....another proud Hercus Craftsman owner!

[JC80]

Attachment 328110Attachment 328110 Hi all, I recently picked up this Hercus Craftsman AU(1970). Unfortunately this purchase was done whilst moving house, so really haven't had a chance to get to know her intimately just yet....and nowhere to set her up. Along with the sale of our old house went my attached Workshop...so just waiting for a new place to pop up! The drive unit has been rear mounted(from a uni, so maybe it was classed as an OH&S issue with it accessible from the cabinet being so close to the Start switch......sore fingers etc????) Anyway, that will be first thing to rectify...second to the pretty yellow guard! Would just like to say it's awesome to see fellow Hercus enthusiasts with so much passion and knowledge which they are willing to share...great to see. As I said previously, realistically won't get a chance to spend too much time on the lathe in the near future...but will post updates when I get a chance. Cheers,
Jim, Perth

[JC80]

....sorry guys, forgot to add matching Serial Numbers throughout. AU 13309. I have been in contact with Mal from AMH, and he has these details . Cheers,
Jim

[Steamwhisperer]

Congratulations Jim, nice little unit.

Phil

[Hercus71]

At last I'm seeing one that looks most like mine! HI JIm, I'm a newbee here too.

[JC80]

....thanks guys, lots to learn! I'm itching to get her spinning! I have just picked up through my photos that the graduated collars on the Cross-slide and Compound are Metric graduations. I have ordered new Cross-slide and Compound Nuts(Imperial) from Mal, but will have to investigate this further when I get a chance. I do plan to do a complete strip down and rebuild in the future, so glad there is so much info posted on this site. Any chance of a photo of your Craftsman? Jim

[Ray39]

Hello Jim
Welcome to the Craftsmam Clan
It will be a surprise to quite a few on this Forumn, but I still have two of these lathes I started restoring around 5 years ago, how time flys, mustnt rush these jobs.

Well they are mostly assembled appart from repairing the back gear on one of them and painting the cabinets.

If you are interested in a few pictures I have pasted the title of my last thread below which I think starts in 2009, I was hoping to create a link but not that smart. I need help from one of our clever members, update I just discovered it worked.

I must get inspired to finish them, however got bogged down trying to program a VFD so I could run them on single phase, managed to convert the motor ok and even had it running but only at a fixed speed.

The Re-Birth of a Craftsman or two

Well must get back to it
Cheers
Ray

[JC80]

Hi Ray,

Lookin' good...nice work!! Thanks for the link. I totally understand long term projects...I have a few underway myself! At least there's no excuse for a perfect end result!

Jim

[JC80]

Hi all, I posted a while back after the purchase of a Hercus Craftsman.......I have been slack when it comes to posting photos, but I have attached a few showing the progress.

A bigger job than I thought, but after a heap of sanding, painting(phone calls to Mal) etc...it's getting there.

Every component has been fully stripped down and every felt/wick, bearing etc. replaced( bar the Headstock Bearings). Just the cabinet, drive unit, gear box plate to go.......

Once again, a big thanks to everyone who has submitted useful info on this site....has been a massive help!

[JC80]

.....I didn't mention that I discovered quite a few Metric components on the lathe( Compound/Cross slide screws, gearing in the Apron)....so although having matching numbers on Bed, Headstock, Gearbox, it was Metericised to some degree over its life.

[JC80]

......all reverted back to Imperial components now....and I'll stop hitting Submit before I've finished!

[rickw72]

Nice work! You're allowed keep your craftsman inside the house??!!

[JC80]

Cheers Rick,

Ha, I don't know how I get away with it sometimes!!!

You wouldn't believe what I have fabricated inside a house in the past either waiting for a shed to get built, or in between houses with no shed/workshop!

I must admit...all the components are in plastic tubs(under the kitchen table!) waiting to move to their new home in September(moving house). I just pieced them together for a quick photo!