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bitza500
16th Sep 2008, 08:09 PM
Hooray a Hercus 9" Lathe Register is born

As this topic has brought some unusual replies I thought it best to start a new thread and Hope for the best
So Far I have 4 Forum Members who have
A.Username (ONLY)
B.Serial Number (End of bed on tailstock lock side)
C.Year Of Manufacturer (IF KNOWN)
D.Condition of lathe (COLOUR IF ORIGINAL)
E.What Extras,Goodies, (OR WISDOM )
F. Modifications (IF ANY)
G. Any help with knowledge of were to find parts or
complete lathes or if you want to sell
H. Years of ownership and KNOWLEDGE

That is it no name addresses phone numbers mother's first boyfriend just what you use on the Forum to make up a register

These lathes date bate pre 1940's and finish in the 1970's
Thousands were made we had 12 at my Technical School and 6 of the larger Hercus

This is my idea to help other Hercus Owners (OLD AND NEW ) to be able to look at the Register to see who has the closest machine in age to ask for HELP
As I have a 1941 Hercus can anyone help with that one ????

So Please get your 2 little fingers to the Keyboard and let me know as I know there are thousands of 9" lathes but where are they or do you know where to find one

Remember all that is required is User name on the Forum and to be glad to help other Hercus Owners

All the best Derek
a4891
VB316

footz
17th Sep 2008, 12:31 AM
mmm
I think I have stuffed up
I set my sig up with my details ? but it dos'nt worry me unless admins would like me to change my sig
So now we are going to know who to bother lol
And dam I have some questions, so regarding questions shall we post them as separate things or here?. I have already bothered a couple hercus owners I figured out and good advice was to place any questions in forums so everyone can see the answers.

bitza500
17th Sep 2008, 01:44 AM
HI FOOTZ, The main idea of having a Hercus 9" thread is so that you can email the person with the lathe serial Number that is close to yours

But Have you read up on working a metal lathe ??

As by the sound of it you a a newbie and I advise a visit to the libray or take a small course at a Tafe college so you undersand the lingo of the Lathe and what you can learn from a basic Tafe Coarse will be a great advantage

Most hercus lathe Owners do not mind answering your questions but if you write this gizmo that turn backwards how do I make it stop

This is the best way to get onto the wrong side of a Hercus Owner

have you got a Machinist Handbook??
Do you know all the name of the parts of the lathe ??
have you got books on hand that can help you work the lathe safely and without asking questions on the Forum all the time ??

The Forum is to ask for help if you are stuck or want to make sure you are doing things right

I could write night and day asking about the lathe as it has been 30+ years since I last used one but I would rather read a book and understand the basis theory and practise and then if in doubt email and ask

This is why I wanted to start a register as you could be talking a hercus Owner who uses his machine once a month and has little experience
But add you username to the New Thread and what year Hercus it is and try and remember what the part is called and what it is not doing

do you have a manual ??
scarce but worth getting as it names every part in a dissambled view I have a very rough copy but it has helped me assemble my lathe slowly back to a nearly useable state

So if you like email me and ask me the questions and I will see if I can help as having 2 lathes restoring both I know the old girls very well

I am not a expert but am willing to help if the question retains to a Hercus and the manual and the machining books have you stuck

all the best Derek

footz
17th Sep 2008, 09:20 AM
Hi Derek
I was under a different impression of a register, I see what you mean by it now. I thought it would be a info place for hercus owners. I thought the hercus models where all the same over the years. Do they have small changes that make them very different?
I have done machining in the past but a long time ago and only working in holidays at my dads work. Currently doing a tafe course as I dont understand some methods of doing things. And I have done a lot of reading but I think once I get a copy of a user manual which I now realise there is, Ill be good to go I reckon. I dont have a machinist handbook, seen one years ago in dads place, cant see the need for it but I will check it out.

And be buggered where is the hercus register, is it in a different area?

bitza500
17th Sep 2008, 03:29 PM
Hi Footz, if you look at the threads dated 17 Sept you will see HOORAY A HERCUS REGISTER IS BORN
Just put you details in and I will add to my sheet I am collecting all the details
I know at the begining a lot of people did not want there PRIVACY invaded but when I spelt it out all the info is on the forum anyway bar the colour and what extras they have

I think I should have taken more attention to reading the Complaints to the Register

Unlike me I have no problem giving out my details as I live 5klms from Newmac the Victorian Distributors for Hercus (I Live in Croydon 3136) Newmac has only nwe parts.Mick Moyles so far is the best person to contact about S/H parts when they get some

This is another part of the Register looking for spares or wrecked lathes that the members can usefor spares as Ken has been chasing parts for Months
I know ther are a few Lathes under Schools just rotting away

The other avenue of parts is America,I had 20+ boxes of lathe and Chev parts sent over since March this year until mt mate in America gave me kick up the ???? and said no more you are wasting money which I thank him for

Does anybody know of a person in America who would be prepared to send parts over
Now a 20LB Flat Rate International box is $38.95
and over $200 to send back
My Mate would go to the local Hardware Shop and buy parts at a fraction of the cost over here
Also the SOUTH BEND is 2 words is a thriving business in dismantling and selling parts
I have already had talks with a couple of the sellers about sending to OZ but it seems 2 years ago USPS upped their overseas price by double. But after talking about the Flat rate box they seemed keen to start sending to OZ Again as I bought a complete headstock assembly for $59.99 on eBay less the the Headstock casting it cost $38.95 plus I also got other parts as well

If I were a bit more Computer orientated I would start a Hercus 9" web site I can build computers, laptops but using them I have taken 6 years and I still cannot get my pictures on the Forum

If every Hercus 9" owner added their details it would be good for everyone involved so long as silly questions were not continously asked

