New to me - Colchester Triumph

[Lewis_RX8]

Fabricated this hook to let me jack the lathe flush to the floor as it was sitting on bricks as can be seen so I could get a trolley jack under however for final lifting operation needs to come right down to slide on some steel and there is a recess in the cabinet for this hook to grab onto.

So was jack up remove brick then jack down remove wood from under jack and cabinet then finally jacking down to flush on the concrete.

Also hydraulics where needed to ram this bloody motor tray pivot bar really snug fit and after 60 years was even snugger so would have had arthritis by the time I was finished with the puller in the background so a nice steady porta power ram used again.



And some extra interesting bits of history here , First discovered the RAF base story is true that is where it was originally from as can see the broad arrow stamped with a number to the bottom right on thjelathe bed

Then some 1960s writing on the switch and contactor box detailing the order specifics in chalk maybe
not so easy to make out on photo but says about

440
WAR
OFFICE
MECHANIC
CLUTCH
SEVEN
INCH

and on the back is TWO SPEED and something else hard to make out
r

Love seeing it all coming together.
Silly I know but even after shipping perhaps 1/2 a million pallets I still take pride in a job going right.

Must be doing something right getting to that number anyway

Before you use it in anger, check the Trav-a-Dial is adjusted properly, so that when it says 10mm, it has moved 10mm. Even more so if you end up removing or disturbing it during the clean up. The wheel on it is like a tour de France bicycle tyre, such that its rolling circumference changes depending on what angle it is presented to the 'road'.

I didn't know this could be adjusted, thanks

 

[Sean64]

Did a quick vid to show the capto tooling and how easy it is to swap out.

Some over hang on your post ,

 

[Hood]

Some over hang on your post ,

Works well though, well as good as a Colchester can

 

[Lewis_RX8]

Was kept busy last night using our hydraulic porta power kit to its full ability lol , pushing off everything to get the lathe set back into the right position against the wall.

Porta power was ideal for the job copying the way I have seen machine movers move some genset skids , Holes drilled in the concrete to push against a bolt in and having the machine on some of my big bits of steel slicked with oil , Also jacked up onto more steel and some of the 2" bar stock that came with the lathe to roll it across

Here is it making its way back on the oiled steel a very back and forward push would have been a lot better off with two jacks to evenly do it rather than back and forth with one then using the same for lifting however was all we had.

Lifting up onto the steel and rollers then jacking the opposite site to push it along the rollers worked well video here aswell -

Filmed to @fizzy request to turn my phone the other way

The only problem with the rolling it was not the easiest to control so we overolled it and had to go back a bit so to the final adjustments we jacked it against a wall support and eased into final position

Jacking towards the wall pushing off the bolt

And lathe sorted in final position after a nights work of pushing , pulling and rolling , mug for scale

Hopefully will get to make something on it soon lol , Filter for VFD power to protect old motor is on order from RS but has been delayed a few times so need that before getting a temp power setup then will fully plumb in VFD and controls maybe try some programming.

Also after that need to level the lathe align the headstock and look into that more seen a few videos so sure that will be a fun learning curve.

 

[fizzy]

Great video. Even better now it's full screen Similar motion to a Tirfor. I used bolts in the floor and pulleys.
Can't wait to see it running. Take plenty more videos!

 

[Brad93]

You could of used rollers and bar for that

 

[Sean64]

Was kept busy last night using our hydraulic porta power kit to its full ability lol , pushing off everything to get the lathe set back into the right position against the wall.

Porta power was ideal for the job copying the way I have seen machine movers move some genset skids , Holes drilled in the concrete to push against a bolt in and having the machine on some of my big bits of steel slicked with oil , Also jacked up onto more steel and some of the 2" bar stock that came with the lathe to roll it across

Here is it making its way back on the oiled steel a very back and forward push would have been a lot better off with two jacks to evenly do it rather than back and forth with one then using the same for lifting however was all we had.

View attachment 318460

Lifting up onto the steel and rollers then jacking the opposite site to push it along the rollers worked well video here aswell -

Filmed to @fizzy request to turn my phone the other way


View attachment 318455View attachment 318456

The only problem with the rolling it was not the easiest to control so we overolled it and had to go back a bit so to the final adjustments we jacked it against a wall support and eased into final position

View attachment 318457

Jacking towards the wall pushing off the bolt

View attachment 318459

And lathe sorted in final position after a nights work of pushing , pulling and rolling , mug for scale

View attachment 318458


Hopefully will get to make something on it soon lol , Filter for VFD power to protect old motor is on order from RS but has been delayed a few times so need that before getting a temp power setup then will fully plumb in VFD and controls maybe try some programming.

