Thread: I think i damaged my compound..........

Hi people.
I attempted parting off a piece of mild steel a while back with my C model Hercus and recently went to face off a bit of round stock and can't seem to get a good finish or seem to be able to center the bit properly. It almost feels like the thread in the compound is bent in that area. Any suggestions and advice on what to look for is most welcome!

seems you may have 3 issues there. Surface finish is related to tool shape, sharpening and cutting speed of material, packing the tool bit / holder with thin packing strips may be needed to get cutting edge of tool bit on centre. Use an offcut and face the end off and keep adding / subtracting packing until you get no tit in the centre. And with the compound, unwind fully to expose the threaded rod and check it for straightness with a straight edge and check dovetail slides for burrs or damage if it doesn't slide freely. Normally hercus stuff is fairly robust and it really takes a major incident to result in damage. Good luck with sorting the problem out

If you had bent the screw, you would notice a cyclic tight spot when turning the handle.
Have you checked your gibs are properly adjusted?

Michael

Originally Posted by Zumanity

Hi people.
I attempted parting off a piece of mild steel a while back with my C model Hercus and recently went to face off a bit of round stock and can't seem to get a good finish or seem to be able to center the bit properly. It almost feels like the thread in the compound is bent in that area. Any suggestions and advice on what to look for is most welcome!

How are you going to bend a screw captured between slides without massively flexing the compound top slide first? Which, being cast iron & relatively thin, would snap long before you got to the plastic deformation point of the internal screw....

I'd look elsewhere for the problem - loose gibs perhaps.

PDW

Check your gib screws, I'd say they have come loose
It's surprising how quickly a bit of chatter can loosen them