who has the spare parts for the Hercus???

[bitza500]

Having gotten very frustrated in being unable to find Second hand parts for Sale

Can any members add to the list as so far we have

Mick Moyle's NSW

Newmac Victoria (they are now parting up the Model C lathe at Last)

If anybody knows of any other Hercus parts sellers please let us know as I am still chasing Parts for the Model A Apron and so are quite a few others
So please help as this is why I got this register going is to be able to pass on information or Buying and selling

But no one has any parts lying around and no One is forthcoming in were to Buy Second hand Hercus Parts anywhere in Australia which I find amazing so who do you buy your parts off??

As there as to be more than 2 places for Hercus parts ????????????????????????????????

all the best Derek

[Old Fraggle]

Hiya Bitza, I've only just joined this forum, but several months ago I purchased a SouthBend Imperial quick change gearbox from this gentleman in the States on Ebay http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/antfarm200__W0QQ_armrsZ1. I have a Craftsman model metric Hercus, got it in bits and pieces, and while my gearbox works, it has two incorrect gears and I cant get the lowest ranges out of it.
The Imperial gearbox has the levers back to front to the metric one, my metric leadscrew was fitted with the gears and spacers that where supplied with the gearbox and it all slid into place beautifully. Cutting threads would obviously be a challenge up to the best trial and error folks or mathematicians out there, but I've managed to get along just fine without cutting any yet. I stuffed the man around with payment by sending a bank cheque which was going to take 6 ( six ) weeks to clear. He was absolutely professional and returned the cheque with the gearbox after I paid through Paypal.
I'm still looking for the correct metric gearbox parts, but if they don't ever turn up I'll end up buying an Imperial leadscrew and saddle of the gentleman yet..have a look at his site, I get on there and have a regular drool...and the bank balance belts me back into reality :C
Cheers...The Old Fraggle

[aljunk]

Has anyone compared the gears Hercus to Southbend to see if they are interchangeable?
I have heard that the pressure angles are different SB 14.5deg PA and Hercus 20deg PA? Will they work.........?

[blackfrancis]

Hercus are definitely 20deg PA. I have read claims that southbend went over to 20deg very late in the piece. I've run mixed 20deg and 14.5deg change gears together. They'll work and will cut threads no problems. They'll wine (probably terrorably) at high speed though.

Steve

[bitza500]

Has anyone compared the gears Hercus to Southbend to see if they are interchangeable?
I have heard that the pressure angles are different SB 14.5deg PA and Hercus 20deg PA? Will they work.........?

Hi Al, yes you are right good old Fred Hercus changed the pitch of the gears to reduce noise and make the gears stronger and made them last longer

Reason I know I got some South Bend gears and not realizing the difference whacked them all together

It will work it is noisy and will wear the gears quicker as you cannot adjust the 2 gears to make them for smoother, quiet running

South Bend are prone to wearing out gears maybe the pitch or no one can be bothered to set them correctly, My South Bend headstock parts I bought were beyond description as they had been bludgeoned with grease to quiet the noise down

Now I have the Proper Hercus gears It purrs nicely as the 1941 Tassie devil when first started I thought something was missing it was so quiet and then dug into the Archives to Find the pitch changed by Fred as it made them a lot more Durable and the Tassie Devil is a perfect example 1941 left out in the weather for 10 years in Tasmania
It was stripped cleaned painted and is very quiet in the gear train

If push comes to shove you can use them but the pitch difference makes a BIG Difference

What gear are you chasing now ????

all the best Derek bitza500

[bitza500]

