Dreaming about lathes / mills

[tinman]

A bit like the time I went from using a Triumph 2000 to a Bantam...

Anyway all this talk about lathes and mills is giving me notions to finally sort my dream workshop, now how to hide that from the missus...

,
that would of been some shock to the system....

, im currently building, or should i say converting , a small shed to my "dream" tool room, its been a labour of love but its nearing completion, of course its so new that im going to have to give things a lick of paint before they come to reside there, i hope that dosent take as long as the conversion...... suffice as to say i dont have to hide the likes of these things from the wife, luckily enough she's a quiet/understanding woman.

 

[davieh3350]

do consider the future too.
What will you do when you want to move but have 20 - 25 tons of workshop stuff to shift....

Once you start you won't be able to stop you know....You'll sit there at night with a mug of tea and a packet of ginger nuts and convince yourself that you need a piece of gear.
A ton and a half here... A ton there...5 ton drill is going to have to be rescued from the scrap man... That ton and a quarter mill would fit in that space nicely.... Now you need a surface plate... Another few hundred kilos....




You know it makes sense to have a lathe on the farm....

 

[gavztheouch]

For jobs on the farm I found that I needed to go with a bigger lathe. I ended up with a Harrison m300 with a 38mm (I think) spindle bore. Once you are able to slide shafts through the spindle bore it opens up a whole lot more possibilities. May favourite thing to do on the late is modifying shafts by welding an extension on the end and then turning it true.

If you can get one with a quick change tool post and metric screw cutting gearbox that will also make it a lot more fun and productive to use.

Definitely agree with the lathe being more useful than the mill. I have only really used the mill for the cutting keyways. Have lots of projects but little time.

 

[tomlad]

What do we think about boxford bud ??

 

[TheTallGuy]

What do we think about boxford bud ??

Okay lathe if looked after & the change gears are present, but I've been spoiled by having a built-in gearbox - no faffing around finding the right combination of gears.

 

[Netherfield]

As someone above stated, many have missed the boat, thinking to when David Browns were selling up, I couldn't get to the auction days unfortunately, but having so many machines to shift the scrapman took away so many good machines I was told, a mate who had served his apprenticeship there bought quite a few machines really cheap for his own business, although sadly lost the lot to a fire caused by a business next door to his a few years later.

 

[Kevm]

Never heard of Kerry but looks ok, what does [email protected] have to say about it.
Maybe the slipping clutch fault will put most people off and you can get it for starting price.

 

[TheTallGuy]

Decent enough lathes, but the missing reverse tumbler & metric change wheel coupled with dodgy clutch makes the starting price somewhat high.

 

[tomlad]

I might be imagining it but the ways look worn to me ??
I think its had plenty of use .

 

[pycoed]

I have a Kerry AG2 it's a heavy duty proper 5 1/2" lathe with some nice ergonomic features e.g. the clutch & the sliding/surfacing feed control:

Slipping clutch fix is a 1 minute single spanner adjustment

Lack of reverse following a 240v conversion sounds to me like a lack of motor reverse rather than the mechanical tumbler leadscrew/feed screw reverse - be worth a question to the seller? (Easy to arrange a single phase reverse with a suitable switch, though you have to stop the motor first).

I don't know how you can judge the state of the ways from a photograph! You won't even do it by looking, you'd need to make some test cuts ideally or at least run a dti along

Edit, just looked at the ad & the tumbler is in place as is a Dewhurst reversing switch - definitely worth a check but looking at the wiring in the background, I'd bet the switch is wired wrongly!

 

[tinman]

I have a Kerry AG2 it's a heavy duty proper 5 1/2" lathe with some nice ergonomic features e.g. the clutch & the sliding/surfacing feed control:

Slipping clutch fix is a 1 minute single spanner adjustment

I don't know how you can judge the state of the ways from a photograph! You won't even do it by looking, you'd need to make some test cuts ideally or at least run a dti along

the second last picture in the pics wouldn't inspire me re the bed ways for its certainly not oil lines that im seeing, ill allow its not its only going from a pic but ....... i doubt youd need a dial gauge on that lathe tbh.

as for the clutch, you have experience here but one would hope its only started slipping, my concern there is he would of fixed it rather than state it if he's handy enough to be working on axle shafts.
i dont know the assembly of the clutch on them but id suspect its like others with friction plates, nor do i know if they can be sourced now but i do know one thing, all be it a different breed of lathe no doubt but when youd be pricing a clutch pack for a colchester youd want to be sitting down on a chair and have a doctor beside you.

 

[TechWise]

I picked up a Colchester Student (Mk 1.5" a fortnight ago). Tools arrived a few days ago so looking forward to putting it to work.

Previous owner had rewired the machine to a delta configuration to run off an inverter. I converter the main motor back to star and ran off our 3 phase supply. Only problem was that due to a lapse in concentration I forgot to change the coolant pump too. Lasted half an hour then the coolant pump went up in smoke so that's just made the job £100 dearer

 

[michael N123]

This sale must be of interest to some of you
There’s photos if you go on the Facebook page

 

[tomlad]

Update
Ive paid deposit on my harrison 140 metric
Have to return to load .
Im getting nervous about rolling the bloody thing over, tony at lathes warning me how top heavy lathes are .
Planning 14ft bevor ivor trailer behind pickup.
No loading there, he is planning rollers and winch .
What do firms charge to shift . Sheffield to pr3 preston .

 

[Kevm]

Obviously try and reduce top weight as much as you can, tailstock, chuck, etc.
If you can put a strop around the frame of the bed you can lift it with a telehandler or digger thats the best way to move it.
Some, myself included have moved them with rollers and trolley jacks etc but well dodgy and not recommended if you can get a machine to do it.
You may want to take off the handles and knobs before you move it as its easy to bash and break them and mostly impossible to replace.

 

[tomlad]

Harrison is home
No dramas on moving tbh i guess being foerwarned of dangers made us more respectful.
Now the expenses begin ......

 

[tomlad]

Think there should be a tin plate here .
Could anyone Anyone photo it .
Block.on screw slides , unsure were it should be.
Why do we never spot these things b4 we buy.

 

[tomlad]

.

 

[tomlad]

un sure make of this
Only one holder

 

[TheTallGuy]

Yes, there should be a plate over the feed screw - I'll look see if I have a parts diagram in the morning. That's most likely a generic tool post based on the Dickson quick set type seen here... http://www.lathes.co.uk/latheparts/page13.html, although it might be genuine.