Thread: Hercus Lathes

Hi all , I am new to the Forum and after some help. I have the opportunity to purchase 2 Hercus 9" lathes which I believe were made in the late 60s, one is a fully assembled and the other has been taken apart to make it easier to transport, I have been assured that all the parts are there for both machines and there is also a couple of boxes of tools , about seven chucks and backing plates also 30 or so threading dies as well as the usual spanners etc. Both machines come with original stands.
The price being asked is $1600 for the lot . Is this an excessive amount for these type of machines and is there a ready market for one as i entend to refurbish both and sell one if I go ahead with the deal. As I am retired time is not an issue and I am looking for a new interest.
Any comments will be welcome.
Whitem

Hi Your first post Can you tell us the model of the lathes . eg. A B or C or 260 maybe . Do they have plain or roller bearing headstock ? Mike?

Excessive possibly depending on the model of the machines.
Resale yes, price would vary depending on the model.

For that price they would want to be in pretty good shape and be the C spec models. I spose if the extras are also good, you could be getting your coin worth in there too, but a crap lathe with a vast stash of tooling is still a crap lathe...

Originally Posted by scottyd

For that price they would want to be in pretty good shape and be the C spec models. I spose if the extras are also good, you could be getting your coin worth in there too, but a crap lathe with a vast stash of tooling is still a crap lathe...

HI,
scottyd Don't You mean the 'A' Spec Models as they much more features than either the 'B' or 'C' Models ? Identify you're Lathe .

The Price depends on a lot of Factors what Model the Lathes are A, B, or C and Plain or Roller Bearing. What are the Stands Sheetmetal or just Cast Iron Legs ?. What Condition are the Lathes in ?. What Condition are the Chucks in are they all 3 jaw or is there 4 Jaw Chucks as well ?. Is there a Taper Turning Attachment included ? (that alone if in Good Condition, My Guess would be worth a Minium of $500.00) . Here is Link to the Serial Number to Years Chart Hercus Serial Numbers [Archive] - Woodwork Forums .

Personally if the Lathes are only Plain Bearing unless they are in Really Good Condition I would be thinking twice about Buying them.

Welcome to the Forum Whitem.

I have 3 nine inch lathes.A decade ago, I paid $1100 dollars for an early '50s Model A. My first lathe. Turned out the spindle was badly scored and the bed showed signs of considerable wear. Didn't matter, I had an Australian lathe and I loved it. Then I bought another Model A, a bit newer, it was made in 1958, for 600 dollars. It didn't have a tailstock but cosmetically it was in far better nick than my first lathe. Turned out that the spindle was also in good nick. A bit of mix and matching and I ended up with a plain bearing, gearboxed lathe that ran like a clock. The first lathe is dismantled and resides in a tin box in the garden shed.

Then about eight years ago I chanced upon a one owner 1969 ARL. The lathe came with both steadies, a micrometer saddle stop, high speed pulleys, a complete set of metric transposition gears, face plate, catch plate, a box fresh Burnerd light pattern 6" four jaw and the standard Burnerd 5" three jaw chuck. It also came with a scabrous coating of oil and sawdust. The old bloke that owned it had used it for wood turning.

I paid $2000 for the lathe. I have subsequently spent far more than the initial cost price on accessories and attachments.

Sure there will be many who think I paid too much but I was my money to spend. I have a number of machines in my shed but there are two that I couldn't do without. The ARL is one of them. The pleasure I have derived from using my Hercus far outweighs any financial cost.

Bob.

Hi whitem. Can you post a couple of pics?
Chris

Originally Posted by steran50

HI,
scottyd Don't You mean the 'A' Spec Models as they much more features than either the 'B' or 'C' Models ? Identify you're Lathe .

The Price depends on a lot of Factors what Model the Lathes are A, B, or C and Plain or Roller Bearing. What are the Stands Sheetmetal or just Cast Iron Legs ?. What Condition are the Lathes in ?. What Condition are the Chucks in are they all 3 jaw or is there 4 Jaw Chucks as well ?. Is there a Taper Turning Attachment included ? (that alone if in Good Condition, My Guess would be worth a Minium of $500.00) . Here is Link to the Serial Number to Years Chart Hercus Serial Numbers [Archive] - Woodwork Forums .

