Colchester Bantam Mk1 1600

[Martin-Sy]

I have never understood hardening chuck keys - to me, I would rather wear out and remake twenty of them than make a single camlock cam or chuck pinion.

That's a fair point!
At the time, you could (and I did) get replacement cams from Colchesters as one had cracked through from the corner of the square hole.
In Jan 1986 they were £10.24 each + VAT at 15% !

Does anyone know if the cams part of the nose specification and hence the same from one manufacturers D1-3 to another?

Brace yourself

Steady yourself, surely

 

[RichardM]

Camlock ISO 702-2:2007 so I assume they are all made to that spec.

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/attachments/iso-702-2_2007cor-1_2009-pdf.119903/

 

[Dieselman 63]

I used my fixed steady once and my travelling steady hasn’t had an outing. I sold the taper turner. Be careful before you sink a whole load of money into things you may end up not needing.

Fortunately the scarcity of parts in NZ meant I was able to sell mine at no loss. Still have both steadies. Used the face plate for the first time last week in six years of ownership. You get the idea.

 

[Jafa]

Did you get the manual for it as your original post? That will be a big help. If not, shout as Bantam stuff is plentiful online.

I guess you know that camlock chucks should go on in the same position each time - there should be a mark on the spindle and one on the chuck/backplate so the same pin goes in the same hole each time.

Yes I got a manual from a link someone posted on here. I do know that chucks should go on the same way each time, but the 2 chucks that came with the machine don't have the mark on them. The mark is on the spindle nose though, so not sure why it's missing from the chucks?

 

[Jafa]

I think the only thing I will buy for it will be a fixed steady, if I can find one without a stratospheric price tag attached to it. Never used a travelling steady in all my years working in machine shops, or a taper turning attachment, and can't see that I'm going to at home either.

 

[Agroshield]

...not sure why it's missing from the chucks?

I do not think they come marked from the factory. The first time you fit the chuck to the machine, you tune the pins to the cams and that is the time you would mark the chuck so it always goes back that way.

I have bought second hand backplates and had to remove the existing mark on them and make a new one after fitting to my spindle.

 

[Jafa]

If I undo the 6 capscrews marked in green, to remove the screw-cutting gearbox, will the 2 capscrews marked in red still hold it together so the oil doesn't
pour out everywhere?

Edit. I don't know why the formatting is all wrong between the picture and the words?

 

[Dieselman 63]

If I undo the 6 capscrews marked in green, to remove the screw-cutting gearbox, will the 2 capscrews marked in red still hold it together so the oil doesn'tView attachment 423971
pour out everywhere?

Edit. I don't know why the formatting is all wrong between the picture and the words?

Why not just drain the oil out of the bung, it’s in the lower right of the box, around the corner.

And yes. The two dowels are threaded, best to make a threaded rod with a slide hammer, then it should come out easily.

 

[Jafa]

I'm going to drain the oil, but I also want to clean all around, under, and behind it. The whole machine if filthy, but I don't mind buying them like that, because it usually means they are cheap too as no one can be bothered cleaning them up. There is absolutely no wear on the slideways or bed, typical of a trade school machine ( where mine came from ). Just needs a bit of love.

Does anyone know where I can get a new Gamet sticker from? Mine is missing, you can see the sticker residue on the left hand side under the speed selection plate, just by the belt and drive gears cover

 

[Agroshield]

Does anyone know where I can get a new Gamet sticker from?

Find the best picture you can of one on the net, post it here, tell us the diameter and we can try to recreate it for you.

 

[Mark Davison]

 

[Mark Davison]

Here a pic of mine. I just drained the oil. Looking back i don't think I actually removed the gear box!, just cleaned it out in situ.

 

[Jafa]

The oil drain is very low, so how do you drain it without losing the oil all over the scarf tray? Not like you can put a hose on it out into a bucket or something. That's why I thought taking th whole thing off will be easier / cleaner, and then I can also clean the machine better too.

And that's the Gamet sticker I need. Any chance you could take a nice square-on closeup shot of it please? And maybe measure the diameter, and the edge and centre of the black part, then I can draw it up and get one printed.

 

[Dieselman 63]

The oil drain is very low, so how do you drain it without losing the oil all over the scarf tray? Not like you can put a hose on it out into a bucket or something. That's why I thought taking th whole thing off will be easier / cleaner, and then I can also clean the machine better too.