Also after that need to level the lathe align the headstock and look into that more seen a few videos so sure that will be a fun learning curve.

They are great lathes ,hope you're not going to paint it ?

 

[James1979]

That is a nice porta pack. If it was a recent purchase do you have a link please?

 

[Lewis_RX8]

You could of used rollers and bar for that

Maybe but didnt really have enough bar and short rollers so just used what I had

They are great lathes ,hope you're not going to paint it ?

Hmmm not sure I wasn't planning on but after jet washing and stripping half the paint off and making it a few different colours now want to see if it looks out of place or not in garage. Not for now anyway do you like the "patina"

That is a nice porta pack. If it was a recent purchase do you have a link please?

bought it off ebay for quite cheap new not that long ago will find the link

 

[Pete.]

Lathes definitely benefit from a lick of paint (not the ways, obviously). If it looks tidy you're more likely to treat it tidy. Dirt doesn't cling to painted surfaces and it;s easy to spot things that aren't quite right.

 

[Lewis_RX8]

Here you go @James1979 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163871983184?hash=item2627880650:g:eZgAAOSwtC1dkbXq

But mines blue

 

[James1979]

Here you go @James1979 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163871983184?hash=item2627880650:g:eZgAAOSwtC1dkbXq
View attachment 318503

But mines blue

Spot on. Cheers.

 

[Lewis_RX8]

Cleaned up gap bed and did a little stoning a few dings in edges of it that seemed to be rubbing on the stone as high points did try to take them down but not sure how well that worked

Trying to get it back in and seemed to have a step of maybe half a micron when moving along but dosent seem to be staying parallel along the way as I slide up the dial goes further and further out

Also now dowels or any locating pins which seems weird would not think bolts would be able to keep it in position , ,,, also may be important that the original bolts where lost and these are replacements from ebay for the 4 bolts 2 bigger one in the bed vertical and two smaller horizontal that bolt in just under the ways.

Some weird alignment going on here gaps sticking out ?

Also not sure if this should have a machined surface sticking out like this will do some further investigation

 

[fizzy]

There are no locating pins or anything - not great.
I found mine was too rough to indicate off properly. No real adjustment either when the bolts are in the holes.
I just eyeballed it and did it by feel until the carriage moves smoothly.
It seems to have no impact on accuracy although I do tend to run the topslide sticking all the way out to avoid the gap - it is more than rigid enough!
I can easily turn to a few tenths so must be doing something right.

 

[fizzy]

I also had to buy 2 bolts - the longer ones. I think someone might have stripped the thread in the past and re tapped the holes as the bolts I had wouldn't grip.

 

[Munkul]

Are there any jacking bolts to butt the gap plug up to the ways good and hard? After that it's just a fingernail and a soft hammer...

EDIT: Ah I've just seen the bolt that butts it up in one side on one of those pics

There's a couple of locating dowels for the gap plug on my Harrison, but I highly doubt they'd be enough to seat it right every time.

 

[Lewis_RX8]

Made some chips yesterday , Really powerful machine for sure just playing around with some of the tools I already have , Think I might need to get some more inserts are find out what ones are actually for and their speeds feeds and finishes etc everyone makes it look so easy to get a mirror on youtube lol.

Bit of an issue with the headstock getting warm well I think it maybe an issue unless that's just how it works but was quite warm to the touch after an hour or so of turning.

Looks like someone has been in the head stock before me with sharpie marks and knocking the edges over on the nut

 

[Lewis_RX8]

There are no locating pins or anything - not great.
I found mine was too rough to indicate off properly. No real adjustment either when the bolts are in the holes.
I just eyeballed it and did it by feel until the carriage moves smoothly.
It seems to have no impact on accuracy although I do tend to run the topslide sticking all the way out to avoid the gap - it is more than rigid enough!
I can easily turn to a few tenths so must be doing something right.

From what I could work out by doing some brief turning the other night it seems to have a bit of a step where the apron goes over the gap piece so still need to sort.

Then headstock alignment and all quite a lot to do but just had to have a shot of it

 

[fizzy]

JB Cutting Tools

www.jbcuttingtools.com

This is what you need for a good finish on steel. With the shiny tips for aluminium.
Only for light cuts though. Run at about 600rpm. I had almost given up trying to get a good finish until I tried these. British as well and great service.

 

[Lewis_RX8]

JB Cutting Tools

www.jbcuttingtools.com

This is what you need for a good finish on steel. With the shiny tips for aluminium.
Only for light cuts though. Run at about 600rpm. I had almost given up trying to get a good finish until I tried these. British as well and great service.

Remember you mentioning them before great I'll have a look.