The MACHINIST HANDBOOK SITS RIGHT NEXT TO THE BIBLE
Not trying to be rude to the good Church people I am putting in perspective were the MACHINIST HANBOOK stands if you are a Lathe owner
Also get a copy around the date of Manufacture of your lathe as the new books deal in a lot of( Metric)
(Sorry I had to go and wash my mouth out in soap)
As you will see like me at 50 I was brought up and did my time at Bryant and May the Match Factory In Richmond VIC everything was Imperial that was why when I left I never wnt back as that 6Letter word all the machines had been converted and I just could not work it out
But as that was near 30years ago both my 1941 and my 1948 Hercus have just small differences the 41 is BSF/BSW the 48 is UNC/UNF bolts are different sizes brackets and mounting holes are different as I bought a complete mid 60's carraige assembly and put on my Hercus but you have to use all the parts as the tapered holes must be drilled seperately as I have 3 carraige assemblies and anything with a Tapered pin does not interchange

Well as all you Forum Members can see that I want to make this work as the new guys buying the hercus's of eBay are lost and will need help and with the experience that all the members have will only make the Hercus come out of the closet as Hercus has little History
Drummond has the Serial Numbers and years

And we have the History sitting in our workshops which we need to know about

all the best Derek
VB316
A4891

pipeclay
18th Sep 2008, 03:14 AM
Derek would of thought that doing an apprentership in the mid 70s you would of had to be conversant with both Metric and Imperial as it was the transition period,if I remember correctly the Tafe text books were a mix of both.

bitza500
18th Sep 2008, 02:03 PM
hi Pipeclay when I started my trade was the same year they converted to metric but due to working 4 days a week using Imperial and 2 hours a day in Prac using metric was not a good transition

I have worked out the metric system but all my tools taps dies lathes are all IMPERIAL and I am a non Vernier user we were taught how to measure with the old calipers and then measure with the MicrometersI have found that the old calipers can get in places where the Vernier cannot and my 60 year old Micrometer I have yet to change a battery.I lie I do have 1 Vernier was a Birthday Present and the battery has gone flat so I removed it taped it to the box and put it in my hercus Spares Parts box

all the best Derek
[email protected]
email me if you find any new places with parts or machines as if we get enough registered Owners we may be able to buy a lathe fo parts for our own use

pipeclay
18th Sep 2008, 11:06 PM
For what its worth I probably dont have a great deal to offer but I am prepared to lend out the extras I have for my lathe for postal cost only,naturally some type of assurance to return would be organised but for the one off jobs its a cheap way of getting them done.(before anyone says stupid silly or what ever maybe I am a bit to trusting but thats just me and in my case retribution is fun).

bitza500
19th Sep 2008, 12:24 AM
Hi Pipeclay and others when I meant to let us know what extras or goodies I did not mean to lend them out unless you are prepared to
I have seen a Hercus with a Digitial readout fitted ??
Just all the extras that you have found to be usefull when using your lathe to do certain jobs
I know lending items out is fraught with disasters and I would myself only lend to a person who I knew very well and still have second thoughts as most Lathe parts are expensive for the Hercus Bloody hard to find and even more expensive so just let us know if you have made something that could help and you can supply drawings to make
I can now see why Ken had so much Negative feedback as everyone has a different interiptation of what the Register is all about and why
I can see trying to get some of you Hercus Owners to Register will be like getting blood out of a stone

My main reason once again is just to see how many people still use the Hercus 9"
If you like you can be nobody but just give me the Serial Number the build year and it's condition plus any extras that came with the Hercus as I cannot work a Hercus Lathe Club with a web site off shoot from the Forum unless I get the numbers
I have had a reply from him upstairs and without the numbers there would be no way that a hercus Website can exist
What gets me is all the people I have emailed to since joining very few have registered which staggers me as I am prepared to wear my 2 fingers to the bone trying to organise as many people as I can to register their Hercus 9" Lathe
Why is everybody so worried as imagine the benefits
we could have a FAQ page so that we do not have to repeat the same questions over and over
We can have a Sell, swap, and wanted page
Members who find another good place to get parts can email it in and all the hercus Owners can see as Mick Moyles is the main seller ?? or not as there must be other places that have second hand Hercus Parts

Am I missing something?? am I doing this wrong ??
Can someone give me a better suggestion to get user names on the Register ???
As I cannot believe that there is only 5 Hercus owners and my 2 make 7
Where are the guys I have emailed about Hercus stuff as I am not going to mention their user names or is the Forum a Weekend Web Site ????
Well I cannot do any more than say email me at home in Croydon Victoria 3136 with your user name and the details of your Hercus as I want someone to beat either my 4891or my Tassie devil 316 Serial Numbers so for the umpteenth time here is my email address
[email protected]
all the best Derek bitza500

watson
19th Sep 2008, 12:42 AM
Hey Derek,
Check your PM's.

kats1719
19th Sep 2008, 10:14 AM
my Hercus is AR 9006 year 1964 hasn't done a lot of work very good condition I have a fall set of Collets. Face plates.Metric change gears.Hass quick change tool post a must have T slot cross slide

bitza500
19th Sep 2008, 05:40 PM
Thanks Kats for giving me your info that makes 10 Hercus lathes in 5 days keep this up and we may get our own SITE
And Drummond do you still have the serial number list???
do you still have a Hercus ??
all the best Derek

beetle
23rd Sep 2008, 12:03 AM
Ive sent my Hercus details to BITZA
HERCUS
CRM
15585
EX HIGH SCHOOL
REPLACE 3 PHASE
WITH SINGLE PHASE 1HP
HAS KEY LOCK OUT
START AND STOP AS ORIGINAL

So how many people has registered?:2tsup: