Colchester student lathe

[dab4318]

Yes and I almost made a mistake of getting one from Aberdeen Uni where I got the Mk1.5 from. Was waiting for the 1800's to come up but they went for stupid money and I had talked to the guy that had been in charge of the machine shop and he said he wouldn't touch them with a barge pole and said the Mk1.5 was ten times the machine that the 1800's were.
Having said that I have never used one either but I do have a Triumph 2000 and it something that does a reasonable job but if I hadn't bypassed the headstock gearing I would be totally deaf by now and from what I have heard they were almost all the same.

Whats the MK1.5 like in the two top gears? That's the only thing that lets mine down. Very loud but I was told they all were.

 

[Hood]

Mine was fine, don't have it now, had to sell that and the Bridgeport CNC to make room for the Chiron FZ12S.
Now when I say fine it was noisy in as much as it was just the same as the lower gears were but louder because it was faster but compared to the noise my Triumph 2000 makes it was silent
The Triumph I have is that bad that the first week I had it I had a splitting headache every night and that was using with ear defenders on, if I hadn't managed to bypass the headstock gears it would have been melted down long ago.

If the Student had been a bigger lathe it would have been kept and the Triumph 2000 junked but it was just too small for my needs.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Any of these the ones you need?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Colcheste...919008?hash=item2389a183e0:g:8y0AAOSweARZcmCM

 

[God mode restorations]

Any of these the ones you need?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Colcheste...919008?hash=item2389a183e0:g:8y0AAOSweARZcmCM

I have those in my watch list to...am going to Colchester lathes tomorrow as they have a complete spindle with all the gears and bearings. Will have a look to see what condition they in. Hopefully might be able to make good

 

[Pete.]

I would not spend another bean on that machine, unless it was for a replacement headstock. It looks like one of the set screws has been torn out sideways by someone drifting the spindle with the gears still locked to it. Might be why the bearings are shot.

Fixing it with new spares will cost more than a whole lathe and there still might be damage you're unaware of yet.

 

[God mode restorations]

I would not spend another bean on that machine, unless it was for a replacement headstock. It looks like one of the set screws has been torn out sideways by someone drifting the spindle with the gears still locked to it. Might be why the bearings are shot.

Fixing it with new spares will cost more than a whole lathe and there still might be damage you're unaware of yet.

What picture is that in Pete. Have you spotted something I haven't

 

[Wendelspanswick]

The problem is anything from the scrappers are likely to be as bad as what he's got. Personally i'd never pay a penny for a colchester, extremely overrated machines, and i have one (free from the job to take away). I would also never pay big money for spares for one either, good money after bad, if this machine was mine, i'd have one eye on scrap prices.

My first lathe was a ancient Drummond, I paid £40 for it, it earnt me well over £1000 and I sold it on for about £70 from memory.
I then bought a Colchester Student Mk 1.5 at auction that I paid around £260 for.
I've had it about 20 years and as well as producing stuff for my own projects I guess it's earned me well over £4000 and my main trade hasn't been metalwork for at least 15 years.
I could sell the Colchester tomorrow for around £600 and in that time all I've ever done is cleaned the swarf off of it and oiled the ways.
Why get hung up on the badge on a piece of machinery, if it's reliable and can produce work of a suffienct quality to meet the customers demand in a quick timeframe then you've got nothing to complain about.
A poor lathe is better than no lathe at all.

 

[Pete.]

What picture is that in Pete. Have you spotted something I haven't

The last pic on post 169

 

[God mode restorations]

The last pic on post 169

that pic Pete.

 

[God mode restorations]

Headstock stripped and all internals removed. Despite the spindle bearings and a cog that's naffed everything else is in good shape . Cog wise anyway.

 

[God mode restorations]

A silly question guys. But how do you remove the little studs that hold the brass plate on front of the headstock..

 

[Hood]

By destroying them I would think.
The will be hammered in using a concave punch so that the head keeps its form but the depth of hole they are put into will be slightly less than the rivet length so the rivet shaft expands and grips, so only way likely would be to drill them out.

 

[God mode restorations]

By destroying them I would think.
The will be hammered in using a concave punch so that the head keeps its form but the depth of hole they are put into will be slightly less than the rivet length so the rivet shaft expands and grips, so only way likely would be to drill them out.

Ok cool.thats what I was Thinking but sometimes the simplest looking bits to remove end up being a right nightmare. Are these rivets available or a modern day equivalent.

 

[Hood]

Yes, should be readily available or you could turn some up
Also get hammer in type like these.
http://www.fastenerdata.co.uk/fasteners/screws/self-tapping-screw/hammer-drive.html

Edit pdg is faster than me

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I'd bet the originals are twist too.

Can remove by using a wood chisel to get a bit of loosening, then twist out with pliers.

Usually able to be reused too.

Coincidentally. I've got a plate on the S&B held on by the same. I'll give that a try. Was just gonna mask up and paint rather than drill em out.

 

[Maker]

I'd bet the originals are twist too.

They are. Well, the ones on the Chipmaster are. I took them out exactly as you described; tap a cheap wood chisel under the edge and pinch it in a pair of pliers. You could reuse them but the pliers chew them up a bit so I'd just replace them.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Sort of original. Guessing the original plate was changed for its refurbishment plate when it went home to the factory. Never did call to find out more info on my machine. A job for a rainy day.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Try slitting with a dremel cut off wheel and a few knocks with an impact driver. If you're lucky they will unscrew out. That's how I got mine out anyway, took a lot of patience and care though, too deep and you risk cracking the head of the bolt

 

[Pete.]

Twist rivets come out easily. Just get a thin blade under the edge of the plate and give it a little twist or lever. Once the rivet is lifted slightly press the plate back down and lever under the rivet head.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Twist rivets come out easily. Just get a thin blade under the edge of the plate and give it a little twist or lever. Once the rivet is lifted slightly press the plate back down and lever under the rivet head.

You can damage the plaque that way if you're not very careful. I've had stubborn ones give out when the hole is too close to the corner.