Hercus 260

is the hoist the folding kind? They take up waaaay less room when not being used. Mine is the folding type. An engine hoist is handy when you need it but I use mine very seldom. And I've never pulled an engine with it! I bought it before I bought my mill and lathe.

It's hard to tell what the other lathes are but most schools buy pretty good stuff. The Hercus sure looks like a Clausing Atlas to me.
 
I did some research and apparently it’s an Australian clone of a SB 9.
Bidding is currently at $510. 3 days left.
I’m going to let it sit till close to end and come in with a larger bid.

The engine hoist is a fold up unit.


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I'd bet it goes for $1,100. Keep us posted even if you don't get it.

From my limited experience, you can expect a school lathe to have damage to the cross slide and compound from crashes. Also the 4j chuck will likely be pristine condition. Seriously, 15yo kids don't have the patience or the time in a 50 minute class to indicate in their work in a 4j. I know when I was learning it sometimes took so much time to get it right that there wasn't much time to work on turning. Usually how it worked out, most of the kids who would use the lathe would turn between centers when possible and use the 3j for everything else. When you were using the 3j you would look at the clock when it was getting close to making finishing cuts and if you couldn't finish you would put it away until the next class so you could get the final dimensions right on.

Of course sometimes you have to use a 4j and then it sort of makes sense why it takes a shop class student 3 months to make a simple project. 1/2 the time is spent indicating the work back in.

At any rate, if you get it, take the bed off the cabinet and probably the tailstock, saddle, chuck, gear cover and anything else you can get off easily and then have them lift it to put it into your truck.
 
I know nothing about that lathe, but an engine hoist is very useful if you plan on getting more machines or even just for moving what you have. I've used mine to move 2 mills and a lathe, and have even used it to change the motor mounts on my car. :)

I've got this one, but I think I paid about half that much for it a few years ago. It is worth watching Craigslist for a used one. They do take up space so are the kind of tool people buy for a job, trip over a bunch and then sell. You can unbolt the column from the base to make it more compact for storage. It is worth getting the 2 ton size, because that still gives you 500lbs at full extension, and it is nice to have that added reach.

AC Delco Engine Hoist
 
I have the Hercus AR. That's an older version of the SB9. They make good quality machines.
 
I hope it goes for less than $900 as I can get a SB 10K long bed for $1000 delivered to my door.
Admittedly I think this as a bit better machine, larger bore on this one.
Both school machines ironically.


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If you aren't in an industrial area it will be important to get as much tooling as possible with the lathe because pickings will be slim for parts in general. I don't see a steady for the Hercus and that would be kind of handy to have.

If it came down to it I'd rather have a lathe with minimum 3j, 4j, faceplate, dog driver and a steady over one that had a larger bore but didn't have the extras. A taper attachment can be a pretty good thing to get as well but not many lathes come with one from the factory. I don't know if every lathe comes with a steady but not everyone who uses a lathe needs one but everyone will need a 3j, 4j and a dog driver and most lathes don't come with them standard

That is one big live center on the wall in back and a huge keyless drill chuck. I'd be willing to bet they have more accessories for the lathe you are looking at than are pictured squirreled away somewhere. Schools usually get all the bells and whistles with the initial purchase and things end up "lost" in cabinets and closets. The school I learned at had the collet setup and the taper attachment in the "tool room" because they were rarely used and got in the way on the machines or in the cabinet on the floor. The mills even had rotary tables and indexing heads in the tool room that looked unused. I bet when they shut down the shop classes and sold that machinery those pieces were still in the tool room.
 
Dave, I assume you saw the Lathes.UK page on this lathe. It looks to be a Hercus 260 ATM. One option that caught my eye was that it could be had with a D1-4 camlock spindle. The one in your pics doesn't look like it, though.

Looks like a 4 jaw chuck and some faceplates underneath the lathe. The drill chuck looks like a Rohm keyless chuck.
 
mikey said:
Dave, I assume you saw the Lathes.UK page on this lathe. It looks to be a Hercus 260 ATM. One option that caught my eye was that it could be had with a D1-4 camlock spindle. The one in your pics doesn't look like it, though.

Looks like a 4 jaw chuck and some faceplates underneath the lathe. The drill chuck looks like a Rohm keyless chuck.
Click to expand...

Yes, I spent a bunch of time on lathes.co.uk today. Seems to be a quality machine.
If I’m the successful bidder I’ll make sure to get as much tooling as I can.


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