Clausing Colchester Help needed.

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

I bought a 15" X 50" Clausing Colchester used from a machinery dealer. He knew nothing about it. It is quite a beast, has a D1-6 spindle with 7.5 HP. It is a chore to move but got it done. It is leveled up with a Starrett precision level .001 deviation really moves the bubble. I am getting .006 taper in a shaft. Nothing I do changes the number. The lathe seems to have extensive use facing parts around 3-4" Od. The ways look like new. The cross slide nut is worn out but the screw looks new. It wll not take the heavy cut I know it is supposed to do. I have run several flavors of Industrial lathes and have an Idea of what it should be able to do. It faces concave by .003-.004 in 3". The taper in the shaft is bigger on the outboard end. By pushing on a 1 1/2" shaft sticking out 12" with about 20 pounds of force the shaft deflects noticeably. Put it in a vise and it does not. It seems to Me that the spindle has lost it's preload. If I attempt to loosen the headstock and move it to take out the taper, the amount of taper remains the same. I have moved it several times with no improvement. It does this with several chucks including a new 4 jaw I just bought. It will make the same taper on a piece of wood or plastic. I am thinking of pulling the spindle but would gladly rather not bother it. Anyone familiar with this model? Any trouble shooting hints? Thanks all, Mark.

Edited By mark costello 1 on 21/02/2016 18:00:17

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Hi Mark

Couple of threads from Practical Machinist forums that may help you :-

**LINK** , **LINK** ,

If yours is the square head version I think the spindle bearings are spring loaded for preload rather than positively adjusted.

Clive.

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

If it won't take big cuts get the clutch adjustment checked out. I believe it is the same 600 group lathe we know as a Colchester Triumph. If the clutch is good it should get up to speed in a few seconds and not stall under load.

Can't help with the taper issue, I have run a few well worn ones of these and all turned good.

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

Well I know what I will be looking at tomorrow. The clutch adjustment is ok, cannot take a big enough cut to stall the machine. Too much chatter.

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

Well I have opened up the top cover and removed the left hand spindle bearing cover. The adjustment bearing nut works as One would expect. It is bottomed out, and cannot be adjusted anymore. I don't know if a ship can be placed anywhere to tighten things up. When I can get some down time I will fix and report back so maybe it will help someone searching for help in the future.

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

I have the Colchester triumph 2000,is your version a square head or the earlier round head type? what bothers me is the excessive facing error, I just wonder if the machine was used on one job for ages and no attention was paid to oil levels and the bearings ran dry,the nut is worn ,again probably due to no lubrication.The bearing wear may be so severe that the springs cannot expand enough to contain the wear, as new bearings are so expensive and could cause the lathe to be scrapped,so no real harm can be done by packing out the springs or fitting longer or stronger springs,its well worth trying.the bearings may be worn ,the wear may be equal all the way round so accuracy may not be too bad, its certainly worth trying.

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

Yes I will try anything to not have to spend appx. $900 on a bearing. Gordies and Scots are not the only people allergic to spending hard earned money. No insult meant, just kidding. Things will have to wait for the next roundtuit to come around.

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