My NEW Harrison M300 Lathe

[@machineshopinagarage4699]

Nice one Joe there's not a lot you can't do on that M300, and it's one of my favourite lathes

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yeah finding the capacity of this beast a dream compared to the mini lathe can Chuck most stock I have easy.

[@geraldpepper404]

Congrats on the new machine! Looking forward to some great video's.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yeah will be playing around with it over the next couple of weeks to get use to it and then should be good for the first project.

[@one4stevo]

Beautiful lathe Joe congratulations

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Cheers Steve

[@fredcreer1929]

I slammed your last video, but your view now and the new machine really shows your commitment to the craft. BRILLIANT👏👏.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

I’m glad you approve Fred. I always try to make and produce the best videos I can for you guys with the limited time and skills I have.

[@donotwantahandle1111]

Another good feature is that a sturdy lathe like this can do milling operations without too much distortion. Just add a vertical slide!

[@YCM30cnc]

Those Travadials are nice. Have one of those M300’s in the shop and very happy with it. Imperial and Metric thread cutting is nice too.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yeah they are solid old machines very reliable and good value for money.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Well done on the lathe upgrade. Harrison lathes seem rather popular of late on KZbin. You are in good company. Looking forward to seeing how you get on with it. Andrew 👏👏👍😀

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thanks Andrew yeah it seems to be a very sturdy machine so I can see why they are popular. I’m lucky and got a metric one as well :)

[@crichtonbruce4329]

That machine looks truly great. Just a hint on testing way flatness: You should indicate the SIDES of the prismatic ways, as this is were the wear occurs, not the top. There is no contact on the top from the saddle. Also: (you probably know this)... run a sharpening stone over the chuck mounts, and the chuck itself to level off any bumps and dings. Enjoy your new toy!!

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Great point I didn’t even consider that stupidly I will have to go back and check. 👍

[@crichtonbruce4329]

@@MachiningwithJoe I just recently found and subscribed to your channel. I am working my way through your past posts, enjoying them, and admire what you do very much!!!

[@MachiningwithJoe]

@@crichtonbruce4329 Glad your enjoying the content and welcome to the community. Appreciate your input and look forward to hearing from you in future videos 👍

[@crichtonbruce4329]

No pressure, but keep coming up with such great content and I'll keep watching.

[@RicktheRecorder]

Or you could run the DTI on the flat way adjacent. Only the tailstock runs on this, so unlikely to have any or much wear anywhere near the chuck. This will then measure the vertical movement of the saddle.

[@benjaminc1816]

I have got one of these on order - originally tried to get a used one like you but they where all either badly worn or expensive so ended up biting the bullet and investing in a new one from Colchester, it cost a small fortune but will hopefully last me a lifetime, I did consider a Master or a Triumph but they would have just taken up a bit too much room in the garage and obviously cost more! - Can’t wait for it to arrive!!

[@stevenhorgan8782]

how much was it do you mind me asking

[@benjaminc1816]

@@stevenhorgan8782 base price without options / extras is £15770ex vat for the 1000mm between centres model - all in with DRO, extras and delivery (plus a slight discount) mine came to £18900 ex vat) - it’s a lot of money but it’s also a lot of machine - will last me a lifetime and the quality is leaps and bounds beyond anything you’ll get from the Chinese importers - and Colchester are great to deal with - very good customer service / support. They come and level / commission it too - it arrived this Tuesday and I haven’t left the garage since 😂

[@benjaminc1816]

@@stevenhorgan8782The base price for the 1000mm between centres model (which I got) is currently £15770ex vat before options / extras - after I added in the options I wanted (DRO / quick change tool posts holders / fixed and moving steadys / faceplate) and a slight discount mine came to £18444ex vat- it’s a lot of money but it’s a lot of lathe, is far superior to the Chinese import lathes and it will last me a lifetime so well worth it in my opinion. Colchester offer fantastic customer service / support too and as part of their delivery service they also locate it where you want it and send an engineer to commission / level / accuracy check it - it arrived this Tuesday and I haven’t left the garage since 😂 the Mrs doesn’t approve though 👀

[@benjaminc1816]

@@stevenhorgan8782 The base price for the 1000mm between centres model (which I got) is currently £15770ex vat before options / extras - after I added in the options I wanted (DRO / quick change tool posts holders / fixed and moving steadys / faceplate) and a slight discount mine came to £18444ex vat- it’s a lot of money but it’s a lot of lathe, it is far superior to the Chinese import lathes and it will last me a lifetime so well worth it in my opinion. Colchester offer fantastic customer service / support too and as part of their delivery service they also locate it where you want it and send an engineer to commission / level / accuracy check it - it arrived this Tuesday and I haven’t left the garage since 😂 the Mrs doesn’t approve though 👀

