Hercus Turret Attachment 260 lathe

[Abratool]

The Turret attachment fot the Hercus 260 Ive had for a long time.
Its done many repetitive drilling & tap ,threading jobs efficiently.
The problem has been its weight lifting it on & off :( (or I am getting weaker as age creeps on) & it takes time to remove the lathe tailstock & set it up on the slideways.
Now a different approach.
The Turret sits on the lathe bed & to put it into use the tailstock is simply lifted off vertically, without sliding it to the end of the bed to remove it.
I have swapped the clamp plate used with the 3 point steady, for the rectangular clamp plate under the tailsock.
Now its a simple matter of rotating the exchanged clamp plate, lifting off the tailstock, & presto :2tsup: Turret is ready to operate.
My lathe is the extended bed version & lends itself to this.
So here we go :U
regards
Bruce

[Bryan]

Good thinking, 99. Elegant solution. A question: What do you use the tailstock for? Can a turret not do everything a tailstock can?

[Anorak Bob]

A neat trick Bruce and one that I would never have thought of.:2tsup: The turret is heavy and I guess the reason why it resides in a box under the lathe. Do you find accessing the clamp bolt between the ways a pain in the neck? I imagine a socket on a long extension would resolve the problem.

BT

[Abratool]

A neat trick Bruce and one that I would never have thought of.:2tsup: The turret is heavy and I guess the reason why it resides in a box under the lathe. Do you find accessing the clamp bolt between the ways a pain in the neck? I imagine a socket on a long extension would resolve the problem.

BT
Bob
That was my original thought. However I found the simpest method was to preset the clamp by fitting it & sighting at the end of the lathe, & then making fine adjustments, by fingers, until the cam lever locking arm was correct.
Then I just leave it at that setting.:2tsup:
Spent this morning machining the cast iron clamping piece (under the tailstock) from the "As cast" condition as supplied by Hercus, to an acceptable accuracy including spot facing the underside for a better grip of the clamp screw.
Where does all this stop.:rolleyes:
regards
Bruce

[Anorak Bob]

Good thinking, 99. Elegant solution. A question: What do you use the tailstock for? Can a turret not do everything a tailstock can?


Bruce might be having his lunch so I will put in my two bob's worth. These comments are based on my minimal experience with the attachment.

Supporting a live or dead centre is not something the turret lends itself to. The turret will get in the way in a number of operations. In my case, having a rear tool post tends to congest the workspace particularly when a drill chuck needs to fit between both toolposts.

Drilling large diameter holes is easier via the tailstock. Whilst the lever looks effective there is not the geared advantage found in say a drill press meaning you have to really lean on the lever. A bit better than the effort required to drill a hole with an electic hand drill.

Still, they are a wonderful bit of kit just to play with.

Bruce will undoubtedly be able to extol the virtues of the attachment given his ownership and use of it to earn a livelihood, better than I.

BT

[Abratool]

Bob & Bryan
Correct, just having lunch.
Yes. spot on I agree, with all of the comments.
The tailstock is still the best for holding a centre for turning work, whether it be with the work held in a chuck, collet or between centres, & for larger hole drilling.
However for larger hole drilling & when more leverage is required, I unscrew the plastic knob on the Turret lever arm & slip over a piece of extended steel tube.
Seems to work very effectively :2tsup:
regards
Bruce

[Greg Q]

I got an extra tailstock with my lathe: a lever operated, but the ram is a special which only takes the unobtainium B24 collet. I was thinking about converting that one to a star-wheel operated tailstock as found optional on some variants of the Schaublin 102.

On edit, the photo is of a Schaublin 150, a true piece of carp that I'd store for anyone as an act of charity only.

[Anorak Bob]

Ah! The old pipe trick. Works well with spanners too! :D A lot of lathe manufacturers offered lever feed tailstocks as optional accessories. I would imagine that they are all limited in the maximum drilling capacity as a result of reduced leverage. Which is most likely the reason that some offered a rack and pinion set up.

BT heading up the shed to try out the Bruce Smith baseplate swap!

[Anorak Bob]

I got an extra tailstock with my lathe: a lever operated, but the ram is a special which only takes the unobtainium B24 collet. I was thinking about converting that one to a star-wheel operated tailstock as found optional on some variants of the Schaublin 102.

On edit, the photo is of a Schaublin 150, a true piece of carp that I'd store for anyone as an act of charity only.


Now, that IS a tailstock! :2tsup:

[Abratool]

Bob
I sent you an email this morning about a crotch centre, because of your desire for one recently.
Have a look. Thinking about it, they have mis- made the Vee in the crotch but I think I could set it up on the surface grinder & finish off if you are interested.
Bruce

[Anorak Bob]

I was hesitant to respond because I didn't want to be a burden Bruce. If you reckon it's not a problem then I'll raise my hand for one only No. 2 Morse.

