Renovating a Hardinge HLV-H

[BillTodd]

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.