Thread: Old Metalwork Lathe Myford or Hercus

I'm not sure about Myford, but the Hercus were really good!

Hello Slunnie,

I started looking out for Myford lathes after watching a series of YouTube clips by Geoffrey Croker in New Zealand had a series of YouTube clip about his Myford Lathe Restoration - Part 1 Inspection & Teardown Accessed 13th July 2025 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtKutRzSf0U.

Geoffrey also has some in-depth videos of restoring Series Land Rovers and rebuilding a V8 Discovery 1.

Looking at the Myford lathe restoration caused me to remember the metal work lathes that I used in high school in NSW back in the late 1970s.

One of the lathes I found during my recent rudimentary search was a Hercus and the comment mentioned it being an ex-TAFE lathe. High school and TAFE are both pretty good proving grounds for equipment.

I just had a brain cell spark and I have remembered an earlier thread on old lathes in Australia - it was on the MLU (Maple Leaf Up forum) military vehicle restoration. More research is afoot!

Kind regards
Lionel

There are probably more books on using a Myford and articles on making accessories for them, especially in old Model Engineer magazines.

Another hobbyist lathe to look out for is a Colchester.

See also Lathe buying advice.

Myfords are often grossly over-priced for what they are when compared to similar lathes that have less “mystique”. Having said that, you can prize my ML7 from my cold dead hands.

A good worker can turn out respectable work on nearly anything. Pretty sure I learned on a Hercus back at TAFE 30 years ago.

Myford's were favoured by model engineers in the UK because so many castings & drawings existed to make accessories for them plus spares were readily available.
I think the other main, similar sized, rival was Boxford.

I now have a Hare & Forbes/Machinery House made in China lathe inherited from the Father-in-Law, it does everything I need.
Quick change gearbox (Myford you had to manually select & fit different gears from memory), multiple chucks, longish bed all it needs is a coolant system which I'll rig up one day.
I did fit a quick-change toolpost, the FIL had all his cutting tools with appropriate packing pieces and used the standard toolpost.

Keep an eye on MarketPlace as lathes come up from deceased estates regularly or people downsizing. There are often bargains and they include tools etc. you just need to be able to load & collect it !
A portable engine crane and a trailer help depending on the size of the lathe.


Colin

It's a very long time ago, but we had Hercus lathes at Tech School. Like Colin said about the Myford, the Hercus did not have a quick change gearbox, nor did it have a feed shaft, so longitudinal feed required engaging the lead screw, and cross feeds could only be performed by hand. The Hercus I believe is a made in Australia version of a South Bend lathe which was made in the USA. They were okay for school projects, but that is about it, in my opinion. At trade school (Swinburne Technical College) we had machines of a more industrial nature, such as Sheratons (also Australian made) and Colchesters.

Cheers,
Mick.

Originally Posted by Killer

It's a very long time ago, but we had Hercus lathes at Tech School. Like Colin said about the Myford, the Hercus did not have a quick change gearbox, nor did it have a feed shaft, so longitudinal feed required engaging the lead screw, and cross feeds could only be performed by hand. The Hercus I believe is a made in Australia version of a South Bend lathe which was made in the USA. They were okay for school projects, but that is about it, in my opinion. At trade school (Swinburne Technical College) we had machines of a more industrial nature, such as Sheratons (also Australian made) and Colchesters.

Cheers,
Mick.

Well, thanks an interesting point! What exactly is "better".

I came at it from a service life persepctive, in that a Hercus from 70 years ago it probably still as good as it was 70 years ago, but they are an old simple design. In terms of full function we also run a Japanese build Hafco with DRO, which does everything, but it wont be around in another 70 years and the reliability of the gearbox isn't there.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Well, thanks an interesting point! What exactly is "better".

I came at it from a service life persepctive, in that a Hercus from 70 years ago it probably still as good as it was 70 years ago, but they are an old simple design. In terms of full function we also run a Japanese build Hafco with DRO, which does everything, but it wont be around in another 70 years and the reliability of the gearbox isn't there.

Difficult to know what better is. I fully appreciate the fact that the older machines were built to a much higher standard that the modern offerings from the far east. It is forty eight years since I last stood in front of a Hercus lathe, so memory might be a bit hazy. I am pretty sure with the Hercus, you would be limited to High Speed Steel tools which are great until you start working with hard materials, or want to remove metal quickly. Grinding HSS tools also requires some knowledge of cutting and clearance angles etc. I do still use HSS tools, but only for specialised tooling like grooving or very small bores or for plastics.
If i was looking to buy a machine, I would be looking for an older machine, probably at least 12" swing, with a quick change feed gearbox and geared headstock.

Cheers,
Mick.