Why Wouldn't You Buy a Hardinge Lathe-Accuracy Report
 

Yesterday morning I had a rush job from a local print shop that needed
a cylinder turned down. It should have been ground but there was
..080" to remove and no cylindrical grinder in sight. Turned down a
Rovi internal collet to drive the 13" long roll and held the other end
with a live center. When I was done I had held the 2.008 +.0002/.0005
but just barely. One end was .0007-.0008 bigger then the other end but
then again this is a 30+ year old lathe that has been in production
shops its entire life. My measurement may have been slightly faulty as
all I had was an Etalon micrometer verified with gage blocks. I am not
here to boast about my machining abilities but I don't know of a
better lathe for a beginner then a Hardinge. It puts all the errors
back in the operator's hands and gives truly precision work. Leigh at
MarMachine

On 8 Sep 2004 22:23:25 -0700, (Leigh Knudson)
wrote:

Yesterday morning I had a rush job from a local print shop that needed
a cylinder turned down. It should have been ground but there was
.080" to remove and no cylindrical grinder in sight. Turned down a
Rovi internal collet to drive the 13" long roll and held the other end
with a live center. When I was done I had held the 2.008 +.0002/.0005
but just barely. One end was .0007-.0008 bigger then the other end but
then again this is a 30+ year old lathe that has been in production
shops its entire life. My measurement may have been slightly faulty as
all I had was an Etalon micrometer verified with gage blocks. I am not
here to boast about my machining abilities but I don't know of a
better lathe for a beginner then a Hardinge. It puts all the errors
back in the operator's hands and gives truly precision work. Leigh at
MarMachine

Ayup.

It doesnt hurt that you are a damned fine machinist either.

But my old TFB, early 60s vintage will do the same thing.
And Im NOT much of a machinist.
Gunner

"In my humble opinion, the petty carping levied against Bush by
the Democrats proves again, it is better to have your eye plucked
out by an eagle than to be nibbled to death by ducks." - Norman
Liebmann

But my old TFB, early 60s vintage will do the same thing.
And Im NOT much of a machinist.
Gunner

If we're into bragging here, my much older 10EE - Dec 1941, should do this
also. With the DROs added, accurate work is almost childs play on this fine
machine.

Of course, I would have turned down Leigh's job and sent it on to the
grinder. I'm much less confident in my skills.

Karl

In article , Gunner says...

But my old TFB, early 60s vintage will do the same thing.
And Im NOT much of a machinist.

I think the HLVH here at work is 1958 vintage.

I've taught a co-worker how to do some machining, including
lathe work. I tell him that he has *no* idea what kind of
situation he's in, learning the to run a lathe on that kind
of machine. :)

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

I think the HLVH here at work is 1958 vintage.

I've taught a co-worker how to do some machining, including
lathe work. I tell him that he has *no* idea what kind of
situation he's in, learning the to run a lathe on that kind
of machine. :)

Jim

You young people these days, just easy street all the way along. Why, when I
was a boy, new co-workers wouldn't be taught to use the lathe for at least a
year! They had to spend that extra time pedaling it for the real machinists, to
build up the required leg strength to finally go solo.

:)

GTO(John)

In article , GTO69RA4 says...

You young people these days, just easy street all the way along. Why, when I
was a boy, new co-workers wouldn't be taught to use the lathe for at least a
year! They had to spend that extra time pedaling it for the real machinists, to
build up the required leg strength to finally go solo.

:)

LOL. After the rain we had here, it's nice to finally
smile about something!

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

Yeah, and the master machinists were only allowed to make deep cuts at high
speed in hard, gummy materials when the apprentices were powering the
machine.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

I don't have to like Bush and Cheney (Or Kerry, for that matter) to love
America

"GTO69RA4" wrote in message
...
I think the HLVH here at work is 1958 vintage.

I've taught a co-worker how to do some machining, including
lathe work. I tell him that he has *no* idea what kind of
situation he's in, learning the to run a lathe on that kind
of machine. :)

Jim

You young people these days, just easy street all the way along. Why, when
I
was a boy, new co-workers wouldn't be taught to use the lathe for at least
a
year! They had to spend that extra time pedaling it for the real
machinists, to
build up the required leg strength to finally go solo.

:)

GTO(John)

GTO69RA4 writes:

You young people these days, just easy street all the way along. Why,
when I was a boy, new co-workers wouldn't be taught to use the lathe
for at least a year! They had to spend that extra time pedaling it for
the real machinists, to build up the required leg strength to finally
go solo.

And we were *glad* to do it.

Don't know of anyone that doesn't like a Hardinge. The few times I have
used one they were a joy to run.

If your tail stock was not properly adjusted, that might explain the error.
Try another bar of similar length and see if adjusting the tail stock will
allow for a parallel cut.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.

"Leigh Knudson" wrote in message
m...
Yesterday morning I had a rush job from a local print shop that needed
a cylinder turned down. It should have been ground but there was
.080" to remove and no cylindrical grinder in sight. Turned down a
Rovi internal collet to drive the 13" long roll and held the other end
with a live center. When I was done I had held the 2.008 +.0002/.0005
but just barely. One end was .0007-.0008 bigger then the other end but
then again this is a 30+ year old lathe that has been in production
shops its entire life. My measurement may have been slightly faulty as
all I had was an Etalon micrometer verified with gage blocks. I am not
here to boast about my machining abilities but I don't know of a
better lathe for a beginner then a Hardinge. It puts all the errors
back in the operator's hands and gives truly precision work. Leigh at
MarMachine

On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 11:23:00 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:

Don't know of anyone that doesn't like a Hardinge. The few times I have
used one they were a joy to run.

If your tail stock was not properly adjusted, that might explain the error.
Try another bar of similar length and see if adjusting the tail stock will
allow for a parallel cut.

Hardinge tailstocks dont adjust.

The one weakness they have in my Opinion. I know why they dont, but
they would have been much handier if they did.

Gunner

"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child -
miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied,
demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless.
Liberalism is a philosphy of sniveling brats." -- P.J. O'Rourke

Gunner wrote in message . ..
On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 11:23:00 -0700, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:

Don't know of anyone that doesn't like a Hardinge. The few times I have
used one they were a joy to run.

If your tail stock was not properly adjusted, that might explain the error.
Try another bar of similar length and see if adjusting the tail stock will
allow for a parallel cut.

Hardinge tailstocks dont adjust.
That's right: Hardinge tailstocks don't adjust. Got a check in
payment and a note from the print shop owner yesterday. Note says,"
The roll worked perfectly" so I must have been nearly as accurate as I
though I was. Leigh at MarMachine