And that's the Gamet sticker I need. Any chance you could take a nice square-on closeup shot of it please? Then I can draw it up and get one printed.

I bought an old brass one from another, older Colchester lathe. Classier and nicer.

 

[Mark Davison]

The oil drain is very low, so how do you drain it without losing the oil all over the scarf tray? Not like you can put a hose on it out into a bucket or something. That's why I thought taking th whole thing off will be easier / cleaner, and then I can also clean the machine better too.

And that's the Gamet sticker I need. Any chance you could take a nice square-on closeup shot of it please? And maybe measure the diameter, and the edge and centre of the black part, then I can draw it up and get one printed.

The aluminium foil tray in the photo. Several fills and empties. And yes, some mopping up afterwards. I'll PM you ref the Gamet sticker.

 

[Dieselman 63]

The oil drain is very low, so how do you drain it without losing the oil all over the scarf tray? Not like you can put a hose on it out into a bucket or something. That's why I thought taking th whole thing off will be easier / cleaner, and then I can also clean the machine better too.

And that's the Gamet sticker I need. Any chance you could take a nice square-on closeup shot of it please? And maybe measure the diameter, and the edge and centre of the black part, then I can draw it up and get one printed.

Colchester Triumph 7 1/2" Lathe Spares

Colchester Lathe Spares - Triumph 7½" second hand spares. Used machines broken for spare parts

www.colchesterspares.com

I think they charged me like £5 which tbh is a bit of a rip BUT I couldn’t make one for that, and they look really nice all refinished. I moved it off the headstock and screwed it into the belt guard. I also bought an earlier cast aluminium belt guard, mine was plastic (and cracked).

Regarding the oil drain. Put something down like cat litter, rags, 3M absorbent pads, a plastic tray from the recycling, anything…

 

[Agroshield]

...they look really nice all refinished.

There are at least four versions of the Gamet 'badge'. Your one, with a yellow/green infill is an early one; Mark Davison's appears to be a cost-cutting modern one; two more below (the one with 'ears' is from a Chipmaster, the other is from a Bantam picture at lathes.co.uk. I found an auction picture of a Bantam with an 'eared' one in red and black.

 

[Mark Davison]

There are at least four versions of the Gamet 'badge'. Your one, with a yellow/green infill is an early one; Mark Davison's appears to be a cost-cutting modern one; two more below (the one with 'ears' is from a Chipmaster, the other is from a Bantam picture at lathes.co.uk. I found an auction picture of a Bantam with an 'eared' one in red and black.

View attachment 424277 View attachment 424278

I'd rather they cut the cost of the decal than the bearings!

 

[callum413]

Gave this a look today, been sitting for ages unloved.

First up I think I want to get the apron sorted and stored, so that means getting all the bits out, which really wasn't that hard at all now that I'm more familiar with the machine

Since I'm not using the apron starter (f-n-r) I've decided to cover up the holes with filler. No point having them there doing nothing getting full of dust.

And the big achievement for the night was getting all the components out of this little thing. The pin which secures the 'hook' on the front is actually held in place by means of the handle bar. Use soft jaws on the vice and grip the handle to turn it out (it's threaded) and then you will be able to knock the pin out. I'm glad I did because it was full of wood shavings, grease and swarf. The inside 'cup' bit where the wormwheel goes was a complete cesspit, I'm really pleased to have got the chance to get all that grease out of there. All the ball oilers are clogged with grease as I may have mentioned before. There's only one place grease should be used on this machine, and that's the motor.

This will need another coat, then I'll reassemble the lot.

Do you remember how you get the lower section (photo 3) out?

I've removed most of the components but the interlock bar is stopping the lower section from being removed. There is a cap on the main apron body but it seems it can only be pushed out from within, sort of a catch 22.

It's been a few years now so hopefully you see this or remember but this whole thread has been a gem of a resource for my almost finished rebuild

 

[Dieselman 63]

Do you remember how you get the lower section (photo 3) out?

I've removed most of the components but the interlock bar is stopping the lower section from being removed. There is a cap on the main apron body but it seems it can only be pushed out from within, sort of a catch 22.

It's been a few years now so hopefully you see this or remember but this whole thread has been a gem of a resource for my almost finished rebuild

View attachment 446316

You have to hit it with a wood chisel or something like an old power hacksaw blade made into a scraper. It’s a plug, it will come out but dried oil will hold it in.

Glad you like the thread, I made it so people could restore theirs easily as at the time there wasn’t much reference material out there.