Personally if the Lathes are only Plain Bearing unless they are in Really Good Condition I would be thinking twice about Buying them.

Whoops, thats what I get for writing posts while there is a baby in my lap!!!

But yeah, unless its got the powered cross and long feeds and its in fab condition, I wouldnt be that keen.

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

Welcome to the Forum Whitem.

I have 3 nine inch lathes.A decade ago, I paid $1100 dollars for an early '50s Model A. My first lathe. Turned out the spindle was badly scored and the bed showed signs of considerable wear. Didn't matter, I had an Australian lathe and I loved it. Then I bought another Model A, a bit newer, it was made in 1958, for 600 dollars. It didn't have a tailstock but cosmetically it was in far better nick than my first lathe. Turned out that the spindle was also in good nick. A bit of mix and matching and I ended up with a plain bearing, gearboxed lathe that ran like a clock. The first lathe is dismantled and resides in a tin box in the garden shed.

Then about eight years ago I chanced upon a one owner 1969 ARL. The lathe came with both steadies, a micrometer saddle stop, high speed pulleys, a complete set of metric transposition gears, face plate, catch plate, a box fresh Burnerd light pattern 6" four jaw and the standard Burnerd 5" three jaw chuck. It also came with a scabrous coating of oil and sawdust. The old bloke that owned it had used it for wood turning.

I paid $2000 for the lathe. I have subsequently spent far more than the initial cost price on accessories and attachments.

Sure there will be many who think I paid too much but I was my money to spend. I have a number of machines in my shed but there are two that I couldn't do without. The ARL is one of them. The pleasure I have derived from using my Hercus far outweighs any financial cost.

Bob.

Same here Bob.
I am hooked on Hercus, they are fantastic machines.
regards
Bruce

Thanks fellas for your comments , as you have probably worked out by now I am a complete novice when it comes to lathes so any advice given is most welcome .

I had a quick look at the 2 hercus today and they are both model A one was made in 1947 and the other in 1952. both have the Non roller bearings in them. I checked over the gears and lead screws and could find no damage or excesive wear at all. even though one machine is disasembled and filthy all parts moved freely without binding with no noticeable movement in the carriage way. The owner said he has had both for many years and although they are old neither has done a lot of work , he produced the original book for the disassembled one with all the specks for it.
The gears where all still well oiled and the majority of the oil points were all open and not clogged up so I believe they have been well maintained.I put a piece of wood in the chucks but could get no movement even when pushing from side to side . I would have liked to spend more time looking over both of them but it just didn't happen as the owner had to leave.
In total there are seven chucks , several backing plates and heaps of other stuff including a lever turrent which has another attachment that does threading and includes about 20 odd thread dies which are brand new still in cardboard boxes.
As I have to let him know soon if i will take them, any comments are welcome . He will not budge on the price as he believes he can sell just the sundry items on ebay for over a grand.

Ps should I move this thread to the Hercus area
Whitem

Hi


For that price , I would prefer a machine that is running . Does the assembled lathe have a motor and run OK ? Or, does it need to be stripped down and cleaned before use ?

Sounds like you will be doing a lot of cleaning and general setting things up before you can actually use either machine



On the positive side, Hercus lathes are reasonably common, sp spares will be easy to find. And, there is plenty of advice available here on this forum . Hercus isa great machine to start with

Yes this should get moved to the Hercus area.

The asking price for the machines is well worth it.

The Turret attachment is probably worth a few hundred alone,although there are fools in the market place that will jump all over that for in excess of $400/$500,as well as pay to much for any of the other items you may wish to sell at a latter date.

Only real downside with the lathes as they stand now would be the position of the 2 clamp screws for rotating the compound,the latter model had them at the operator side for easy access,not a biggy though.

You missed another downside Peter. The pissy little graduated collars on the feed screws.

That one probably depends on how good your eyes are.

Originally Posted by pipeclay

That one probably depends on how good your eyes are.

Yeah, you're right. They were sharper when I was a young bloke your age.