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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Bremer valley, QLD
    Age
    41
    Posts
    10

    Default New Hercus AR owner

    Well, it finally happened.. after many years of woodworking, cad design and 3d printing, the only major medium left that I was interested in working with, was metal.

    I picked a Hercus AR up this week and have now started the process of disassembling her to get it down a steep slope into the new workshop. Moving it in one piece would be very difficult.

    Having never really used a metal lathe before, I am burying myself in as many books and reference materials as I can. I won't be making anything too complex, but threading is something I'll be practicing for hours.

    The only damage I can see on the machine so far is the gear cover (small crack) and the back gear and bull gear have some missing teeth.
    "That's impossible. Nobody can give more than 100%. By definition that is the most anyone can give"

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    102

    Default

    Congrats! When I first got my Hercus I was in the same boat, no experience and nobody to teach me.

    YouTube has been my teacher and resources like this forum and the 'textbook of turning'.

    There are people on this forum who know these machines inside out, you can't go wrong!

    As you probably already know this machine is a very faithful clone of the Southbend 9", so often the answers you seek will be in Southbend forums and videos.

    Cheers,
    Ratters

    Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    64
    Posts
    221

    Default

    Congratulations indeed, a fine piece of Aussie engineering there. Would you believe I have three...the oldest, 1943, still produces good work.
    Agree that YouTube has some very helpful material, and the Hercus Textbook of Turning is a gem (or, the Southbend equivalent, How to Run a Lathe).
    Regarding parts and info go to Mal at https://www.australianmetalworkinghobbyist.com/store/
    And, just ask on this forum, plenty of Hercus 9 owners here.
    Cheers, Tony

    Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Bremer valley, QLD
    Age
    41
    Posts
    10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Silversprings View Post
    Congratulations indeed, a fine piece of Aussie engineering there. Would you believe I have three...the oldest, 1943, still produces good work.
    Agree that YouTube has some very helpful material, and the Hercus Textbook of Turning is a gem (or, the Southbend equivalent, How to Run a Lathe).
    Regarding parts and info go to Mal at https://www.australianmetalworkinghobbyist.com/store/
    And, just ask on this forum, plenty of Hercus 9 owners here.
    Cheers, Tony

    Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk
    I've started scoping for the parts to get her back to perfect condition on that same site!

    I'm going to strip it right down first to make sure there's nothing else amiss and do it all in one go.

    Sent from my CPH1979 using Tapatalk
    "That's impossible. Nobody can give more than 100%. By definition that is the most anyone can give"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay North Qld
    Posts
    6,446

    Default

    Hi eisbaer,

    Welcome to the MetalWork forums.

    There are a great bunch of folks here and even some who have all sorts of knowledge and skills of metalwork.

    Directions on how to find the specific forum of interest to you are found below'

    Goto : the FORUM box in the top left hand cnr of the page and click the down arrow. This will bring up a pull down menu that has Forum Home at the top.

    Then click Forum Home which will present a scroll down page.

    Our rules,the Terms of Service are right at the top of the page,please read them.

    Below that are all the various areas and sub forums that make up our MetalWork forums .

    Welcome again

    Grahame

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Bremer valley, QLD
    Age
    41
    Posts
    10

    Default

    Well it took a while, but I finally got the bench stripped and repainted, and the lathe onto said bench: no easy task given my shed is down a severe slope from the house.

    I've purchased a new bull gear and back gear which I will install as soon as I can work out removal of the spindle. Fortunately, everything else seems really good on is machine. The ways have almost no wear at all, everything moves very smoothly. I just need to check for runout but I'm hoping it will be close.

    For now, I am working out the best placement of the machine on the bench. Given my experience is with wood tools, I'm conscious that I probably don't need the lathe quite so far forwards so I'm just moving it slightly and then handling everything to see if it's comfortable.

    Slowly getting there with this machine..one day I will even learn how to use it!

    Motor is still removed until I've finished the spindle and back gear removal and those gears sorted out. I'll likely replace the belts at the same time, and I'm open to suggestions for which belts I should be looking at.

    Sent from my CPH1979 using Tapatalk
    "That's impossible. Nobody can give more than 100%. By definition that is the most anyone can give"

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
    Posts
    6,439

    Default

    Hi Eisbaer,

    That table stand looks very good ! But there is an awfully large amount of lost space under there. I would be inclined to put a shelf across or even turn it into a full cabinet ! But some bracing would be good !
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Bremer valley, QLD
    Age
    41
    Posts
    10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BaronJ View Post
    Hi Eisbaer,

    That table stand looks very good ! But there is an awfully large amount of lost space under there. I would be inclined to put a shelf across or even turn it into a full cabinet ! But some bracing would be good !
    Oh that's absolutely on the cards..I need to get some metal or timber and I'm going to place it across the supports. I may even eventually build extra shelves but I'm not a welder so I'll need to drill and tap into the legs for some kind of shelf support higher up.

    I've planned for doors as well just to keep debris out of there, and a thin sheet across the back to keep that sealed up too, and I'll do the same on the sides.

    Before I do any of that I want to see how stable it all is. There was a cross piece at the back which the original owner had cut off, and I'm concerned it may need something there to stabilise it somewhat.

    Sent from my CPH1979 using Tapatalk
    "That's impossible. Nobody can give more than 100%. By definition that is the most anyone can give"

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
    Posts
    6,439

    Default

    Hi Eisbaer,

    Thanks for your reply ! I'm not a welder either, though I have done some. Whilst using steel is an advantage over wood, there is no reason not to use it if you are more comfortable with it. Plus bolting or screwing does have certain favourable attributes, particularly if you want to add/remove or change something.

    Whilst my lathe is on a manufacturers steel stand, my work bench is all timber ! I deliberately built it "Torsion" style. Its 4 foot wide and 7 foot long. Both sides have cabinet space underneath. I made a 28 drawer cabinet, seven drawers high in four rows that fits under one side. Makes finding and storing stuff much easier. There is also a 3" inch space under the top down one side that I tend to use to keep stock material in.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

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