My New Lathe.

Thanks for that, I have a list of manufacture dates and serial No that goes from 1939 but stops in 1982 unfortunately.
The S/N on this list starts at, No 30 stops at 18066.
 
My lathe is a bit unusual in Australia as it's not really a 260 but Southbend GS26-075 .As far as I can ascertain it was built from parts inventory and badged as a 260 since it was sold by Hercus here in Australia.
 
A 6" vise is overkill for a RF45 style mill. A 4" is more appropiate for that size mill & IMO 5" max. I have a 5" GMT vise on my PM45 & it's slightly too big. Not enough Y axis travel to make use of the 5" full capacity. Better to save your money rather than getting something too big & most importantly the weight. I take my vise of the table quite often, a 6" is still light enough for me to be carried by hand but I'm glad I have a 5". I also have a 4" vise as well. I prefer the 5" though.

But those GMT 6" Premium vises are pretty nice. I'd love to have one but don't need one on my current mill. But if you plan on upgrading to a full size knee mill in the future than the 6" will be perfect.


Here's what the 5" looks like on my mill.
Img_1921.jpg


I couldn't even complete this cut without my bellows & DRO scale getting in the way. Not enough Y travel & the 5" vise is not even maxed out.
Img_7597_zpscb8b5dd7.jpg


Here's what a 6" vise looks like on another PM45 (gt40's)
View attachment 253544
 
A 6" vise is overkill for a RF45 style mill. A 4" is more appropiate for that size mill & IMO 5" max. I have a 5" GMT vise on my PM45 & it's slightly too big. Not enough Y axis travel to make use of the 5" full capacity. Better to save your money rather than getting something too big & most importantly the weight. I take my vise of the table quite often, a 6" is still light enough for me to be carried by hand but I'm glad I have a 5". I also have a 4" vise as well. I prefer the 5" though.

But those GMT 6" Premium vises are pretty nice. I'd love to have one but don't need one on my current mill. But if you plan on upgrading to a full size knee mill in the future than the 6" will be perfect.


Here's what the 5" looks like on my mill.
Img_1921.jpg


I couldn't even complete this cut without my bellows & DRO scale getting in the way. Not enough Y travel & the 5" vise is not even maxed out.
Img_7597_zpscb8b5dd7.jpg


Here's what a 6" vise looks like on another PM45 (gt40's)
View attachment 253544
 
She looks to be in pretty fair condition. A Lucky find. I remember the name Hercus from my apprenticeship days. I grew up in Adelaide And did my apprenticeship at Lightburns only about 15 mins from the hercus factory. When i was looking for a lathe last year I was unable to find any Australian made machines, in the size range I wanted, that were in acceptable condition, so had to settle for a taiwanese model, still running it in but so far quite happy with it.

Lightburns that a name I haven't heard of for years, I remember their washing machines and cement mixer when I was a kid.

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&...N11MrEf9O_rrIyPJ_BU98Q&bvm=bv.149397726,d.cGw
 

People laughed at them , but they were so far ahead of their time no one understood. The washing machine was guaranteed to never rust. and it never did. it was made out of fibreglass and stainless steel. They made a huge range of products.
Was a great place to do an apprenticeship we had every kind of machine you could think of
 
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