[@benjaminc1816]

The base price for the 1000mm between centres model (which I got) is currently £15770ex vat before options / extras - after I added in the options I wanted (DRO / quick change tool posts holders / fixed and moving steadys / faceplate) and a slight discount mine came to £18444ex vat- it’s a lot of money but it’s a lot of lathe, it is far superior to the Chinese import lathes and it will last me a lifetime so well worth it in my opinion. Colchester offer fantastic customer service / support too and as part of their delivery service they also locate it where you want it and send an engineer to commission / level / accuracy check it - it arrived this Tuesday and I haven’t left the garage since 😂 the Mrs doesn’t approve though 👀

[@bheckel1]

Your car boot is smaller than my garage. Nice lathe. I have one that size. I had one that was smaller that one will search you well. Rigidity goes up with mass but not exponentially. I think the curve is the opposite. Backlash is greater enemy now. I will keep watching. Wish I would have gotten my first 10 years earlier. You did.

[@HM-Projects]

Congrats, looks like a good purchase.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Cheers BR fingers crossed all ok so far

[@paultarn1754]

Congratulations on the new machine - stop replacing every th with an f and I’ll subscribe- free times longer, free times wider and this fing is a beast. It may be just me - good luck with the new machine

[@howder1951]

Congratulations Joe, you have a great machine there, it is very close to the size of my Asian lathe but it has a lot of nice refinements in comparison. I think you will find it is a great change from the mini lathe in accuracy and power and finish. Further to C Bruce, the taper nose is the critical surface on the chuck mount, and always be careful not to mar it, I had a chip on mine and it threw the chuck off a fair bit, left a mark which honed out, no problems after. I cheated out on my collet set and got an Morse 3 taper collet set that goes to 5/8" (16mm) and it is a lot easier than chucking small parts. Anyhow, good hunting and cheers!

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thank you I think I will in the future invest in a nice 5c collet Chuck. They don’t look like to much money but then have to buy the collets so that adds up. But yeah over all will be great for small stock

[@MaturePatriot]

Congratulations! Harrison is a good brand name. Not many to be found here in the States.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thank you here’s to new beginnings

[@rickymale8203]

Hi Joe. I’m in a very similar situation to you and now have a much bigger lathe than my old one. I had to pretty much strip the shed out and start again. A real pain but so satisfying in the end. You’ve got a new subscriber 👍

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi Ricky, First of all welcome to the channel and welcome to the community great bunch of people on here. Good to know your in the same boat as be very daunting the first time i powered this up as the Chuck nearly weights as much as my mini lathe. Hope you enjoy the channel and it’s content. All the best.

[@rickymale8203]

@@MachiningwithJoe yes, I felt just the same. I started with the clarks cm 500, changing all the gears to thread cut was a royal pain 😂

[@joemcgarry1106]

I have used that same model lathe. You will be very happy with it.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thanks Joe is hope so fingers crossed

[@dermotkelly2971]

Great machine mate. Looking forward to some projects

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yeah there’s going to be plenty of those on this thing.

[@OneManEngineering]

Nice one, man! That’s a huge step up from the mini. Enjoy every minute on it. I do the same with my Colchester and the Archdale Mills. Greg

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi Greg yeah massive upgrade for the shop hopefully will be able to turn some master pieces on this 😁

[@OneManEngineering]

@Machining with Joe a new machinists hammer, maybe 😜

[@graveneyshipright]

Nice bit of kit! What next a Bridgeport mill? Keep at it Joe!

[@MachiningwithJoe]

I wish Martin think that is my workshop full for now. Will have to hope for a bigger workshop when I move

[@sjv6598]

That’s a great lathe!

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thanks she’s a beast.

[@artisanmakes]

Really like the new lathe, very similar in size the the lathe I used to use. Not jealous at all :) Any plans to upgrade it, or do you think that its good to go as it is. Cheers

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi dude yeah loving this beast. I have some upgrades in mind. I really want a Dro for it and want to make a quick change tool post like yours but will need it to take 20mm tools. Here’s to bigger projects :)

[@ThisDesignedThat]

What a beast!

[@MachiningwithJoe]

My words exactly :)

[@davidglennon4298]

thats a nice lathe u runnin it on converter for 3 phase

[@BigBoyRasp]

The first thing you need is a chip guard to stop the hot chips burning your hands when turning the saddle handwheel, Colchester got it right by putting the handwheel on the right of the saddle. Still a great lathe though.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yeah that’s a good point about the hand wheel. I’ll have to think about a sleek design for the chip guard. Good heads up.

