Traded for a Cincinnati 15X58 Hydrashift, need manuals

Plum Creek

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Well for better or for worse I am the proud owner of a Cincinnati lathe for the ranch shop.
I have been looking for a while now but needed the right conditions. Ideally someone who would be willing trade for an antique tractor. An 800 mi round trip later and serial #5501R2-73-38 is sitting in my shop. She's got shifting issues but otherwise looks good to the untrained eye. (The sellers advised me of the issues before we started haggling)
So now I need a bit of help decoding the serial number so that I can find the correct manuals. Theres not a lot of info out there on these lathes.
Oh yea,, I took pics but left the camera sitting on top of the lathe. I will run back out there this weekend and postem when I get back.
Thanks
 
Better late than never on the pics I guess. I was hoping for some good floor shots but cant seem to get the light right.
She was an abused child, but I knew that going in.
I did get a manual, which in kind terms is, woefully inadequate. The Hydrashift concept seems quite simple though, its a manual gearbox with a hydraulic spool for a shifter.
It wouldnt run in 2 of the gear selections. The key for those gears was/is missing and the circlip had moved. The C shaft has been replaced with a shop built and they over ran the ends of the cut into the circlip area. The circlip will never stay in place and since I'm a noob I am not going to replace the shaft at this time. I plan on drilling and tappping a 3/8 set screw in the shoulder of the gear and moving on.
I hope there are some Hydrashift guys active on the site I may have questions.
H

tools 104.jpg tools 107.jpg
 
Did it include any tooling or chucks? It looks pretty good, what do the ways and wear points look like? As long as the ways are pretty good the rest can be fixed with a little practice and some patience. Congrats on such a nice big ole machine too!!!!!

Bob
 
Thanks Bob
The ways look new. Set a 4' nonprecision straight edge on them and didnt see any light coming through. Not much tooling, An 8 inch 4 jaw Bison with no backing plate, a steady, and what looks like a tailstock from an earlier traytop. Part of the taper is there, and it came with the metric threading gear.
I got the set screw in today so she is coming along.

cincy 016.jpg cincy 018.jpg
 
Re: Traded for a Cincinnati 15X58 Hydrashift,

Wow its been a while, but I'm finally getting some of the bugs sorted out. I have learned a great deal in the process.
I actually got to make a few chips on Friday, my first ever on a lathe! I have to admit though, that it is a bit unnerving working so close to all that rotating mass.
I was happy to see that there was minimal runout on the workpiece, and feeling more comfortable that I will eventually have a good running machine. At some point I need to replace the "c" shaft but I think I can avoid it until I run it a bit more.
So next I need a RH tool holder for the lantern and an adjustable carriage stop. (Also my cutter grinder skills need some work)
 
hey there, I just bought 2 hydrashift 13x36. I couldn't find anyone to help me out and send me a copy of the manual, I ended up buying 1 from an online source for 70.00, yeah I know but I needed it. anyways I have it on file if you still need it.
 
Thanks Keith
I have acquired the manuals already.
Hows your shift problem working out?
 
We once bought a used 19 x 80 Cincinnati Hydrashift lathe. It wasn't especially heavy for the length.

After a coupla years of good use , it suddenly developed a "clunk" in the head-stock and as we didn't want the thing to explode,
we took the top cover off not knowing what to expect.
The hydrashift is self contained with just the shifting forks protruding down into the head-stock. So that came out easily.
Looked around and finally saw the problem. The lower "jack shaft" at the rear had broken just where it went into a bearing.
Looks very similar to the one in your pic with the tapped hole.... to the left end where the shaft is supported is where ours broke.

Called Cincinnati, hoping to get a replacement on the way. Guy said he'd call back with price and delivery.
2 days later, he calls and says it would be $1800 and 2 weeks.

YIKES ! We cant wait that long and that price just floored us.
After getting the shaft out (in pieces) and checking for hardness, we determined we could make the darn thing ourselves.
That was the only part that was bad, the bearings, etc were OK.
Got some ETD150 and within a coupla hours, my partner got the shaft made. Another coupla hours and the lathe was up and running.
It was a good machine and that 80" opening came in very handy for a specail job.

It may seem obvious, but the most important thing about Hydrashifts is to make sure the shift has completed before engaging the clutch as it usually takes a few seconds.
 
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