Hiya Bitza, I've only just joined this forum, but several months ago I purchased a SouthBend Imperial quick change gearbox from this gentleman in the States on Ebay http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/antfarm200__W0QQ_armrsZ1. I have a Craftsman model metric Hercus, got it in bits and pieces, and while my gearbox works, it has two incorrect gears and I cant get the lowest ranges out of it.
The Imperial gearbox has the levers back to front to the metric one, my metric leadscrew was fitted with the gears and spacers that where supplied with the gearbox and it all slid into place beautifully. Cutting threads would obviously be a challenge up to the best trial and error folks or mathematicians out there, but I've managed to get along just fine without cutting any yet. I stuffed the man around with payment by sending a bank cheque which was going to take 6 ( six ) weeks to clear. He was absolutely professional and returned the cheque with the gearbox after I paid through Paypal.
I'm still looking for the correct metric gearbox parts, but if they don't ever turn up I'll end up buying an Imperial leadscrew and saddle of the gentleman yet..have a look at his site, I get on there and have a regular drool...and the bank balance belts me back into reality :C
Cheers...The Old Fraggle

Hi Fraggle,

I know of a metric Gearbox and all parts required as it is a complete ex school lathe but I doubt whether the owner would sell the complete gearbox assembly for less than $500 Approx??? As I have in my travel found numerous Hercus lathes but everybody wants SHOP PRICE for their parts I know of 5 lathes sitting gathering dust as the owners may use them once every Blue Moon

Your best bet is to sit down with pen and paper and list all the parts salvagble,worn out,or missing then just send me a PM with the list and roughly how much you have to spend
As this is the DILEMA some lathes have had their day and I can buy a S/H EX school complete for $1,000 with Gearbox and a 3 jaw chuck and possibly a 4 jaw

BUT the bed is BAD as the students were never taught to put a piece of wood under the chuck so if it did fall it would hit the timber and not the BED

Can you send me your Serial Number and any other numbers and letters at the end of the bed on the otherside of the Tailstock so I can add you to my ever growing list

As you will be NUMBER 40 which I reckon is not a bad attempt at attracting Hercus,SouthBend or Sheraton lathe owners

We are all here to help and advise that is why I asked the Big Fella who runs the Forum for our own little SUB FORUM

All you have to do is ask the Questions and some of our well experienced owners will try and help you out

The biggest dilema is That there is only a COUPLE of places that will strip a Hercus for the parts and want mega Dollars, as you never sell all the parts

I have repeatdly asked for any Hercus Parts or complete lathes as I was going to buy a lathe and strip it for parts at Cost

No replies so that was shelved,I am still working on one guy who has 2 complete Hercus lathes with every concievable extra that was available he bought the lot

One is now pensioned off but is wary of selling in case he needs parts for the other Hercus (GOOD OLD CATCH 22) I even explained the money he could make but no
so send me a PM and let me know what parts you need

all the best Derek bitza500

P/S beware of the American websites our Dollar is so low you will end up paying double and the cost of Shipping will sink you

But I would love to see this so called BITZA METRIC GEARBOX as some parts are still available as the 260 used a lot of old 9" lathe parts

[aljunk]

As I get more into this machine I am finding more grief! I knew when I bought it that it was in kinda tough condition and I was right. I pulled the back gear off and that's when I saw that there is a broken tooth on the back gear and the bull gear....
The prev owner had installed a 1HP motor on it and was using the halfnuts for feed and I suspect there was a catastrophic which did the damage.


By the way Derek thanks for your help with Newmac, my stuff arrived safe and sound back in Canada on wednesday. I have yet to see it as my sister lives in Kelowna which is a 6-7 hr drive, but they are coming up soon to visit. No big rush anyways as I have lots more cleanup to do yet. I have got most of the sits and pieces clean sanded and in primer and and will tackle the headstock and ways next.

al

[aljunk]

Thanks for the feedback Steve, it's what I suspected. I bought some gear cutters (20deg) to make some of the change gears because they are very worn on this machine, and am thinking that when I get setup to cut I may try some from Nylarod plastic.

[bitza500]

As I get more into this machine I am finding more grief! I knew when I bought it that it was in kinda tough condition and I was right. I pulled the back gear off and that's when I saw that there is a broken tooth on the back gear and the bull gear....
The prev owner had installed a 1HP motor on it and was using the halfnuts for feed and I suspect there was a catastrophic which did the damage.


