Thread: 15 Registered Hercus Owners

Hi all Hercus Fanatics, well we know have 15 Lathes registered
The oldest being mine the Tassie Devil VB316 1941
The newest being Beetle a C 15585
Plus 13 others mainly late 1950's to Early 1970's

Well I was thinking to myself that I was the only fanatic who is restoring a Hercus

Well 75% of the Registered Owners are either rebuilding or a full restoration

There is also quite a few owners chasing parts I cannot give names but if anybody knows were there is a busted or stripped or just dead Hercus please let us know as some of the parts are a bit of of strange missing part unless you get them plated like me

But anything anywhere parts or dead lathes
Not working as this would make it cheaper to purchase as so far I have 4 people chasing parts and I am not including myself as mine is all small stuff

So Please have a look around and let me know or post it on the site if the owners wants his details published ??

I have been offered 1 Hercus and 1 Sheraton for sale
the main problem is the price as I am nearly getting close to go and try and find another Hercus for Parts plus sell the other parts to owners to recoup my money but The Hercus was complete not a nice looking animal and a price tag of $1500 no chucks or 3 phase motor
The Sheraton the owner is going to give it to his 12 yearold son to restore Which is a really positive attitude for a 12 year old to get into such a project and good luck to him

So Please any spares or know of any lathes that are for stripping only

Start Digging as there has to be 15,000 lathes + made in the 9" so were are they ????

all the best Derek bitza500

Hi there,
I have another Hercus to add to the register.
I just picked it up today, its a model A and the serial number on the end of the bed is A6020 so according to the list it would have been made in 1957.
Its in pretty rough condition with a fair bit of wear to the bed and I haven't even got it out of the car to check everything else yet, had to go to work.
I bought it from an engine reconditioning place at salisbury that closed down and I got it for $400 + buyers premium + gst so $484.
It came with a lot of accesories like 3 & 4 jaw chucks, 3 faceplates, a set of collets and other junky bits and pieces I haven't looked at yet.
Anyway I haven't done much metal lathe work yet so I won't be able to offer much in the way of advice but I will be very greatfully reading the forum to pickup as much info from you all as I can.
Thanks for all the interesting input from everyone.
Ross

That's cheap. Especially if you got collets with it. You'd make a handsome profit wrecking it or you could just restore it. If you need someone to run an eyeball over it email (don't pm) me and we'll sort something out.

Thanks for the offer of help Damian, I'm not interested in profit or wrecking it. I bought it so I could use it, and it is quite usable the way it is. Maybe I will restore it one day, the main problem is the wear in the bed and its probably uneconomical to have it machined when I could find another unworn lathe for not much more than the cost of machining?

If your lucky.

If you can find a shop to grind it for about the $400 mark as discussed here that's still a cheap lathe.

Is the bed really that bad ? It amazes me these stories of "worn out" beds. maybe I've just never used a bad one, but all the hercus's I've run across were quite servicable.

If you want me to run an eyeball over it and give an opinion of condition/work to do let me know. It's a long drive though so it'd have to be arranged.

Bed wear is often overrated..Yes it can be a problem if you are making gear for the atomic energy agency but realistically it is often insignificant for general use....I saw a table someone once made up that had the drop of the sadle translated into actual size difference on the workpiece...Of course the larger the workpiece the less size difference you will get..But it was something like if the saddle dropped 0.005" it affected the size of the part by 0.00001"

We all want that as new machine but how many of us really need it...I am no different, I would love a like new 450X1500 Mazak/Macson/Nuttall/DSG/Mori Seiki/Hwacheon/Holbrook/Monarch etc etc but I really don't have the need for a like new machine and would much prefer to spend the money on another tool like a largish surface grinder...

OK so you decide to regrind the bed...That is the easy part...Now you have to machine the saddle and build it up to proper height with moglice or turcite or best of all metal spraying...Then you need to scrape to fit the saddle...then you need to sort out the cross slide as by now it probably is no longer square with the saddle..So we fix that...Oh that leadscrew is worn and the half nuts as well....better fix them and the spindle bearings are shot...New ones there...Now 12 months later you have an as new machine that you are scared to use as you might drop something on the bed and mark it...all the while the bloke with the old clunker has been happily turning away parts to perfectly acceptable tolerances for the last twelve months...

This is not to say don't rebuild the machine if you want to just firstly use it to see if it does everything you want it to do....If something comes along later that is in better condition for the right price, go get it and sell off the old one...

Edit: Just did some calculations...If you were machining a 12mm shaft and your saddle drops 0.2mm (which is a fair bit of bed wear) using the hypotenuse formula the square root of a square plus b square, your shaft is going to be become 0.0016mm larger or 1.6 microns...Also remember the cutting point does not ride directly over the worn way so in fact is the way is worn 0.2mm the cutter might only drop 0.1 or 0.015mm depending on the position of the cutting tool and how worn the other way is...

RC, Thats what I was thinking. I'm only doing hobby stuff, making the odd bush etc for old engines, nothing too precise so I'll just use it and enjoy it and you're right that if something better comes along ...
I have had an advance lathe for some time which is in really good condition and I will keep it in case the Hercus gives me any trouble, the only problem with the advance lathe is that its a bit light duty.

I've compensated for the extreme wear on my bed by putting shims (old feeler gauge) between the top and bottom of the tailstock. It has worked quite well for the small things I do on it close up to the chuck. Needless to say it would be out of alignment further back on the bed.

Hi, to all hercus owners.
If you want to add my lathe to the register, its a 260 CTM.
Sans, tail stock tool post holder, and change gears.
Rego No. CTM 17512, BS.
So I converted a Colchester tail stock, offsets OK, made a 4 tool , holder, OK, also made a fixed steady, ( lots of parrallelograms much welding and grinding ), had two chuck back plates machined up, I made them from mild steel, but the threads need re machineing.
Thats why I am looking for change gears ie, 50, 63/64, 48, to re thread 8TPI. 25, 33, 39, 42, 45, would also come in handy, I did get a number of other gears but they are for a 9 inch model, If any one can help great!!!, send me an email, johnhol at netspeed com au, or ring 0262862618.
Thanks John Holloway.

Hi
I would like to have my 9'' Hercus registered also. The model # is A8103, with matching tail stock (1962), I've had it for about 2 years. It is in reasonable condition. I have only had to give it a a bit of a tidy up and make a few minor adjustments. The paint appears original (dark greeny grey), still has a couple of Hercus transfers (just) and a McPhersons badge. I don't have a lot of spare time so I've only used it for making the odd bush or spacer. When I retire in a couple of years (hopefully ??) I'll be able to really get into it.
It has a quick change tool post, 3 jaw chuck and a few bits and pieces. I bought a chinese 4 jaw and fitted a backing plate to it. I don't have a face plate but would love to buy one??
This sub forum is a great idea.