Thread: Things you have made for your Hercus

Hi Peter, I must have missed the thread about blackening as I am interested in getting some parts done can you tell me what date and what thread it was please ???

Brilliant job that is true craftsman work keep it going and do you have any plans made to make it ???

all the best Derek bitza500

Hi Bitza.

Grahame's article on parkerizing is here.Parkerizing instructions - Woodwork Forums

If you do a search on this forum re parkerizing, you will turn up a bit more info.

Wannabe, lovely job, obviously you also have a mill, unless you filed out the dove tails by hand etc. I didn't think so.

Well done, if only my lathe was finished! Grrrrrr......

Ken

Interesting bit of trivia,

Some time ago I made a knurling tool very similar to the one Wannabe made, and fitted it with straight knurling rollers.

I found to my surprise that if the whole assembly is rotated, say 15 degrees, a diamond knurl will result. A universal tool, one might say.

Just thought I'd chuck that in.

Wannabe, give it a try.

Ken

Thanks for posting that link Ken. I knew it was there somewhere. I'd tried oil blackening before but didn't want to do that on the QCTP because there are a lot of close tolerance parts in there and I was afraid if I got it red hot something was going to warp. Saw Grahame's post and decided to give it a try. Wasn't fussed in cutting up batteries so got the manganese dioxide from a pottery place. Finding the steel wool was harder. Very difficult finding that fine stuff now. I knew painters used to use it so tried Bunnings paint section and found it. Cooked it up in a small stainless steel container on the barby. Tends to look a little flat but a dose of WD40 gives it a nice gloss.

Yeah I've got a mill. Don't think I'd like to try filing those dovetails out by hand. Enough work doing them on the mill. They took ages to do and stressful too. One moment of indescretion and you've got to an interesting paper weight.

Derek. I draw up plans for everthing I do. I tend to change things as I go along but always start with some form of a plan. Anyone is welcome to any of them if I can get them into a compatible format that you can read. From memory I think the QCTP was about 10 sheets. It came about from two design I found on the internet plus AXA sizings plus things I changed to make it more functional. I made it AXA sizing so that if the toolpost didn't work out I could throw it, buy one but still use the holders I had made. That's called covering your ar.e

Don't have any straight knurls to try that one Ken. I made that knurler early in the piece. It's a bit rough around the edges but it serves the purpose. I've been tossing up whether to make up a dedicated one for the QCTP using one of the holder blanks.

Thanks mate I have seen some of the articles you have made they are most innovative and professional. in keeping with the spirit of your post I submit the tool with holder . I made the base from Aluminium, the plate from Corian plus other bits and pieces. The base follows the same taper and base to fit in the lathe where the toolholder fits and can be changed in a minute. The Dremel is variable speed and I use the black Dremel cut off disk and have cut both tool steel, ordinary steel and brass on the lathe with ease. The dremel holder is a manufactured extrusion used to hold the tail gates on trucks, it is ideal for this purpose.
Hope you like it Peter

If you haven't figured it out yet I've got loose with a camera out in the shed lately. While I was at it I took a pic of some of the other things I've made for the Hercus but forgot to include in the first one.

Taper turning attachment bed clamp fabricated from pieces of steel welded together and machined.
Middle: Thread stop. Got carried away with this one seeing if I could do some curvy thingies.
Right: My attempt at a Dremel tool holder. It's not clear in the pic but there's an internal thread which allows the Dremel nose to screw into it. Not a great success. Penpals version is a far better solution.

Well no laughing (I could have sworn I have already done this) it is something for my hercus so it falls in the category LOL
I made a spacer to support the retaining bolt for a mt3 collet holder. I know its no biggie soon though something better.

Originally Posted by Penpal

Thanks mate I have seen some of the articles you have made they are most innovative and professional. in keeping with the spirit of your post I submit the tool with holder . I made the base from Aluminium, the plate from Corian plus other bits and pieces. The base follows the same taper and base to fit in the lathe where the toolholder fits and can be changed in a minute. The Dremel is variable speed and I use the black Dremel cut off disk and have cut both tool steel, ordinary steel and brass on the lathe with ease. The dremel holder is a manufactured extrusion used to hold the tail gates on trucks, it is ideal for this purpose.
Hope you like it Peter

Nice work Peter

Hi Gene, I hope you own this panel shop as the amount of time you have spent on the old girl you must have some good workers who can do their job while you are playing Lathes

It is still brilliant and can only get better when you use it

all the best Derek bitza500

Hi Gene I asked awhile ago about what you used to clean up the lathe bed and all the bare metal parts that are so clean on your old girl
I am now ready to attack the bed with something and as you have found something that works very well Can you pleas share your secret as the bed is a bit awkward to use on the polisher as it is a bit heavy to hold

So what was your secret formula to get the lathe bed so clean ????????????????????

all the best Derek bitza500

Ill post the instructions in other thread that ken has started. I need a camera dammit.

Footz wanted to know about the magnetic pickup tool I'd made. Not sure where to post it so here's as good as anywhere. I use it on the Hercus.

I got the concept for this off the internet somewhere. It's rough and ready but you can see the general concept of how it works. This is version 1. I intend to make a couple more of them and refine the idea one day. Very useful tool. I'm lost when I misplace it.
The outer tube is a piece of something non magnetic. I used non annealed 3/8" copper pipe and soldered a copper plug in the end to seal one end off. The rest as you can see is a aluminium plunger with a steel end plug, a rare earth magnet magnetically sticks onto the steel endcap on the end of the plunger, a steel crossbar, spring and brass plumbing end cap. A rubber gromet (or in my case a spark plug lead boot) fits onto the tube. This stops the swarf dragging up the tube as the magnet is retracted up the tube. The magnet is 10mm x 3mm and very powerful. I got them at Jaycar but you can get them from a number of different sources.

Cheers Peter I see what you mean now looks handy I see thats another thing I have to make. I will start scrounging around in shed should have some of them bitz laying around.

Made this as my first threading project. 12-28 L/H thread capscrew for feed knob. Was missing when I got the machine.