[@thonnogeengineering7745]

Both Colchester and harrison had the option to put the handwheel on either side when buying the lathe new, I have two m300's with each handwheel and the wheel on the right is far better, less burns. I don't even know why it was an option

[@qwertyui90qwertyui90]

Your M300 being metric, you have metric measurement on the cross and compount slides ? Any chance you could tell me or show in a video the markings / measurements please. I wish to convert from imperial to metric I really dont like working in imperial

[@jagboy69]

Congrats joe.. Lots of capability with that machine! I suggest an ER40 collet chuck and a 4jaw if it didnt come with one. I might have missed it, but does that thing have a 2 speed motor on it?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yeah I think they will be on the list of bits to buy. I do really want a 5C collet Chuck if I can afford it

[@jagboy69]

@@MachiningwithJoe I'm staying away from 5c. Pros and cons with all kinds of work holding. Depends what you're doing.😉

[@docholiday7055]

Is your lathe hooked to 3phase power or was it converted with a vfd? If so, can you do a quick video on the setup.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi Doc I run the lathe through a transwave inverter with a slight tweek the output voltage rectifier I managed to get it running sweet.

[@johnspargo5876]

Nice Lathe. your inspection of the bed tells you little. Get a suitable level and set the bed accordingly. if the machine turns a parallel shaft ( say 80 dia over about 150 long, no tailstock used, you're in the pound seats!

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Very good point John, I’ll have to try that check next time I’ve got some longer stock to hand. All the best.

[@jeremykemp3782]

Where can I see this parallel shaft performed?

[@benjaminc1816]

Great bit of kit - how do you think a used machine like this would compare to one of the bigger Warco gear head units?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

It’s hard to compare but if I had to I would say the GH1230 at £4000 is the closest in overall size and dimensions however the the Harrison has a much wider range of thread pitch sizes and feed rates as well as higher max RPM and more powerful motor. However it is old so always a chance something may fail.

[@C69793]

Hi Joe Can I ask why your went for a used Harrison instead of a new Warco of similar size?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Honestly I wanted a larger machine and this one came up locally no real reason why I didn’t get a new warco. I would say however this machine seems to be built very well and extremely rigid.

[@dr1verman]

Does it have dregs of coolant in it? if it is soluble oil it will stink like last years sweaty socks, If you are using coolant constantly (every day) then soluble oil is the way to go, otherwise you might consider just cutting oil, but that has its own problems.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

No all pretty dried up think it’s been running on cutting oil and as the coolant pump has been removed will have to stick to cutting oil for now.

[@jimspencer3072]

How do you get along without a splashback guard?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi Jim yeah not to bad it doesn’t really affect me. Only thing I would like it it fitted so I could make something to hold my quick change tool holders.

[@TheWhittleGreenVanUK]

your speeds and feeds are set by the material and size, not the machine you are using, if you get the wrong speeds, you will affect your surface finish, no matter if it was too slow, or too fast. so you will possibly use the 2500rpm

[@MachiningwithJoe]

I know what your saying Allan. The idea of a big Chuck of steel spinning at 2500 rpm bit of a scary thought after using a mini lathe for the last year.

[@TheWhittleGreenVanUK]

@@MachiningwithJoe the bigger the chunk of metal the slower you spin it anyway, you would only ever use 2500RMP on a small diameter or softer material anyway, if you have got say a 3 inch diameter chunk of steel, on any lathe you wouldn't be over 1000RPM all depending on what material it is, as that defines the SFPM, and also what sort of tooling you are using either HSS or insert, as if you are using an insert, as a general rule you can increase the SFPM by about 1.5 to 2 times compared to HSS

[@dr1verman]

Looks a good purchase, there are always going to be bits, that is why the last bloke is getting rid of it shame about the dints on the spindle nose where some dipstick did not clean the swarf properly before fitting the chuck, overall it should not cause a problem. :-) Some custom swarf tray/collectors coming up next,,,,, pass the tin snips please. And, at least you can get all the spares you will ever need from 600UK.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yeah good thing is the beast is mostly all mechanical and simple so should be able to fix most things that go wrong. Ill check that spare parts site out.

[@جمالدحدوح-س4ن]

hi is it good strong machine?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

The Harrison M300 is a very good lathe good old sold components

[@waliza001]

what happened to Warco?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

I still have it for now ;)