Thread: Rotary table for O mill

Steve ,

It is interesting to see the table on yours with the through tee slots and sleeve inserted in the centre bore.

When I made mine it was based on the photo in this catalogue which also features the offset drive vertical head suggesting the mill had been in production for a few years when the catalogue was printed.

Mill 1of 8 (Large).jpg Mill 3 of 8 (Large).jpg Mill 5 of 8 (Large).jpg Mill 8 of 8 (Large).jpg

Enlarging the table photo clearly shows the slots terminating against the 2" diameter concentric ring marking which I copied.


Screenshot 2022-03-17 052629.jpg


I had been tempted to 'upgrade' my table by extending the slots and sleeving the bore but there's a chance that the table is cosmetically historically correct given my mill, OL-8 would have been one of the first off the production line.

I think Hercus introduced the No. O sometime around 1973 -74, non dated brochures and catalogues involve guesswork. If your table is a revised version there are probably a few early tables still in existence and I wonder where they are? Do you have any other mill literature? I had been thinking the illustration you used at the begining of this thread was from another catalogue but alas it's from the Attachments and Tooling Demonstations booklet.

And does that sleeve come out?

Bob.

Bob,

I was looking at the photo on page 1 that I initially put up and when I enlarged it, it looks the same as your table, not very easy to see but it looks rounded at the end of the slot, the only other mill literature I have is the operation manual and a spare parts manual for the 3 slot table machine, it is pretty much useless as it is just part No's with no breakdown of the components and nothing is available for them anyway, Hercus must have decided it was quicker and cheaper to only do it in 2 straight through slots.

The bush in the table does not come out, I haven't tried to remove it apart from trying to pull it out using my fingers to see if was just sitting in there but I would assume that it is a reasonably firm fit in there and it is a ground finish inside and out.

I am glad I went with the larger handle from the milling attachment now as I had both handles there and I thought it looked a bit big and goofy but now it is all together I think it looks good and I was definitely looking at the advantage of the larger handle for rotary milling operations.

The other thing I was looking at was putting a vernier style graduation on the eccentric bush, now I know that the graduations will be very close together so I worked out that the easiest way around it is with marking the graduations on the left hand side of the zero and putting them at 4,8,12 and 16 minutes or the right side of the zero at 6,12,18 and 24 minutes, that way the 5 minute graduations can be broken down further to 1 minute by lining up the next closest graduation line to the minute you need so the grad at 4 would be 1 minute, grad at 8 would be 2 minutes and so on. I'm sure it is way over kill but that is part of the fun

Steve,

Make sure you post photos of the finer graduations !! Nothing I have made using the table would have warranted greater precision but there is certainly no harm in having it. The greatest attraction for me with the Hercus table is its size, specifically its height. I have a 6" Vertex table but it is rarely used. Neither of my mills is blessed with an abundance of Z making the little Hercus table invaluable. And you can also get the table to pretend it's bigger.....

13 Table Adjuster 25 4 11 008 (Large).jpg

Bob.

So I may have found the reason why there aren't a lot of these around, in a 1986 price list they are listed at $970, probably wasn't a high priority attachment in schools, the dividing head came in at $1100, vertical head was $740 and the slotting head was $880.

Originally Posted by Tinkerer77

So I may have found the reason why there aren't a lot of these around, in a 1986 price list they are listed at $970, probably wasn't a high priority attachment in schools, the dividing head came in at $1100, vertical head was $740 and the slotting head was $880.

Hey Steve,

Is there any chance of a scan or photo of the price list?

Bob.

Hi Bob

I have attached the price list, hope that it works otherwise I can email you a copy.

I was also sent some other stuff including an original sales receipt from 1950 for a Model C lathe and a few other price lists from 1970,77,87

Invaluable information Steve , thank you very much.

The cost of the dividing head certainly escalates when you add its accessories.

I for one would be very interested in viewing the other price lists. I'll probably be in for a shock when I find out the price of my '69 ARL !

Bob.

Before replying pls consider my amatuer/ learner status. (There my be some reposnse already deep in the various threads but I have not been able to unearth)
Q1 .Anyone game to suggest which rotary table to purchase for my model O. Assuming noone wants to part with their genuine Hercus accessory.
Been shopping online . There a a cople of products at various prices with various accessories. Those in 6"(150mm) all seem to have height of around 80mm which is similar to the original Hercus dimension unless I am mistaken.
There is a HV6 (ex India and elswhere) a brand called Vevor, and of course the Vertex (ex Taiwan), which s
eems to be mentioned in various forum threads.Q2 All seem to have bolt slots of 15 mm for mounting to mill table will this compromise rigidity as from memory the Herc table slots are around 11-12 mm. Remember my novise status please.

Terry

Originally Posted by Tham60

Before replying pls consider my amateur/ learner status. (There my be some response already deep in the various threads but I have not been able to unearth)
Q1 .Anyone game to suggest which rotary table to purchase for my model O. Assuming no one wants to part with their genuine Hercus accessory.
Been shopping online . There a a couple of products at various prices with various accessories. Those in 6"(150mm) all seem to have height of around 80mm which is similar to the original Hercus dimension unless I am mistaken.
There is a HV6 (ex India and elsewhere) a brand called Vevor, and of course the Vertex (ex Taiwan), which seems to be mentioned in various forum threads.Q2 All seem to have bolt slots of 15 mm for mounting to mill table will this compromise rigidity as from memory the Hercus table slots are around 11-12 mm. Remember my novice status please.

Terry

Hi Terry,

I have the Vertex HV6 along with the dividing plates for it ! Apart from some mistakes in the dividing tables in the supplied manual, I'm very happy with mine. I don't have a Hercus mill but my mill does have 12 mm "T" slots. I don't see this as any problem at all, particularly if you make and use the guides that fit into the base in order to locate the RT in position on the mill table. It certainly makes it a lot easier to centre the table. The same with using it vertical. The table tailstock is also a very handy accessory particularly if you are going to cut some gears.

HTH.

Hi Terry

I will have a rotary table for sale soon when these get finished, in fact I will be selling a dividing head and rotary table, I want to sell them as a set as I have 2 rotary tables left and 1 spare dividing head, they won't be ready for a little while though, have to finish a few of the other projects as well.

Barom, thanks for the respónse. Tinkerer I will PM you for more info on timelines etc.

Appreciated.

Terry