Thread: Hercus

I was down at my mates place today and took some pics that may be of interest. This is one of the best equipped Hercus I have seen. It has many attachments all made by my mate who I shall call Boris. He is shy but very good at workshop equipment. 4-6-4

Boris's mods look very good. First time I've seen a Hercus lathe fitted with a clutch.

The small tool grinder is also a Hercus, I think - a copy of K.O.Lee originally made for grinding carbide tipped lathe tools. Do you know what it is set up to do in the pictures?

Jordan

To clarify the previous thread numbering from top to bottom
1 Ball turning device.
2 Tool post for the quick change tool holding. This was first introduced as the Norman Tool holder in Englane by the Drummond Lathe Co. They made a Round bed lathe.
3 General shot.
4 this is join of the belt used this is a multi vee belt which runs on the old flat pulleys it is silent and will not slip.
5 rear of the Taper Turning Attachment designed by Bernie O,Day of the Melbourne Model engineers. 12 drive of TTA, 13 Rear of TTA
6 Ball turner
7 Clutch. This enabled the motor to run at all times and the drive is worked by the handle.
10 & 14 are also parts of the clutch
8 and 11 Demco tool and Cutter grinder, (these went in bu mistake)
9 Tool post holder.
15 are the two steadies made ar the RMIT Foundry School.
There are more picks but this will have to do for now 4-6-4

Thanks Jordan but you aint seen the half of the Boris Workshop more to come 4-6-4

nice one. well puts my hercus to shame.

Originally Posted by 4-6-4

I was down at my mates place today and took some pics that may be of interest. This is one of the best equipped Hercus I have seen. It has many attachments all made by my mate who I shall call Boris. He is shy but very good at workshop equipment. 4-6-4

4-6-4
The taper turning attachment is a very good and inovative design. I would like to get hold of the drawings so that I could perhaps make a similiar unit.
Secondly I noticed oil nipples in the saddle or carriage of the lathe, & have not noticed these before on a Hercus lathe.Are they add ons ?
Very beneficial for longevity in flushing out debris etc.& keeping things lubricated.
Thanks for the pictures.
regards
Bruce

Yes Bruce I think I can find the drawings they are some where here in the chaos of my flat. They were designed by Berni Oday in the local Model Engineers. Bernie an ex school teacher built every thing out of materials to hand. The guide bar is made of bright mild steel and the carriage which runs along it has eccentric screws to take out any slack. The cut is put on by tightening and or loosening the dove tail block on the cross slide. You do need an extended cross slide to mount the rear tool post and the dovetail block on. The real beauty of this gear is that you do not have to disengauge the cross slide. Also it can be left on the machine as it is out of the way when not in use. Yours 4-6-4

Originally Posted by 4-6-4

Yes Bruce I think I can find the drawings they are some where here in the chaos of my flat. They were designed by Berni Oday in the local Model Engineers. Bernie an ex school teacher built every thing out of materials to hand. The guide bar is made of bright mild steel and the carriage which runs along it has eccentric screws to take out any slack. The cut is put on by tightening and or loosening the dove tail block on the cross slide. You do need an extended cross slide to mount the rear tool post and the dovetail block on. The real beauty of this gear is that you do not have to disengauge the cross slide. Also it can be left on the machine as it is out of the way when not in use. Yours 4-6-4

4-6-4
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I could see the adavantages of the design over the conventional Hercus Taper Turning attachment & others of the same type.
I do have the extended cross slide fitted to my Hercus 260 & it would not be too big a job to make up the Bright Mild Steel guide bar etc & machine up the dovetail fitting for the rear toolpost.
Its a clever & simple design, & if you can find the drawings that would be most appreciated.
The main reason I never went for the Hercus attachment was the time involved in setting it up each time & realeasing the cross slide nut.
I do not turn many tapers,but when the need arises like all tooling & equipment, its great to have it on hand.
regards
Bruce

Dear Bruce, The guide bar on the taper turning attachment is just a piece of bright mild steel. I can be cut to any length. A thought that came up when I talked to Boris is that two bars one half the length of the bed for short tapers and the full length one which can turn a taper the length of the bed. I have often thought of doing something similar for my New Visby. I will try and find the drawings. Its a busy life I don,t know how I found time to go to work. 4-6-4

Originally Posted by 4-6-4

Dear Bruce, The guide bar on the taper turning attachment is just a piece of bright mild steel. I can be cut to any length. A thought that came up when I talked to Boris is that two bars one half the length of the bed for short tapers and the full length one which can turn a taper the length of the bed. I have often thought of doing something similar for my New Visby. I will try and find the drawings. Its a busy life I don,t know how I found time to go to work. 4-6-4

4-6-4
Same here, but life seems more interesting now.
Bruce

Greetings Chaps, Here is an additional photo from The Boris Workshop. This is a pic of all his tool holders for the Hercus. I missed this one the first time around. The holders are of cast iron and he has only broken one over the years. They were made at the RMIT foundry 25 years ago. Each time he requires a new tool it goes into its holder and lives there permanently. Yours 4-6-4

Some people are so productive, it makes me feel giddy.
It took me ages just to make one tool holder, and here's almost thirty of 'em.

Jordan

Dear Jordan, You have to be dedicated and it takes years plus to accumulate all this gear. Boris also hade some her who must be obeyed problems and this led to more time spent in the workshop. Also Boris worked at a place where he could apply him self to the cause. Here are some more of the Boris workshop.
1 A Capstan Lathe anyone out there with information about this machine would be helpful in identifying it. There are no marks numbers or name on it
2 A Douglas shaper 10 1/2 inch stroke.
3 Steelfast filing Machine
4 Westbury mill Borrowed patterns , cast at RMIT and then machine to drawings
5 Sensitive drill. This was purchased complete
6 Sketch of the hercus tool holder.

I am currently making a clutch for my Hercus that looks exactly like the one in Boris' pictures. I got my plans from old Model Engineer magazine - is a clutch for Myford ML7 . I have used leather for friction material.

Dear Yardi I will find out about Boris,s Clutch and how it works. I know that he used a gun metal plate in his mark one version and it had to be changed. He also used a polly vee belt which he glued to length. This gives a much better grip and is a lot quieter than the leather original. There is a poor pick in the first set of Pics. yours 4-6-4