Colchester student lathe I was given

[@GenericAnimeBoy]

Plot twist: This Old Tony accidentally sent his lathe back in time 100 years and it wound up here.

[@frogandspanner]

In 1995 I rescued my 1966 Norton 650SS from dad's shed. I had owned it since 1971. I thought I'd brush off the cobwebs and get the engine working. This led to that, and that led to a full museum restoration in time for the 1998 Norton Centenary Run. I still have it in perfect condition, ready to hand on. So, let it be so with your machine, and go into this as a full restoration, and leave a piece of British history to your kids and grandkids.

[@Snap-on-matt]

I would love to do that but I fear I won’t finish it for years and I’m always in need of a much bigger lathe than the one I use. I’ll have to see how I go with it. Thank you for the comment and the Norton sounds lovely!

[@Rustinox]

I think you have a very nice project here. It's very easy to find on line all the information you need to turn it in to a gem.

[@Snap-on-matt]

Thank you, Main thing is freeing it all off I’m just waiting for diesel soak in and hopefully free the parts off I need to.

[@ogaugeclockwork4407]

Great score!

[@charleskutrufis9612]

Wire brushes and Evapo - Rust. You have a very nice start to a great old machine

[@epamanonda1]

Looking forward to seeing it being brought back to life.

[@Snap-on-matt]

Keep a look over over the next week 👍

[@jonathangriffin1120]

When I was an apprentice one of the old boys told me, "A Colchester lathe is like a Ford car, you can spend more money, you can spend less money, but a Colchester will get the job done." The horizontal levers on the top of the headstock alter the RPM of the chuck, the horizontal lever at the front of the headstock with the small lever on the same shaft starts and stops it, the small lever swaps the phases over and makes the chuck run in reverse. The Student was made mainly for schools and tech colleges, by the look of her she's from the fifties, plenty of info. out there on the interweb and still a few of us about that know how to use them. As the plaque on the end of the bed says "The World Turns on Colchester Lathe". Have Fun.

[@Snap-on-matt]

How tight was he haha. It’s smaller than the lathe iv been wanting but it will definitely do for now. I mainly wanted a long bed type. Thank you for the information 👍

[@eyuptony]

Good score. Looking forward to the tidy up. Like you say, just do what's needed to get it usable. Cheers Tony

[@Snap-on-matt]

That’s the best way isn’t it. I prefer the oily machine look rather than painted over old dirt and paint look. If you are going to do it. Do it right. Cheers for the positive comment

[@grahambambrook313]

You lucky, lucky bugger!! Looks like you should invest in a good few gallons of "Evapo-rust". All the removable and/or loose bits, gears etc., should be soaked in it for a day or two to get rid of the red stuff and then "Owatrol Oil" it to prevent re-rusting while you figure out how far you are going to go. There is also a 'gel' version of "Evapo-rust" that you could use on the bedways, saddle etc., if you don't have a bath big enough. It's fairly expensive stuff but a fraction of the cost of a clean "Student" or anything similar and it is re-useable. It is 'PH' neutral as near as damn it so will not attack the steel like some of the acid options. I also acquired a 'buck-shee' lathe recently but nothing as grand as this; mine would almost sit on the saddle of the Colchester. Best of luck with it and happy turning Enjoy!😃

[@Snap-on-matt]

Thank you for all the information much appreciated

[@dutchgray86]

Got some work ahead of you for sure. I wonder if the gap bed piece is hiding in the base somewhere or gone, lost forever. Though the spindle nose reduction bush (for holding a centre in the headstock) is obviously chucked in the bottom of the cabinet, those are £60 second hand and almost always missing. Such a shame it wasn't oiled and had a tarp thrown over it. It does look to be complete and not have anything obviously broken which is a good sign.

[@TERRYB0688]

You might be surprised how well it comes up, you can down load the manual of the net

[@donotwantahandle1111]

Thats a solid looking lathe! Check the wobble factor and the bed quality and you should have some fun!

[@Snap-on-matt]

Patiently waiting for some diesel to soak in and free off the bed but as soon as that’s free I’m going to clean it up.

[@jackrichards1863]

Score! Yea the lathe can be rescued . Get onto it with powered wire brushes and kerosine. Brass brushes for the machined surfaces . You'll work out what the levers do , Gears for one , worm drives and reverses there to. Study the heck out of online info and pat urself on the back for that save.

[@Snap-on-matt]

I found out a lot today just pulling levers in directions haha. Obviously will look into it properly before I turn it on.

[@ypaulbrown]

outstanding

[@rlewis1946]

New sub here! Congratulations on your new-to-you Lathe. It is a Classic and deserves being put back into operating condition. It doesn’t have to be a perfect restoration, just a some elbow grease and care. Looking forward to seeing progress being made. Best wishes, Roy Lewis Buffalo, NY 🇺🇸

[@Snap-on-matt]

@rlewis1946 thanks for subscribing and hopefully I’ll have a video update later this week 👍 many thanks!

[@camillosteuss]

Yikes man... I wont say anything about your mate, but damn, i sure could write a 200 page book just dedicated to insulting him and all that has any genetic relations to the guy... That poor, poor little lathe... To mistreat a machine like that is a sin... Dear God and all that is Holy, let this wee work of art rise to her formidable glory once more... You seem like a nice guy... Hopefully you take care of her, and be aware, that job will be some damn hard work... I have quite a few machines, most of which are rescue cases and salvage puppies... I even picked up some machines that were junked and that stood in the open for months, getting rained on by the Devil`s tears, yet they were nowhere near this level of dickered... I would strongly advise you to get some evaporust and automatic gearbox oil(cheapest stuff you can find)... Atf is much slower, but its a great thing to soak the machine and sponge with before getting to scrubbing... Its not like you can cause any real damage to the precise geometry that has not already been caused by this level of abuse... That, and a good, massive brass wire brush will do you good... Almost no machine that isnt cracked is beyond salvation, however, her salvation will be your unyielding dedication and hard work... Not to mention precision scraping for dozens of hours if you have some skill in that department... I would blueprint the whole bed end to end for wear, starting beneath the headstock... From there, you can match scrape or lap in the headstock to the bed, align it as central as possible and as level as possible with the bed, and use the spindle with a test bar which fits the spindle taper as the scraping reference... Hell, you can get her to 1 micron - 1/2 tenth t.i.r. in that manner... The cross-slide and the comp. are a piece of cake thereafter... Just use the same test bar and swing the indicator against pins in the cross slide carriage dovetails, scrape that, match-scrape the upper part and the compound is a silly game after all that... All the best and may the Providence guide your hands, as you are going to need all the ``luck`` you can have...

[@TERRYB0688]

You might be surprised how well it comes up, you can down load the manual of the net