I just spent the last hour fooling around with the turret. It's heading back into it's box. There just isn't enough room when the action is close to the chuck. How about some typical set up photos.

It has me stumped why Hercus didn't incline the turret to provide clearance. A drill bit will collide with the compound ball crank without too much trouble. Do you resort to short drills to enable uninterupted turret rotation?

BT

[Abratool]

Bob
Sorry to put you through the exercise.
You are right there is very little room, to swing a cat, once all things are in play.
I did juggle things by using shorter drills.
However in the little drive wheels mentioned previously, that I made hundreds off, I machined the OD provided a step for a 3/4" collet to hold onto, then parted off, using the stop on the turret for a dead length.
Set up again with the toolposts front & back removed, for second operation work, on the parted off pieces.
1 Set workpiece in collet to stop on turret.
2 centre drill
3 pilot drill
4 tapping drill
4 csk drill
5 tap
6 reverse component & csk other end
Very good for this type of work, however a dedicated Capstan or Turret lathe totally designed for this work has the longer movement in the turret ram & clearance.accordingly.
I saw a nice Capstan lathe sell on Ebay only 1/2 hr drive from my place about a year ago for all of $20 I should have grabbed it.
Not a big demand for this type of equipment, but they are still great to work, & can perform very well. They just sound like music, when put into full swing.It does take a little time to set them up.
I will persevere with mine for a while.
regards
Bruce
ps I will organise the crotches.

[Abratool]

Bob
Its 6.40pm here now & this afternoon was the first time we have seen the sun for a while, just been non stop rain
A few mins ago I was out using my favourite gardening tool a.... Chain Saw. Yes you can probably understand I am not a great gardener :no: The sound of the saw & the memory came back.
I can recall on some other jobs with the Turret instead of using drill chucks I shortened the whole set up somewhat by using machined 3/4" OD split bushes to hold the drills in the turret.
All of this is good if you have a reasonable run of the same components.
regards
Bruce

[Greg Q]

Whats going on with the photos? I just checked this thread to see that my Schaublin 150 photo has been replaced with something else. Also the smilies have a giant photo of a loupe i,age from another thread. Don't make me call Homeland Security!

[Anorak Bob]

Too much mescal Gregory. :no: The 150 is still in place!

[Bryan]

Whats going on with the photos? I just checked this thread to see that my Schaublin 150 photo has been replaced with something else. Also the smilies have a giant photo of a loupe i,age from another thread. Don't make me call Homeland Security!

All looks normal here Greg. Better give your iphone a high colonic.

[Greg Q]

I am actually using my ipad for this, and was last night Maybe you can look at my settings and advise?

I have:

Bluetooth. On
WiFi. On
Paranoid Delusion. High

Is that right?

Greg

[RayG]

I am actually using my ipad for this, and was last night Maybe you can look at my settings and advise?

I have:

Bluetooth. On
WiFi. On
Paranoid Delusion. High

Is that right?

Greg

I would reset Paranoid Delusion to "Grandiose Somatic" and recheck the url's :)

Seriously, try clearing the browser cache, maybe the cache has been corrupted?

If the problem is persistent, then it might be time for a lobotomy... (android?)

Regards
Ray

[Greg Q]

As Boo-Boo Bear famously said, "I don't know, Yogi"

I tried all those things Ray, now it wants to up my prescription. Do you reckon that's safe? I mean, a kilo of Prozac daily? ?

Seriously, I don't know what was going on yesterday, could have been the recent solar flares- but everythang is everythang today*

* as they say in the ghetto not far from where I hailed.

[Abratool]

I was hesitant to respond because I didn't want to be a burden Bruce. If you reckon it's not a problem then I'll raise my hand for one only No. 2 Morse.

I just spent the last hour fooling around with the turret. It's heading back into it's box. There just isn't enough room when the action is close to the chuck. How about some typical set up photos.

It has me stumped why Hercus didn't incline the turret to provide clearance. A drill bit will collide with the compound ball crank without too much trouble. Do you resort to short drills to enable uninterupted turret rotation?

BT
Bob
This morning I set the Turret up with six stations to make small tapped bushes.
The secret with this set up , so as to get sufficient clearance for stops, drills, taps, etc to rotate in the Turret & yet clear toolposts, is to have all of the tooling about the same distance out from the Turret head.
The stop, then the centre drill, extend out about 5 inches.
The centre drill is in its own mounting bar to achieve this.
So all of the 6 stations extend out about 5 to 6 inches.
With this set up there is sufficient clearance to index & get good results.
The operations are....
1 Stock is fed out to stop & is pushed back in to chuck with work lightly gripped, chuck is then tightened.
2 Centre drilled
3 Pilot hole drilled
4 Tapping hole drilled
5 Hole chamfered or Csk
6 Hole is tapped at slower speed with spiral grooved tap.
7 Lathe spindle reversed & tap backed out.
8 Work is parted off by rear toolpost, & at the same time burrs are removed each end of workpiece with a file as it spins.

