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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
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    South Australia
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    88

    Default Hercus 260 tailstock quill - replace or refurb?

    Hey all.

    Well, since picking up my Hercus 260 ATM from a local school for the princeley sum of...a carton of beer, it's been mostly smooth sailing and pleasant discoveries. I hooked up a cheap VFD and the machine runs like a dream. It came with a ton of accessories and overall is in minty condition...

    ...except...

    ...the tailstock drill chuck. School tech students can be butchers, can't they? The chuck has taken a hammering, the arbor is rough and on further inspection the inside of the tailstock quill is pretty iffy, too. When I am drilling, even reasonably light pressure with small bits sees the arbor move in the quill.

    So, my question...can the quill be refurbished? I imagine grinding or whatever would be a specialised job and possibly result in an altered taper.

    Seeing as the lathe cost me nothing, I am willing to buy a new tailstock quill, drill arbor and chuck, which should result in a decent fit and no movement, but of course if the quill can be fixed I'd love to hear about the wheres and hows.

    Thanks guys,


    Moz

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Elimbah Qld
    Posts
    24

    Default

    First check that the Quill is damaged get a new drill chuck arbour .Use some bearing blue and compare against a couple of good tapers & see if they are all the same .You maybe able to scrape the high spots inside the Quill or if it real bad use a mt reamer to get the bad spots & then scrap it .Dont go mad with the reamer if you use one only take off the high spots .

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne
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    35
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    Default

    I doubt the quill is hardened, reamer is the way to go, just gently by hand.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    South Australia
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by caskwarrior View Post
    I doubt the quill is hardened, reamer is the way to go, just gently by hand.
    Thanks caskwarrior.

    Pardon my ignorance, I'm new at this - won't the reamed tailstock quill then be oversize for the drill chuck arbor?

    Or am I nuts?

    (Probably the latter).


    Moz

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
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    Default

    There should be enough gap between the quill and the back of the chuck for the chuck/arbour to move slightly deeper in the quill after reaming.

    Steve.

  6. #6
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    Sep 2018
    Location
    South Australia
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    Quote Originally Posted by OxxAndBert View Post
    There should be enough gap between the quill and the back of the chuck for the chuck/arbour to move slightly deeper in the quill after reaming.

    Steve.
    Thanks Steve, good tip.

    And a reamer is way cheaper than a new quill...although I have to admit that the anal retentive perfectionists in me would really like to fit a perfect, new quill...

    Thanks again!




    Moz

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    54
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    825

    Default

    G'day Moz,
    Most MT socket damage occurs when a taper is allowed to spin inside the socket, something which probably happened now and then when the little cherubs were playing see how big and how fast I can drill a hole. When the taper spins it will cause a bit of galling and raise a burr. It is more than likely such a bur that is causing your chuck to wobble as it will prevent the taper from seating correctly and the problem then accumulates as the chuck spins again because it can't seat properly. The 260 tailstock is not hardened so it's being damaged due to galling is quite possible.

    It sounds like your drill chuck MT taper is rooted so probably best if you bin it and swap it for another. You can probably just replace the taper if the chuck itself is still ok.

    Before you get too carried away with reamers and such, poke your finger into the tail stock socket and run it around to see if you can feel any high spots. Your finger tips are plenty sensitive enough to feel anything large enough to cause your chuck arbour to wobble. If the damage is localised to a couple of spots or even a band or two there will probably be plenty of good taper surface remaining and the damaged areas can easily be fixed with a bit of lapping.

    Get yourself a known good MT2 taper (MT2 drill shank etc) and use it as a form for some fine (180 - 240) emery cloth and polish down any high spots you identified. Take it slow, a few rubs, remove and check with your finger, you only want to remove the high spots. When you've got the high spots down, thoroughly clean the taper to remove any grit and check the fit with a known good taper. If you are super keen you can turn down a wooden MT2 taper and use it with some lapping compound to get a nice polish.

    If the damage to the taper is more substantial then you are probably better of just getting a replacement. It will probably be cheaper than a reamer and MT reamers can be prone to chattering which may leave you with an equally unserviceable taper.
    Cheers,
    Greg.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    melbourne australia
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    3,228

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kwijibo99 View Post
    If the damage to the taper is more substantial then you are probably better of just getting a replacement.
    Here's a new one:

    https://australianmetalworkinghobbyi...product_id=601
    Chris

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    South Australia
    Posts
    88

    Default

    Thanks guys.


    Chris- yeah, saw that one, may well wind up going that way. There's a lot to be said for the (comparatively) easy availability of parts for the Hercus lathes, isn't there?

    Greg - thanks for the info. Yeah, I think the 'little cherubs' got up to plenty of no good with the drill/quill on this lathe. Grateful that the rest of it has survived in excellent condition.

    I've never had the chuck arbor spin - the moment it moved so much as a mm, I stopped play. And yes, both the drill arbor and the quill interior taper are chowdered up, not so much with burrs as with an overall grooved, circular pattern of marks that give witness to the kids at school doing spinnies. The torch/fingernail/engineer's pick test of the inside quill taper is pretty grim. I reckon I could be there a long time with emery paper and yeah, any chatter with a reamer and she'd be instant fodder for the f**k it bucket. The exterior of the quill is also pretty marked up, can make it hard to see the graduations.

    Maybe it's time to cut my losses and go new. New quill, new 16mm keyless chuck, new arbor. None of it cheap, but all of it lifetime stuff if cared for, which it will be under my roof. The lathe cost me nothing so pouring a bit of love back into won't be over-investing, and I will have this little lathe until the day I die so I may as well be happy with the quality.

    Thanks again, everyone, for your input.



    Moz

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    melbourne australia
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MosquitoGarage View Post
    New quill, new 16mm keyless chuck, new arbor.
    Moz,
    Unless you have drill bits with shanks larger than ½" I would go for a ½" chuck. Cheaper and smaller. Use the money saved to buy a better quality chuck. I have a Vertex 16mm keyless chuck on my 260. It won't tighten on a drill bit smaller than 1.5mm which meant I had to buy an additional, smaller chuck for those bits. I only own one drill bit with a shank larger than ½" and I only bought that because I had the 16mm chuck.
    Chris

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne
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    35
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    For $135 just buy a new quill, no way I'd be messing around buying a reamer for that.

    Sent from my Nokia 8 Sirocco using Tapatalk

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    South Australia
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    88

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    Quote Originally Posted by caskwarrior View Post
    For $135 just buy a new quill, no way I'd be messing around buying a reamer for that.

    Sent from my Nokia 8 Sirocco using Tapatalk

    Yeah, I reckon that's where I'm headed now. Why not? Get the ol' girl in perfect nick from front to back.


    Moz

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
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    71
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    5,942

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    Hi Moz, I've a Morse Reamer you can borrow if need be, if it doesn't come up to scratch then by a new quill. I did my quill on the wood lathe with it. I'll try to find it over the weekend if you want it.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  14. #14
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    Sep 2018
    Location
    South Australia
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore View Post
    Hi Moz, I've a Morse Reamer you can borrow if need be, if it doesn't come up to scratch then by a new quill. I did my quill on the wood lathe with it. I'll try to find it over the weekend if you want it.
    Kryn
    Hey thanks Kryn, that's great! If you find it then yes, please, let me know (Direct Message maybe) and we can work out some postage or I can come visit you where you are, whatever is easy. Murray Bridge not that far from me and I am often going past there on my way to The Bend.

    Thanks again!



    Moz

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
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    2,651

    Default

    Do the 260 and the 9" share a common part for the tailstock quill?
    Asking as I'm pretty sure I've got a spare quill somewhere from when I had my old 9".

    Steve

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