Clausing Colchester lathe purchase advice please!

[AntiqueVises]

I’m about to purchase a lathe for $2500 that is in great shape from what I can tell.

Clausing Colchester No. 4/35936

If someone with experience in operating lathes could take a look at these and give me your honest opinion I’d really appreciate it! Comes with minimal tooling, only a 3 jaw chuck, no taper attachment or VFD. I would require the VFD right away but that is no big deal.

 

[AntiqueVises]

Couple more

 

[LXCam]

Well that looks to be a hell of a deal. I hope it’s in as good a shape as it looks. Congrats!

 

[AntiqueVises]

I haven’t bought it yet, but glad to hear you say that! I’m trying to negotiate shipping so I don’t have to travel 600 miles round trip

 

[Provincial]

I see a follower rest, but not a steady rest. Is there a steady rest included, but not shown? One can be built or adapted, but it is a lot of work. A steady rest is really a necessary piece of tooling.

 

[oldmachinenut]

My youngest Son ran one similar to that at the machine shop he worked at and loved it. He has run many lathes of all makes and sizes and says that was a tie for his favorite with the
Monarch EE.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I haven’t bought it yet, but glad to hear you say that! I’m trying to negotiate shipping so I don’t have to travel 600 miles round trip

I personally would drive the 600 mile round trip if there was the option. Then you know it was tied down correctly, handled gently and not transfered between trucks. I have seen too much shipping damaged equipment.

 

[dutchgray]

I see a follower rest, but not a steady rest. Is there a steady rest included, but not shown? One can be built or adapted, but it is a lot of work. A steady rest is really a necessary piece of tooling.

At least being a Colchester lathe they are common enough you will be able to get the correct steady rest, in the UK there is always rests for these on Ebay, probably less common in the states though. But these lathes were built in the 10's of thousands and Colchester still exists and there is still spares around (though they import machines now I believe)
Colchester's were good lathes and a great choice for a home shop, but they were built to meet a price point and there is better out there, but those will be rarer and much heavier usually.

 

[AntiqueVises]

I see a follower rest, but not a steady rest. Is there a steady rest included, but not shown? One can be built or adapted, but it is a lot of work. A steady rest is really a necessary piece of tooling.

He said there is a steady rest but I have not seen a picture of it; I will double check. I will have a taper attachment made for it if I can't find one for sale.

I personally would drive the 600 mile round trip if there was the option. Then you know it was tied down correctly, handled gently and not transfered between trucks. I have seen too much shipping damaged equipment.

I believe I may do that, the seller offered to personally bring it so there wouldnt be an actual shipping company, but my thoughts are still to go and get it.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I took a pre -apprenticeship course. It was for both millwright and machinist.One of the instructors was an machinist by trade. I asked him what lathe was his favourite . Colchester ! I think he was talking about one for his home shop. I learned on a big Okuma.

 

[Cleave]

There's a great old video on youtube touring the Colchester factory.
Seems like a screaming deal to me if you have the interest/need and spot to put it and power it.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have operated several colchesters and they were fine lathes. Lathes that large are not fun with stuff under an inch due to low spindle speeds but its doable.

Looks like you just need to add a cxa tool post/holders and a 4 jaw chuck.

 

[no704]

Very clean, I have the same one, not as sparkly.
looks like the gap bed is removed, does the seller have it?

 

[dutchgray]

I have operated several colchesters and they were fine lathes. Lathes that large are not fun with stuff under an inch due to low spindle speeds but its doable.

Looks like you just need to add a cxa tool post/holders and a 4 jaw chuck.

It could be a lot worse, its still a 1200 rpm machine, use HSS to get better finishes on the small diameters where you can't run carbide at the SFM it really needs. Plenty of slightly older machines than that of similar size where top speed might have only been ~800 rpm
Nice lathes that size with 3,000 rpm spindles are not something that come up often at hobbyist prices.

 

[Firebrick43]

It could be a lot worse, its still a 1200 rpm machine, use HSS to get better finishes on the small diameters where you can't run carbide at the SFM it really needs. Plenty of slightly older machines than that of similar size where top speed might have only been ~800 rpm
Nice lathes that size with 3,000 rpm spindles are not something that come up often at hobbyist prices.

I have not seen a 15 inch manual lathe that can do 3k ever. I don't know if I have seen a CNC that size with that RPM.

A 15" lathe is pretty oversize for most hobbiest. Hell the 20" lathe at work was only used once a month and the 15" once a week or so and it was in a 40 acre plant with huge machinery. The 8" hardinge was used every day for several hours however, they actually had 2.

I would have a 10-12 inch lathe for small stuff first and only if doing large stuff often get a 15-18" lathe. a 12" lathe of decent manufacture will handle a part of several hundred pounds.

 

[Toolmaker51]

A consideration in lathe size, as pointed out above is weight you speculate running, then the size. Kind of like an X, where they cross is sometimes ideal.
Personally, the #1 facet is what variety of tooling it's built for, starting with the spindle. Most of the other features you adapt to, spindle not so easily.

I've been machining my entire life. A taper attachment is important to me, but have seen endless numbers of them in shops never used. You're in for a l-oooooong hunt having one built, and co$tly. Thou$ands wouldn't surprise me a bit.

It's more common to adapt one from a like sized lathe. Those I've seen in the few hundred dollar range.
Still, that would buy and build A LOT of offset centers, accomplishing same goal over entire bed length. Taper attachments can't do that in one shot, has to be moved in steps.

 

[Roberts210]

GO GET IT YOURSELF. Do not trust any freight company to transport it. Rent a trailer and do it right. If you've never tied down anything this big, study YT on how to do it.