By the way Derek thanks for your help with Newmac, my stuff arrived safe and sound back in Canada on wednesday. I have yet to see it as my sister lives in Kelowna which is a 6-7 hr drive, but they are coming up soon to visit. No big rush anyways as I have lots more cleanup to do yet. I have got most of the sits and pieces clean sanded and in primer and and will tackle the headstock and ways next.

al

Hi AL, the broken back gear and bull gear teeth is a standard complaint

The reason being when you change chucks sometimes the chuck is stuck to the Mainshaft so people lock in the back gear so it is at it's lowest speed setting then either using the chuck key or a piece of metal in the chuck they start ramming the chuck backwards and forwards to undo the chuck
If the the chuck does not give in and realease unfortunataly something else has to give and the most common is the back gear and bullgear teeth

I bet there is just 1 tooth broken of both items ?????

If you look at the Pratical Machinist site they show you how to repair the gear but the South Bend parts are the same and you may be lucky and find a cheap replacement

Although the Back gear on the 1941 Tassie Devil is the same and was just put back with the broken teeth and with no repercushions it still runs in low range and you would never know anything was broken

in the P/M site they cut a piece of cast up and just weld it on the gear then machine the gear or if need be out with the file

How often do you use the back gears on your other lathe ???

As the ratio speed with the back gear engaged it produces the slowest speed available

I have 5 back gears and 2 Bull gears that I am going to repair

So do not be Disheartened this is a very common fault

If you do decide to get another back gear take your old one with you as I have found different spacings for the gears ,as my lathe has the back gear handle on the chuck side as if it is on the other way around it fouls the belt

If you you get stuck let me know as I just cut up a back gear with a good gear on and machine the old gear off and press the other gear onto the back gear and a spot of weld and is as good as new as 99% it is the small gear ,and if it is the big gear you can buy a replacement gear ring and machine and fit the new gear on

If I have confused you, email me as I am not sure I have your email address and will send pics of what I mean it is just a basic,standard fault that occurs when the chuck is jammed on the Mainshaft

My Lathe I had the back gear locked the worm drive locked jammed a big screwdriver in the idler pulleys put a piece of bar in the chuck and with a pair of 24" stilsons ,nearly gave me self a hernia as I was off the floor using all my weight when it finally came loose

This only took 2 weeks of sheer determination to get the damn thing off as the homemade chuck backing plate had only 7 threads and the mainshaft has 8 so it was locked solid

The Southbend are the same but engage your other lathe in the back gear ratio and see how slow the speed is

Drew has used his back gear once with broken teeth and it does still work but to replace you are lucky shipping from the States is cheaper and these parts are easy to come by just bide your time and you will get the parts on eBay at a good price if you are patient

all the best Derek bitza500

[aljunk]

I did find southbend ones on ebay and this is why I was asking about the the gear compatability with Hercus and SB. I have been considering fixing them as I think I have the gear cutters that will work.

[bitza500]

As I get more into this machine I am finding more grief! I knew when I bought it that it was in kinda tough condition and I was right. I pulled the back gear off and that's when I saw that there is a broken tooth on the back gear and the bull gear....
The prev owner had installed a 1HP motor on it and was using the halfnuts for feed and I suspect there was a catastrophic which did the damage.


