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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
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    Perth WA
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    71
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    Default TAILSTOCK- by request.

    The idea of this post is to try and discourage a trio of hopeful replicators and therefore avoid the laborious task of measuring and drawing the following rough copy of a Hercus 3 1/2 inch centre height dividing head tailstock I made a couple of years ago.

    4E cast iron bar was used, 120mm dia x 75mm for the bracket and 80mm dia x 45mm for the body. I had Bohler Uddeholm partially cut through the bar for the bracket to facilitate my machining of the stepped back and the front cutaway. I can fit a maximum 6 inch diameter saw on the horizontal arbor of the Hercus mill which would not cut deep enough for some of the required cuts. My greatest problem was devising successful methods of securely positioning the work piece for each milling operation. I devised a lot of unsuccessful setups.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Perth WA
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    Default

    More discouragement.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Heidelberg, Victoria
    Age
    79
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    2,074

    Default

    Hi AB,

    I'm not discouraged yet, what's next? Your machining finesse is only exceeded by your literary and photographic skills.

    It's great to see a bloke who is willing to have a go. Well done, where's mine?
    Just love that "Hercus green", and do you have designs for the Hercus dividing head. Gotta get one of those.

    Ken

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Perth WA
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    Default

    You trying to butter me up Kenneth?

    The dividing head is different story. I procured a head casting from Hercus when they where ridding themselves of all the remaining No.O mill spare parts. That was about 4 years ago. I made up the remainder of the parts required to complete the head ( excluding the worm and worm wheel and, very fortunately, the three division plates ).

    BT

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Athelstone, SA 5076
    Posts
    4,255

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by neksmerj View Post
    Well done, where's mine?

    go to the end of the line Ken...i asked first

    He has'nt talked me out of it yet either...but I do think it might e easier if Bob made it for me

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    9,088

    Default

    Nice pictures Bob, you've already cost me money. When I cleaned my rotary table I put it back together with a "not so good" thrust bearing on the worm gear shaft, thinking that it wouldn't matter as long as I turned the table the right way the thrust would be on the other bearing. I didn't think about machining while the table wasn't locked. (I had been planning on replacing the bearing "one day")

    I'd been thinking of fabracating one from plate, maybe you chould scare me off with the price of the cast blanks. Although I still enjoyed looking at the pictures.

    Thanks

    Stuart

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Lower Lakes SA
    Age
    58
    Posts
    2,607

    Default

    Thanks for taking the time Bob. I'm interested in making a tailstock too, but I think it will be much simpler than yours.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Perth WA
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    Default

    "I'd been thinking of fabracating one from plate, maybe you chould scare me off with the price of the cast blanks. Although I still enjoyed looking at the pictures.

    Thanks

    Stuart "


    Stuart ,

    Are you talking about the plane or the little tailstock? The tailstock was machined from bar not castings. The two pieces of bar might have cost me about $50 in total.

    BT

  9. #9
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    Jul 2010
    Location
    Melbourne
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    Default

    Hi Bob,
    Sorry I meant cast not casting. I must say I was expecting the pieces to cost much more than about $50. That doesn't even scare me away and I'm tight! lol

    I'll have to scale mine up a bit as I need 6 1/6 inches. I wonder if yours with a 3inch block would be any less useful than a scaled up one?

    Stuart

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Athelstone, SA 5076
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    4,255

    Default

    is cast the best way to go..or would fabricating one from steel be better?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Perth WA
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    Bear in mind boys, my tailstock is convoluted be cause the original was.

    The Hercus mill table is narrow with only a pair of tee slots ( on the old model ). The offset design suits the tee slot position. Accurate alignment is facilitated by means of a tee slot locating tongue in the underside of the base of both the head and tailstock.

    I chose cast iron because it matched the original and because it is a pleasure to machine ( as long as you can cope with black filthy hands! ). I will draw the thing up then you lot can expand, contract, swell and deflate, or elongate it to your heart's content.

    BT
    Last edited by Anorak Bob; 24th Mar 2011 at 03:42 PM. Reason: poor spelling

  12. #12
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    Jul 2010
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    Melbourne
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    Quote Originally Posted by eskimo View Post
    is cast the best way to go..or would fabricating one from steel be better?
    I believe size for size cast will be more rigid than fabricated. But give Bobs last post, maybe making one up from plate wouldn't the so bad. Although there would be a lot of welding involved and it would be nice to normalize it after welding.

    Stuart

  13. #13
    Dave J Guest

    Default

    Fabricated would work as well, the thing with cast iron is it dampens vibration better.
    For a tail stock I am not sure if it would matter.

    Stuart,
    You can always use you lathe tail stock on a riser block with your rotary table. It will be more useful than a commercial bought one because it has a MT3 taper where the bought one just has a strait shaft.

    Dave

  14. #14
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    Jul 2010
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    Melbourne
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave J View Post
    Stuart,
    You can always use you lathe tail stock on a riser block with your rotary table. It will be more useful than a commercial bought one because it has a MT3 taper where the bought one just has a strait shaft.

    Dave
    I was just on my way out to measure that. lol
    Stuart

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    Default

    Am I seeing this starting to veer away from the need for drawings?

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