Thread: Things you have made for your Hercus

My A type hercus always had a sloppy feel to the tailstock screw shaft. I decided to have a better look.
A previous user had bent the end, machined it down and drilled new holes for the handwheel (not much left).
Knowing it would be impossible to get a replacement, I thought it might be more fun to fabricate the screw shaft from scratch.
Several hours of careful machining later, I managed to fit the thread into the tailstock end.
While slowly machining the acme thread, I also decided it would be an improvement to fit a thrust bearing inside the shaft.
To allow for the thrust bearing thickness (1/4"), the thread is reduced in travel, while still being able to eject the MT2 tools on full retraction. See pics.
All ready to assemble? Problem: No 7/16" thrust bearings exist in the country.
Thankfully the 1/2" FL type bearing would fit inside the housing tailstock (a couple left).
Used this, made a small brass bush to adapt, machined a brash washer for the outer and pinned handwheel with a 3mm rollpin.
All works fine, better for end drilling and no backlash at the expense of 1/4" travel.
All the best
Peter


See pics.