Thread: 24 Hercus Owners and still looking

Hi John, I do have a few odd parts as well
I tried to buy a lathe for within the forum owners as 75% are restoring and Dave has 1 for $660 less all the end gears and is a model c no gearbox
But it fell flat as even though people want parts they do not want to commit as I was going to get deposits buy the lathe strip it down itemize all the parts then work out value and posting
as half are missing parts and this serial 12,000+ ex school would have been a bonus as it has the factory cabinet a 4 jaw chuck motor and back motor pulley assembly plus the headstock which is worth over $660 if you paid out on eBay
And I do all the dirty work and posted or delivered if close to me

Dave is the only person in Victoria with a suitable donor lathe for stripping
as try and buy a cabinet
last year
cost on eBay went over the $150 mark as that was my limit
I am not in it to make a profit I am in it as I live the closest 7klms away and can get there in 10 minutes

Work out your list and send me a pm email with your list and I can go and see if he has what you want that goes to all owners
I am disabled I need something to do and supplying needed parts was one of my ideas
I have worked out roughly the cabinet is worth $150
The lathe bed $150 the motor $100 the headstock less back gear as it has none $150and they may drop if I get enough owners willing to part with money the tailstock $100
That is $600 already and still have the complete carriage and side apron plus the safety guards I think
I will wait again as I am broke and cannot afford to buy it by myself
if I got no response and found the money i would sell on eBay as the owners bar 1 have not replied

So get up your list send it to me at [email protected]
and I can go and see if either he or me has parts

All the best Derek bitza500

Hello Derek,

I have a couple of lathes that you can add to your list, a 1959 dark grey Model A (serial no. 7085) and a 1969 green ARL (serial no. 12507).

The '59 A is a bit of a mongrel. I had bought another A previously, only to discover that the headstock bearings were knackered. The condition of this machine was typical of a number of those used throughout high schools, the ways near the chuck were covered in dents and gouges and the compound slide had been severely bitten a number of times by the chuck. The sort of thing that I would have done in third year metalwork, back in 1967. I have this lathe dismantled and covered in grease. It’s in a tin box buried under too much junk in the back shed. It’s my supply of spare parts. Perth is a long way from anywhere.

I found the ’59 A at another dealer but it had no tailstock. This lathe had come from TAFE and was in pretty good nick. The headstock spindle and bearing surfaces looked nearly as good as new. The bullgear had one tooth missing which I had repaired. The centerline of the tailstock off the first lathe, was a couple of thou lower than the 59’s headstock centerline. I corrected this with brass shim as per Charlie Lear’s technique, the owner of the white AR featured in Tony Griffith’s lathes.co.uk website. Charlie’s dissection of the apron also proved invaluable. I have owned this machine for about 5 years.

Three years ago I purchased the ARL. I bought this from a dealer who acquired it, along with a few other machines from the wife of the original owner who had moved into a nursing home. This bloke was a Queen’s Counsel which didn’t stop him from using the lathe to turn wood. It was covered in a caked on mixture of oil and sawdust. Nothing I tried would remove this until I found some stuff called Goof Off. It’s made by Plasti-Kote and sold by Bunnings. It is extremely nasty (95% Zylene) and would most probably kill you if you were not wearing a suitable respirator, given the amount needed to clean this mess off. Leave it on too long and the paint softens.

The sawdust was even inside the headstock oilers. I dismantled everything (except the gearbox because I’m lazy) and removed all traces of the all invasive sawdust. I removed the spindle bearings only to be told to put them back in by Statewide Bearings because they were OK and that I’d be looking at $600 plus for a new set air bagged from Ohio.

Other than some corrosion on the ways, the machine shows very few signs of wear. There is a fair amount of chipped paint on the saddle and both the swarf tray and base cabinets have patches of rust.

When I picked the lathe up from the dealer, located within the base cabinet, was a brand new, still in the box, Burnerd 6” four jaw chuck, the fixed and traveling steadies, micrometer saddle stop, face and catch plates and… a never used, complete set of metric change gears.

When I’m feeling adventurous enough to brave the redbacks down in the back shed, I’ll fish out the serial number of the other Model A.

Regards Bob

Hi Bob. Welcome to the Hercus Sub Forum which now boast with your 3 Lathes
( you must be a Fanatical Hercus owner or mad) we have now gotten to the grand total of 32 Lathes ( this includes the your third lathe in bits )
What is your story are you a Backyard Hobby lathe owner or do you use them for work as 3 Hercus lathes

Would you mind giving me and the others owners a insight why 1 man has 3 lathes ??
and what do you do with them as I had 2 but 1 was dismantled which I was going to sell as bits but sold it to my Mate and I still have it in My garage anyway

Are there many place in WA were you can buy Secondhand parts for the Hercus ??

as over this side of OZ it is slim pickings and I tried to buy one to strip and sell so the others could buy parts at a reasonable price as 75% are being restored a few are old junkers wanting parts plus even me I am chasing parts for mine and my mates

So please let us Know if there is a Lathe wrecker in WA and well to now the Hercus Owners Register with Numbers 30, 31, and 32

I am glad that I did not waste my time asking the BIG FELLA UPSTAIRS for a Subforum as with now 32 Registered Hercus lathes in only 3 Months is a quite a achivement
So Bob anytime you need a question answered or have a problem just email and the Grey matter of these Fanatical Hercus Owners will be more and glad to be of assistance

All the best Derek bitza500

Hello Derek,

Thankyou for your welcome. The lathes are a hobby, an all consuming one at that.

Hercus lathes do appear at a couple of used machinery dealers from time to time and the condition varies considerably. Fiora Machinery had an ex University of WA Science Department 9” lathe for sale a couple of years ago. It was in extremely good condition having been carefully used and maintained. I think they were asking about $2000 for it which I thought was good value. On the other hand they have other Hercus lathes with an asking price as low as $800. I bought my first lathe from them for $1100.

There is no one selling a supply of used parts over here. Given that my ARL was manufactured in 1969, it shares some common parts with the 260. The boring table, the extended cross slide, the milling attachment, taper turning attachment all fit both machines. Some of these parts are still available from Hercus.

I guess no one needs 3 lathes. Excluding my first purchase, having two lathes is real handy. The old bloke who previously owned the ARL had belted both ends of the spindle with a hammer while removing it to replace the bull gear. Having another lathe enabled me to repair the damage.

The A produces work with a taper when working close to the chuck due to the wear in the ways. For a lot of work this is not a great concern. Maybe .002 in an inch of travel. There is no taper in work turned on the ARL. I tend to use the A more than the ARL. I want to preserve the accuracy of the ARL for when it’s required.

Have a Great Christmas
Best Regards
Bob