Honden L 560B lathe

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Kevste1
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 4:21 pm

Honden L 560B lathe

Post by Kevste1 »

G' day all
I'm new to this forum and the whole lathe thing. I've not used a lathe since being at school. I've a mechanical background but now work as an occupational therapist. I also love any bike with horsepower, and at present own a Harley v rod, and a yamhah roadstar. And this is why I've bought a lathe; I really enjoy doing my own custom stuff. Recently I had to use my drill press and vice with cutting tool to machine down some billet alloy to make covers for my v rod swing arm. It took me all day, :shock: I need a lathe...
S I've bought one it's an oldie but a goodie, a honden L 560 B. there is no instruction manual with it and I wondered if anyone out there has a PDF copy? The lathe has seen no action in at least 9 years, just sat around gathering workshop dust, and there is nil rust. Bt I'll go over as the bearing oil wells are empty and it needs a new forward and reverse switch. I'm sure there are plenty of other good lathes out there, but I'm short on dosh and thought this will do for now at least.
What do others know about these partic machines? Any tips etc. what oil in apron and headstock bearings etc
Btw I have to shift this thing to my place, I did find out the weight today at 280 kgs, engine lifter and scaffolding pipe ok? I'll prob separate it from the stand as that looks substantial.

Cheers
All
Kev
toolman49
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:57 pm

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by toolman49 »

G'Day Kev,
I have a scanned copy of the Honden manual which covers your model (about 3Mb), PM me and I will forward a copy. Where are you from ?, I'm in Melbourne.
Regards,
Martin
ursa11
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:11 pm

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by ursa11 »

Hi to Toolman49
I've just registered to this site and am unfamiliar on how to post a question , but I read an answer you gave to kevst1 about a copy of the Honden L560 lathe manual ,I have been looking for a copy of this and were wondering if you could help me . I'm in Park Orchards Melbourne.
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liveaboard
Posts: 1971
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: southern Portugal
Contact:

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by liveaboard »

Of course you know "Honden" means "Dogs" in Dutch.

Things you learn traveling about the planet...
JackF
Posts: 1616
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:56 pm
Location: Caldwell, Idaho

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by JackF »

Hi Kev.

I'm a bit late to this thread but welcome, let's see some more posts. :wink: :D


liveabord, My family on my dads side are from Madeira. The family in the states still own land there. My son who lives in S France has been there several times and my son in Seattle has been there with my other son. Sorry for the previous name mix up


Jack.
charlesetsmith
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2018 5:45 am

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by charlesetsmith »

Hello all,

So I have just been given a Honden L560B and picked it up today. It needs a bit of work but is in running order, nice and smoothe. It has 3 and 4 jaw chucks and all the gears are good and weys look ok.

Attached is the name plate and a couple of pictures. I will be fully restoring the lathe over the next few months and posting the restoration on youtube.

If anyone has a manual for the lathe they can e-mail me it would be of great help.
I am from the Central Coast of NSW.

Good to join the group here.

Charles
charlesetsmith@me.com
Attachments
Honden L560B Name Plate.
Honden L560B Name Plate.
IMG_2077.jpg (26.9 KiB) Viewed 12551 times
On the truck
On the truck
IMG_2074.jpg (25.99 KiB) Viewed 12551 times
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neanderman
Posts: 896
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:15 pm
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by neanderman »

Kevste1 wrote: Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:26 am I did find out the weight today at 280 kgs, engine lifter and scaffolding pipe ok?
I would think an engine lift would work very well -- the trick is to figure out where best to lift it so that it's balanced and won't be distorted.

