting...

In my last update, I had the transmission apart and soaking. I have been cleaning and inspecting the various parts, and have decided to go ahead and replace all 4 bearings while I have it apart. They are ordered... probably be here early next week.

I have also been cleaning and painting the heavy cast iron mount that holds the motor and transmission. I put the last coat of paint on them this morning, so they should be ready to install tomorrow.

There is something about what I have done on this lathe that annoys me... on most of the larger parts, I brushed the paint on, using Rustoleum Smoke Grey... but when I was ready to paint the guards, I decided to use spray paint, also Rustoleum Smoke Grey, just because spray paint is easier on smaller parts with a lot of tight contours.

But... I have discovered that the spray paint is not exactly the same color... the brushed paint has a slight blue tint, while the spray has a slight green tint.

It bugs me every time I look at the lathe...

So I have removed the guards and re-painted them with the brushed paint... they are drying, I should have them back on tomorrow, also.

Concerning the paint... I have been asked why I'm doing all of this work on the lathe, and then using cheap paint instead of expensive 'real' paint...

There are several reasons...

1. I have found that Rustoleum, when properly applied, is pretty durable... the spray paint is not quite as durable as the brushed paint, but both are decent.

2. As you can tell, I tend to do my projects in stages... one sub-assembly at a time. It is a lot more work, with a lot more waste, to have to mix paint 30 times, especially when I may only have one part to paint.

3. I'm painting in my shop... using a spray gun, I would be too concerned with getting overspray on the 4 vehicles that live in the shop.

4. I plan to use this lathe. The paint will get scratched and chipped. Touching the paint up is a lot easier when you can just pop the top off a can and grab a disposeable brush rather than taking the part off the machine, masking it, mixing the paint, spraying, cleaning the gun, etc...

So, I use a lot of Rustoleum, it just simplifies things.

-Bear
 
It's all one shade of grey now...

20210128_092441.jpg

It looks a lot better.

20210128_092514.jpg

I mounted the transmission/ motor support also. It's heavy! I managed it by myself, though.

20210128_092546.jpg

I also smeared the second coat of paint on the transmission housing.

20210128_093518.jpg

I'm about ready to start on the motor and controls... I hope I can figure it all out.

-Bear
 
After spending most of the afternoon today car shopping with my 16 year old daughter, I came home and discovered that the transmission bearings had been delivered.

I was just going to take them to the basement... but I just couldn't leave it alone...

20210128_201020.jpg

I assembled both shafts in about an hour... it is going back together a lot faster than it came apart. I should be done with it tomorrow.

-Bear
 
I finished the transmission...

20210130_122356.jpg

...installed the handles and top, and mounted it on the bracket.

20210130_122423.jpg

20210130_122447.jpg

The original flat belt pulley was completely worn out, so I removed it and tossed it. It was a 6" diameter pulley... I purchased a replacement cast iron 6" pulley (ebay).

I've began playing with the ratio numbers to determine spindle speeds... there are 3 levels of reduction between the motor and spindle... 1st is in the pulley ratios from the motor to transmission, 2nd is in the transmission, and 3rd is in the pulley ratios between the transmission and spindle. Just guesstimating... I think the 6" flatbelt pulley is going to drive the spindle too fast... I think I need a 4" pulley.

I haven't been able to find a 4"... I may have to make one.

-Bear
 
i was wondering about the two different shades of paint. My Atlas ended up like that - painted some parts when I got it ~5yrs ago and the rest a few weeks ago. Same colour paint but they don't match very well :) I agree about Rustoleum paints, they're pretty durable once they've had a few weeks to cure properly.

Rebuild is doing nicely, bet you can't wait to get it into use!
 
I just hope it works!

-Bear
 
Back
Top