Hardinge HLV-H Super Precision Toolroom Lathe

J

J. Pendergraft

Guest
I have been using this lathe at the Community College and I have feel in love. I probably will never afford one, appears going price is $17K for nice used. I was wondering if there is any other lathe that is in this class for less money. For those that have never run one it is a jewel. You can not hear it run and totally vibration free.
 
What are you going to do with it? Spindle hole is too small for chamber work. I believe a Chinese or Tiwainese clone is available and a nice machine. I believe $17,000 is a used price.
Butch
 
The hole thru spindle is 1.25" so some barrel work would be possible. I am more interested to use it for other small work and use the 15X50 Clausing for barrels. Doing small stuff on a 15" lathe is back breaking for me, too far to reach to spindle centerline.
 
Hlv-h

The easyest lathe I have used to thread on. I have one at work for all the small stuff and doing M-4 and M16 barrels. $60,000 new.
 
harrison m300

get a nice new harrison m300
they good solid machine, with 1 1/2'' spindle bore
will last for year and part are easy to get hold of ( not thay you need to )
mine was made in 1978 and is still going grate after all this time
al the ever needed replacing was the cross slide nuts

is i go change all the iol yaerly :)
 
We had three Hardinge HLV Tooroom lathes when I worked for Veeder-Root.
Nicest lathe I ever ran, bar none.
Spindle hole too small for barrel work.
 
I have used a Hardinge to chamber barrels. You can run a rifle barrel through the spindle (remove the 5C collet draw bar) up to about 1.25" diameter. I see them on ebay for about $10K up.
 
I believe that is a second operation machine. I don't see any way you could thread with that machine. You would not be able to chamber a 1.250 barrel in the headstock unless it was drilled and rifled perfectly, which I have never seen.
Butch
 
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I believe that is a second operation machine. I don't see any way you could thread with that machine. You would not be able to chamber a 1.250 barrel in the headstock unless it was drilled and rifled perfectly, which I have never seen.
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I am not familiar with these lathes , the one in the link is the same model as the one in the original post HLV-H heres another HLV-H
http://www.hgrindustrialsurplus.com...SC=&pageSize=50&currentPageIndex=1&searchNAP=
Not sure as to the capabilties of these machines
 
If this is the same machine Dakota Arms/Nesika has (and I am pretty sure it is) then it will work just fine for chambering barrels. I did a whole pile of tomato stakes with theirs as an interim solution when we were waiting for the Harrison Alpha 1330U to arrive. Just stick a four jaw on the spindle nose and you get enough offset so that the cylinder portion of the barrel never goes inside the spindle bore. Make your spider with a split collar and it will clamp on/off real easy on the back side with a single socket cap screw. VERY quick set ups and very, very nice results. Ditch the tail stock for cramming the reamer and use the carriage, much easier IMO and the tail stock gets in the way for inserting removing long barrels anyway. The other big benefit with this is the short headstock distance. Bench barrels and other guns that need a short tube can be supported from both ends without any sort of head scratching or brain damage.

BUY ONE if at all possible as it's the only way to go short of a CNC IMO. Just so versatile and quick for all the little odds/ends type jobs that go along with gun plumbing. It is a buyers market for equipment in today's world! Good luck!
 
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adamsgt said:
Butch, I've seen that term "second operation" frequently. Just what does it mean? Also, what distinguishes a "tool room lathe" from others? Inquiring minds want to know. :D
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Second op lathes typically don't have a leadscrew and aren't set up for threading. Many times they will have a bed mounted turret instead of a tailstock. There are of course different variations, but usually they are used for adding internal/external features to smaller workpieces in a production environment.
Greg
 
In a nutshell You center the reamer with a center rigidly mounted to your tool post.

You indicate that center by sweeping the OD face of the chuck.

Methods for holding the reamer can be as simple as a tap wrench to as complicated as the most exotic reamer holding contraption ever devised by NASA or mortal men.

Be creative. If it's a good set up, there's no wrong answer.


Cheers.
 
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NesikaChad said:
In a nutshell You center the reamer with a center rigidly mounted to your tool post.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, and I'm glad I asked --- I had pictured you clamping the reamer itself in the toolpost.

In answer to the original poster's question, I use an HLV-H for my amateur barrel work. It _is_ a bit small, and you have to be creative at times, but I can usually make things fit for chambering and crowning. As noted above, the 1.25" spindle bore ID is workable as long as the barrel has some taper. You have to make sure though to get the bigger of the two 4-jaw chucks often found with the Hardinge; the little one won't take a 1.25" barrel shank. Also, the lowest speed is 125 RPM, so you have to have a quick hand when threading up to a shoulder, even if the Hardinge is set up to make that easy.

Beautiful machine.
 
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