For fun, I'll just put this here:
Weight.JPG
Weight.JPG (12.27 KiB) Viewed 12528 times
Ed

LeBlond Dual Drive, 15x30
US-Burke Millrite MVI
Atlas 618
Files, snips and cold chisels

Proud denizen of the former "Machine Tool Capitol of the World"
charlesetsmith
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2018 5:45 am

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by charlesetsmith »

Yes, exactly how we did it. We had to place a strap under the gearbox assembly and tighten and shackle that to the chain to get the support out there. Then a straight lift from where it was (in the back corner of the shed) , swing around over the form ply for a clean run and then onto the ute.
No problems at all.
At home we did the same hookup but just lifted it straight down onto a pallet jack and wheeled into the "surgery".
Attachments
Engine hoist hookup
Engine hoist hookup
IMG_2072.jpg (28.5 KiB) Viewed 12518 times
mbelfer
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 10:38 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by mbelfer »

Its been a while but this is a distress call from a L560 owner
I have been trying for a long time to make a backplate for a 4inch chuck I need to mount on my Honden.
I need to know the spindle nose thread - the (pretty atrocious) manual says 2"-8 but measurements make me very suspicious of that dimension. In fact I think it seems more like a metric thread, something like an M52, although it is definitely an imperial lathe (manufacture 1979, 8TPI. leadscrew)

Anyone know for sure? Or know any dealers who would know for sure?

I dont trust my ability to measure accurately enough
Michael
pete
Posts: 2518
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:04 am

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by pete »

If it were me I'd buy yourself a low buck digital caliper and a brand name set of screw pitch thread gauges. They look like these. https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/01221043 Owning a lathe your going to need them anyway. Then measure over the O.D. of the spindles male threads with the calipers. It's not out of the question that it might measure just slightly under it's listed nominal size. The thread gauges will identify for certain what pitch it is, although that can be done with enough past experience with a good 6" machinist scale. I'm pretty sure all the hard ware on that lathe will be metric even if it's set up as an imperial capable machine. But many but not all metric lathes also have imperial thread pitches on the spindle nose because there's only a few common sizes. But buying a second set of screw pitch gauges in metric is also worth while. The initial cost of the machine is almost incidental, it's what it costs for everything you then need to properly use it that starts to hurt.
mbelfer
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 10:38 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by mbelfer »

THANKS, good hints but wont quite hack it. I have the gauges and the pitch of the nose thread is definitely 8TPI. But it is not only not out of the question but absolutely DEFINITE that measuring the outside diameter is quite different from the nominal size (which is uncertain for the two reasons I mentioned, possible metric nominal diameter and crumby manual quality.
Now you cant bore an exact internal thread without starting from the correct minor diameter, and for a chuck backplate exact means EXACT. Start from the wrong minor diameter by just a few thou and theres no way it can ever be corrected to a good fit on the nose thread.
pete
Posts: 2518
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:04 am

Re: Honden L 560B lathe

Post by pete »

Yes but properly made spindle designs don't use the threads as a locator. To work, no thread can be a zero clearance situation. If it was it couldn't screw together. So the spindle nose thread is your fixed reference surface for size, you then fit the female thread on the back plate to the spindle nose with as close a fit as you can manage. But it doesn't need to be exact to 10ths, for the thread itself a few thou sloppy has no effect. That thread is what holds the back plate and it's chuck to the spindle nose, but it doesn't properly locate it in a repeatable position. What does do that is just behind the spindle threads. You should find a precision machined and ground surface and that's what does the positioning for the back plate in a repeatable manner. It's generally accepted practice to first make as close as you can possibly manage exact copy of your spindle nose including those locating surfaces. That's your permanent master gauge for that lathe for as long as you own it. You use that gauge while your machining every feature on the back plate that fit's the spindle nose. When it does fit your gauge you then know it will properly fit on the spindle. You also don't want to remove the back plate at any time once machining starts until it's thread and locating surfaces are completely finished. So that gauge is pretty much non optional. I have read of "some" lathes that were built using an imperial thread pitch with a metric O.D. I now suspect that's what you have. It doesn't matter since your just fitting the back plate to what's already there.

Once the back plate does fit you gauge to your satisfaction, you screw it onto the spindle so it's then in it's operating position. At that point you machine the opposite face and the back plates O.D. to fit the mounting surfaces on the back of your chuck.
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