Hercus 9C cross slide milling rig.
Hi Guys,
Second only post here I believe.
I have finally gotten around to properly overhauling my Hercus 9C.
Firstly the ways were very worn, which brought it to a head. That was solved by obtaining a exchange bed from Mal at AMH https://www.australianmetalworkinghobbyist.com/store for a very reasonable price.
The transport would have been a significant cost but luckily my son was travelling through Holbrook, and we organised an exchange on the spot.
Next problem was the wear on the cross slide, I have managed to purchase a very large piece of Turcite for a much cheaper than most of the prices I was quoted, I will only be using a small amount of this so I will be happy to sell the balance as pieces or one part when I have finished the job. Still waiting for two 3M suppliers to get back to me regarding the supply of 3M™ Scotch-Weld™ Epoxy Adhesive 1838 the correct Turcite epoxy is not obtainable in Australia, and apparently this is the next best thing. 3M say 1838 is available in Australia.
So my next issue was machining the saddle, I knew someone with a mill, but I didn't want to impose on his time with a long setup for the job. So I came up with a rig to hold the cross slide at exactly 45 degrees so it could be easily secured and leveled on the mill bed, (it can only be machined from one side BTW). This meant 6 thou could be taken off both the vees with one pass of a roughing end mill, and it came up perfect, ready for sand blasting and Turcite as soon as I get some epoxy.
Hercus 9 cross slide milling rig (3).jpg
Hercus 9 cross slide milling rig (2).jpgHercus 9 cross slide milling rig (4).jpgHercus 9 cross slide milling rig (1).jpg
As I will have no need for this rig again, it is now available for free to anyone who wishes to pick it up or arrange for pickup by someone else (Patterson lakes Vic 3197).
I have also spent months researching lead screw material availability, and found most stuff online leading a dead ends (no stock, 6 weeks delivery, very expensive). However, I have now secured all three screws from different sources, with the cheapest being the cross slide LH screw, so cheap I bought two! I have decided after lengthy research to use all Trapezoid screws and fit magnetic DRO's by the way.
Also for what it's worth I use a single phase squirrel cage motor for drive, virtually identical to the old 3 phase motor.
I will post further info as the job progresses.
I am interested to know if anyone knows of somebody making a replacement cross slide for the Hercus 9 with a flat or T slotted back end for mounting milling attachments etc.
Cheers
Tex
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