By the way Derek thanks for your help with Newmac, my stuff arrived safe and sound back in Canada on wednesday. I have yet to see it as my sister lives in Kelowna which is a 6-7 hr drive, but they are coming up soon to visit. No big rush anyways as I have lots more cleanup to do yet. I have got most of the sits and pieces clean sanded and in primer and and will tackle the headstock and ways next.

al

Hi Al, just to make your day Richard has brand new back gear and a bull gear in his lovely box of bits

all the best Derek bitza500

[Old Fraggle]

Hi Fraggle,

I know of a metric Gearbox and all parts required as it is a complete ex school lathe but I doubt whether the owner would sell the complete gearbox assembly for less than $500 Approx??? As I have in my travel found numerous Hercus lathes but everybody wants SHOP PRICE for their parts I know of 5 lathes sitting gathering dust as the owners may use them once every Blue Moon

Your best bet is to sit down with pen and paper and list all the parts salvagble,worn out,or missing then just send me a PM with the list and roughly how much you have to spend
As this is the DILEMA some lathes have had their day and I can buy a S/H EX school complete for $1,000 with Gearbox and a 3 jaw chuck and possibly a 4 jaw

BUT the bed is BAD as the students were never taught to put a piece of wood under the chuck so if it did fall it would hit the timber and not the BED

Can you send me your Serial Number and any other numbers and letters at the end of the bed on the otherside of the Tailstock so I can add you to my ever growing list

As you will be NUMBER 40 which I reckon is not a bad attempt at attracting Hercus,SouthBend or Sheraton lathe owners

We are all here to help and advise that is why I asked the Big Fella who runs the Forum for our own little SUB FORUM

All you have to do is ask the Questions and some of our well experienced owners will try and help you out

The biggest dilema is That there is only a COUPLE of places that will strip a Hercus for the parts and want mega Dollars, as you never sell all the parts

I have repeatdly asked for any Hercus Parts or complete lathes as I was going to buy a lathe and strip it for parts at Cost

No replies so that was shelved,I am still working on one guy who has 2 complete Hercus lathes with every concievable extra that was available he bought the lot

One is now pensioned off but is wary of selling in case he needs parts for the other Hercus (GOOD OLD CATCH 22) I even explained the money he could make but no
so send me a PM and let me know what parts you need

all the best Derek bitza500

P/S beware of the American websites our Dollar is so low you will end up paying double and the cost of Shipping will sink you

But I would love to see this so called BITZA METRIC GEARBOX as some parts are still available as the 260 used a lot of old 9" lathe parts


Thanks for your interest Derek.
Before I get sidetracked, AUM 14616 is my lathe Model/Number
A bit more info on what I've got, the Model A I picked up years ago was in bits and pieces, a mate who was moving on had it for a few years and made a few bits and extra mods with it, like little oilers in the top and cross slides 'great for forcing bed oil directly under the sliding surfaces'. It was far from a go'er, managed to get some bits of Durden/Axmel/Hercus at the time, but either they, or I, stuffed up and two different gears I ordered where identical. Result, I can't get the A/B range on the gearbox, all others are fine. This only stops me from turning smaller pitch threads and cutting at slower feeds. Not much of a problem really, more of an inconveniance.

Anyway, turning a short story into a long one, I got the Southbend Imperial Box from the States right at the peak of the dollar and have swapped between the two a few times depending on whatever my mood or enthusiasm drives me to do.

While I'd like to have the Metric box fully functional, or the Apron, Lead screw and Topslide converted to Imperial, I'm only limited by thread cutting capabilty and I've managed to get by for the last 8 years ' the time I've had it ' without cutting any threads on it yet.

On a more positive note, last weekend a mate donated the bulk of a vertical milling slide and vice, and the last few days effort have seen that in made up to scratch and mounted on the crosslide looking for something to do.

Cheers....The Old Fraggle

[aljunk]

As I recall the letters mean it's an "A" model, and the "U" is under table motor mount? but I can't remember the "M"
Anyone care to correct me and/of fill in the blanks?

[Old Fraggle]

Hiya Aljunk
I'm pretty sure the M means metric, which this lathe is

The Old Fraggle

[bitza500]

Hiya Aljunk
I'm pretty sure the M means metric, which this lathe is

The Old Fraggle

Yes the Letter M in the Serial Number states it was factory produced Metric Lathe

all the best Derek