Example of bolt timing, never heard of it until now.

[Ronin]

Cheers Col some useful tools there

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice Dasherman - the quest continues for the time being anyway - no rush - I want to get the right one after all, but I wont discount far east just yet - there are alot of smiths in the US using chi com lathes including some big names.

 

 

 

A Master 2500 in imperial execution would be my #1 choice, but we will see.

 

After looking at a few Colchesters and Harrisons at used engineering equipment suppliers, I have to say that "lightly used" is a term that descibes well beaten up kit, used car salemen appear to provide more accurate descriptions of their wares

 

The main problems I have found so far are damaged beds where chucks have been dropped just in the area thats important for my purposes anyway, excess play in cross slide and topslide (beyond normal Gib ajustment) and rumbling headstock bearings - all on so called "light use machines"

 

Theres a place near Stevenage who refurbs Colchesters, that was going to be my next port of call.....

[col48]

Cheers Col

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice Dasherman - the quest continues for the time being anyway - no rush - I want to get the right one after all, but I wont discount far east just yet - there are alot of smiths in the US using chi com lathes including some big names.

 

 

 

A Master would be my #1 choice, but we will see.

[/quote

 

hi Ronin

 

i suppose its a bit late now as the job is done

 

but they do say its the thought that counts

 

ATB

Colin

[Vermincinerator]

Andy

I can see where you are coming from buddy, a new far east machine is new, tight and accurate but what they lack is rigidity, so if you dont plan any heavy work you will be okay although vibration may be a problem when you are working out of the headstock.

However, for the price you want to spend on the above mentioned machine i defy you to find a Colchester that is not ten times better!

The key is to find machines which have come from training establishments or research departments.

Machines which have spent all their lives in a Toolroom are also worth looking at.

Another good source is deceased model engineers, there machines will most likely be old but will have usually been rebuilt and cared for with passion ( a bit like mine).

Reputable machine tool dealers will have their machine tools ready to be easily wired up so that you can try them. and if you are spending some serious money they will not object to a turning test.

IMO the best Colchester lathes are the MK2 Student/Master series known as the "Square Head" models, these were the last of the machines not to be made to a budget, after 1968 the bean counters took over the finances.

 

Check out thses links, especially Tony Griffiths site which has detailed descriptions of nearly every machine tool made (but not the chinese models)

 

http://www.lathes.co.uk/

 

http://www.gandmtools.com/index.php

 

http://www.homeandworkshop.co.uk/

 

http://nobilla.co.uk/xlat.html

 

There are many many more machine tooldealers but these are some of the better ones

 

There is also a Colchester lathe users group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ColchesterLathe-User/?

I am on there as "gone2therange"

[Ronin]

Ian

 

as ever, sound advice.

 

I have spent numerous hours on the Lathes site - it is a vernerable encyclopedia of info and assisted me with the final (or not), choice of Colch Master / Student (squareheads)

 

Nobilla were the company I was referring to in the Stevenage area - they have three ex college machines in now but they are only 30 inch bed - I was after 40" (1 meter)

 

I'll look at the other two sites as well, thanks.

[Redfox]

Pity it wasnt three years ago, there were three 2500s at my former place of work and they went very cheap, they had all been in the toolroom and were virtually as new. There were 2 universal mills too with all the bits and bobs. I contented myself with an electronic torque analyser ( which had cost over 12k a year before) a metallurgical microscope, all the machines for preparing samples for weld and grain structure analysis ( which have gone now) several lab grade electronic weighing scales, and a selection of electronic test / calibration equipment, there was lots of other nice toys, like starret optical comparator, two tensile test machines and many more, no more room and not enough use for them to come and live here .

I hate to see all the skills related to this work disappearing never mind the kit as well.

You can look through the engineering trade mags/papers, any sales/auctions are listed in them and you can do alright that way too, I bought a 6" Mitchell lathe that way and it was a great lathe, had to sell when my dad moved as it was in his workshop! and I had no room for it, I still have a 3" lathe and small milling machine for those little jobs

Redfox

[Ronin]

Pity it wasnt three years ago, there were three 2500s at my former place of work and they went very cheap, they had all been in the toolroom and were virtually as new.

Redfox

 

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhggggghhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrr

[baldie]

Andy, if you give us a ring at the shop, i,ll get you the number of a man who does all our servicing , on our lathes, he sub contracts to colchester and usually knows where all the good machines are, and at good money.If we had known him previous to buying our big colchester, we would have got a better deal.Nothing wrong with it now, but we had to spend serious money on it, to get it back to top nick.

[Ronin]

Baldie

 

a trip to the emporium is long overdue, will arrange something soon thanks

[325WSM]

Just a comment about stiff bolts.

 

It is always useful to keep on your workshop shelf an aerosol can of what the Plumbers use to freeze water pipes. It has lots of application in gun/rifle smithing to great effect and in this instance may well have saved a lot of work. A chamber sprayed externally reduces the size of the case far more (proportionally) than the action/barrel/bolt and so the bolt is easy to remove along with case.

 

Along with a blow torch it is also good for removing stuck barrels !

 

Using car screen washer tubing as an applicator you can even reduce bolt sizes to remove 'stuck' bolts.

 

Most useful application is seized disc set strikers on Foreign SBS.

[Redfox]

It comes in for all sorts of things doesnt it, as mentioned earlier I have bunged them in the freezer which works too but the freezer stuff is good, often works on the C/H pipes too , reminds me of a job I cant get out of now Christmas is over

Redfox

[Ronin]

Moving back to the interesting subject of bolts

 

I took the finished bolt back to take some pics of the joint - it was my intention to re-blue the bolt, but my mate isnt warming his blueing tanks untill he has a batch of bits to do.

 

 

However Kaleiderscope offered me an alternative in the shape of Parkerising, not usre how the process worked, the deal was I would prepare the metalwork and he Parkerised it!

 

 

Before:

 

Stripped out bolt (i left in the extractor as its one of the early rivetted kind:

 

 

 

Back to bare metal:

 

 

 

 

After Parkerising:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The solution alters the surface of the metal and makes it very rust resistant - the shiny bits seen near the bolt handle are traces of silver solder I was remiss to leave on the surface - my fault not Kals.

 

 

Excellent job mate - thanks

[craigyboy]

looks good ronin.

[Stonewall]

Bolt Handle tool on Br.com.

http://www.benchrest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48300

 

Glenn

[Ronin]

Glenn

 

like all brilliant ideas, that is so simple - an act of genius.

 

Even allows you to check operation of the bolt before you attach the handle.....

 

 

Now where are my clamps