Renovating a Hardinge HLV-H

**BillTodd** · 11-02-2009

When I removed the power feed motor I thought i saw some water run out of the apron gearbox. I had to crack the box open to check...

Inside the apron gears and clutches (for cross and longitudinal feeds) are slimey but in good order. No obvious sign of water ingress.

I found out from Hardinge UK today that the machine was made in mid 1961! The hours meter on the control box says 20,000 hrs so it's not done a lot of work in the last 47 years.

One strange thing: the tailstock is metric (the lathe is otherwise english) so it must hve ben swapped out at some time in the past. The picture shows the tailstock leadscrew ; notice the double row bearing and adjustable backlash compensation.

What's the best polish for steel? A couple of minutes with a wire brush is all that's needed to clean up the rusty bits, but the steel is so hard even wet n dry won't make it shine.

**Robin Hewitt** · 12-02-2009

Looks in relatively good nick, just been a bit unloved. Do you really need to polish the steel? Abrasives and lathes don't really mix all that well, OTOH a coat of paint could work wonders.

Question is, did they junk it for a reason? The fact that it's still around could mean there's not a lot wrong with it

I am also a fan of Safewash, smells like bubble mixture, expensive but not so bad if you buy the 25 litre size. I use it in an ultrasonic tank, dissolves awkward organics and leaves everything shining like a new pin.

Robin

**aafradio** · 12-02-2009

Originally Posted by BillTodd

What's the best polish for steel? A couple of minutes with a wire brush is all that's needed to clean up the rusty bits, but the steel is so hard even wet n dry won't make it shine.

Go careful with that wire brush - it looks like you may have too large a wire diameter and it's gouging the surface. I used Scotchbrite on mine with WD-40. Took a lot of elbow grease, but the result was excellent. I never had to use any polish on it after that. My bare surfaces looked a lot like yours when I got it, except for the paint. Several views of it as it looks now are at http://aafradio.org/garajmahal/

- Mike