The whole sequence of operations are very fast, & only lends itself for multiple operations, as set up takes a little time.
Headstock spindle speeds are also varied rapidly by, in my case an Inverter that an electrical friend set up for me.
I hope you & others find this of interest.
regards
Bruce

[Anorak Bob]

So all of the 6 stations extend out about 5 to 6 inches.

Bruce

Just short enough to avoid jamming against the hand lever pivot. I had to remove the gib on mine when a drill bit locked up against the pivot. Can't go foward, can't go back.:doh:

[Dave J]

I have just received plans for a tailstock turret from a member here. The position operates off a adjustable detent ball bearing, so if anyone wants a copy just send me your email address via pm.

Dave

[Abratool]

Just short enough to avoid jamming against the hand lever pivot. I had to remove the gib on mine when a drill bit locked up against the pivot. Can't go foward, can't go back.:doh:
Bob
I had a bunch of photos to go with my post, but for some glitch it would not go through.
I do not understand.:(
I can see why you packed your Turret away, it does get a bit frustrating.
However I was very happy with results today.
regards
Bruce

[Abratool]

Bob
Following your jam up, I just went & checked mine & even with an extended long 1/2" dia drill in the set up it still clears the lever mechanism of the Turret.
Maybe because of the slight difference in lathe centre height ie 260 lathe vs 9" lathe ?
regards
Bruce

[Abratool]

Bob
This morning I set the Turret up with six stations to make small tapped bushes.
The secret with this set up , so as to get sufficient clearance for stops, drills, taps, etc to rotate in the Turret & yet clear toolposts, is to have all of the tooling about the same distance out from the Turret head.
The stop, then the centre drill, extend out about 5 inches.
The centre drill is in its own mounting bar to achieve this.
So all of the 6 stations extend out about 5 to 6 inches.
With this set up there is sufficient clearance to index & get good results.
The operations are....
1 Stock is fed out to stop & is pushed back in to chuck with work lightly gripped, chuck is then tightened.
2 Centre drilled
3 Pilot hole drilled
4 Tapping hole drilled
5 Hole chamfered or Csk
6 Hole is tapped at slower speed with spiral grooved tap.
7 Lathe spindle reversed & tap backed out.
8 Work is parted off by rear toolpost, & at the same time burrs are removed each end of workpiece with a file as it spins.

The whole sequence of operations are very fast, & only lends itself for multiple operations, as set up takes a little time.
Headstock spindle speeds are also varied rapidly by, in my case an Inverter that an electrical friend set up for me.
I hope you & others find this of interest.
regards
Bruce
Here is a photo of the 6 station set up.
Bruce

[Anorak Bob]

Do you lock the turret with the Kipp handle for each operation Bruce?

I wonder why they replaced the cast iron ball ended handle with the German one. Pursuing modernity maybe.

BT

[Abratool]

Bob
I do not lock the Turret for each operation, as I have not found it to be needed.
Would prefer the other ball lock as I dont like the look of the "modern" ones.
regards
Bruce

[Anorak Bob]

I have just received plans for a tailstock turret from a member here. The position operates off a adjustable detent ball bearing, so if anyone wants a copy just send me your email address via pm.

Dave

Forget PM Dave


Given my frustration with the real thing I'd contemplate a tailstock mounted turret.

BT

[Dave J]

It's just been sent through Bob

Dave

[Anorak Bob]

Thank you Dave.

BT

[Dave J]

No problem Bob, I have always planned to have mine lever operated instead of the detent.
Here are a couple of others that I have found over the years
Projects In Metal, LLC » Blog Archive » New Project: Plans for a Lathe Tailstock Turret: (http://www.projectsinmetal.com/new_project_plans_for_a_lathe_tailstock_turret/)

Tailstock turret - mikesworkshop (http://mikesworkshop.weebly.com/tailstock-turret.html)

This one is a good right up and shows the lever lock.
Tailstock Turret (http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=10212.0)


Dave

[sgtfoxhound]

i bought a Turret attachment for my Hercus 260 approx 12 months ago, however when placing it on the machine the holes in the " rotating head " don't line up with the axis of the lathe , ( they are below centre ) just wondered how other people got on when they fitted theres as they come seperate to the machine when purchased

[Anorak Bob]

SFH,

My 9" turret was higher than the spindle axis. I removed some of the base of the turret to lower it. You may be able to pack yours up with a shim.

I had other alignment issues - http://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/turret-troubles-137714/

Bob.