Help Sourcing Colchester Student / Harrison M300

[messy457Participant @messy457]

My mentor is the one that currently does the work for me. Just want to learn a new skill and do it myself.

[messy457Participant @messy457]

What’s opinion on the Boxford AUD Lathes?

Can source one from a dealer with an inverter?

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

You can do the large bore job in a fixed steady, possibly more accurately than a even a new lathe. I’m not sure about grinding SS but thread grinding with a Dremel set-up might be easier too.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

“It’ll be threading a 1.25″ bar to 1 1/16 x 18 for a length of around an inch. Then reaming the inside to a set dimension maximum 3″ in length with maximum 0.600″ diameter.

The other times will be me just practising and having fun, most likely will aluminium and brass.”

 

Am I missing something?

If the part looks like the above, and is 3″ long by 1.25″, bored 0.6″, and threaded 18tpi at one end, then it’s well within Chinese mini-lathe capability.

Stainless steel tends to work-harden if the cutter is allowed to rub, a mistake easier to avoid on a powerful lathe.  But certainly possible to turn stainless with a mini-lathe.   Or any other lathe that can hold that size in the chuck.  If the thread is standard UNF or BSF, it could be die cut  so a plain lathe would do.

messy:  in ye olden days lathes were bought as a once in a lifetime investment, making it advisable to spend to the max on the very best tools available.  A major decision, filled with angst.  Not so today:  we can start with an affordable lathe, learn on it, and, having been educated, move on if it turns out to be not good enough.

Dave

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I read it that the reamed hole was 3″ long.

The early mention of supporting at BOTH ends of the spindle suggests the workpiece will be at least 300mm long

I can’t even see a 1 & 1/16″ dia on your drawing Dave if the OD is 1 & 1/4″

[messy457Participant @messy457]

The 1.25″ Stainless stock will be on average starting at 34″ and finishing around 32″ after facing etc. So similar to your image just with another 25″ of bar.

I’ve got a great price on a Boxford AUD just waiting to hear more opinions on them. I don’t think for my price I’ll manage to do the stainless above. I recon I’ll get the Boxford then invest in something more “premium” down the line.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Anyone any thoughts on the Mk2 student I mentioned earlier?

Bill

[messy457Participant @messy457]

The one for £850?

Already saw that and referenced it earlier. It sold today at 14:00 sadly.

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

I read it that the reamed hole was 3″ long.

yes, but I thought bore rather than ream.

The early mention of supporting at BOTH ends of the spindle suggests the workpiece will be at least 300mm long

I’m confused about what messy is actually making!   Hope it’s not gun barrels or silencers.  I’m too pretty to go to gaol!

I can’t even see a 1 & 1/16″ dia on your drawing Dave if the OD is 1 & 1/4″

 

it’s ¹¹⁄₁₆” – diameter of the 1″ long sticky out bit on the end to be threaded 18tpi,  not shown by me because  FreeCAD makes heavy work of threads.

Dave

[messy457Participant @messy457]

1 & 1/16 x 18 Thread

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Dave there is a gap between the 1 GAP 1/16, it’s  aUNEF thread. time for a visit to specsavers.

At 3″ deep you would want to bore that hole before reaming as a drill could wander and the reamer follow it’s path. Just boring could give a tapered hole but a reamer would sort that out. Machine reamer a sit is a blind hole

[peak4Participant @peak4]

OK, it was still showing for sale when I commented earlier. I think Tony re-uses URLs so thought that was a machine you’d seen some time previously.

When I was on my quest, I visited here, and was interested an an older model Student under restoration and not shown on their web site. They seemed decent to deal with, but I paused and looked at an old but very good Willson; the latter then sold, as did the student before I got back to them
https://www.bwmachinetools.co.uk/

See also, but no idea about the company

Colchester Bantam Lathe

Bill

 

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

Dave there is a gap between the 1 GAP 1/16, it’s  aUNEF thread. time for a visit to specsavers.

…

What fun, this is what’s on my screen!

Fractions are easily misread, which is why Imperial engineers replaced them with thou.

I recommend Ben Schattengers Unicode Fraction Creator which allows me to insert 1¹⁄₁₆  here.   Still not ideal for us blurry old chaps – that sixteenth could be a tenth (1⅒) !

Dave

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

There are fairies at the bottom of my garden, they might have something suitable in that price range.

I,ll ask around ! For less than 1 K, I wish you luck !

[SillyOldDuffer]

On SillyOldDuffer Said:

What fun, this is what’s on my screen!

Perhaps we should enforce the use of monospaced fonts 🙂

MichaelG.

.

Edit: __ Thanks to a world full of clever people with nothing better to do with their time, here’s a demonstration:

https://yaytext.com/monospace/

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Back to an earlier question. Boxfords are excellent lathes and plenty of good condition ones around. Also lots of single phase but easy to convert motor anyway. Mostly sold to schools so the cabinet is a little low for many but just plonk it on 4x4s. They are more rigid than say Myfords because they don’t have a gap bed though that limits the swing to 9in it is ample for most work and are compact enough for
Prices are around £900-£1200 and lots of spares available so can be close to your budget.
If you have the space and a bit more money then occasionally the slightly bigger import lathes come up under £2k like Chester Craftsman, Warco BH600, generic 12×24.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, well this is how I would write 1-1/16″

Regards Nick.

[messy457Participant @messy457]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I can source a fully working Boxford AUD with tooling delivered for £1k, recon that’s gonna be the best I can get?</p>

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

That seems good to me messy457

Regards Nick.

[messy457]

On messy457 Said:

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I can source a fully working Boxford AUD with tooling delivered for £1k, recon that’s gonna be the best I can get?</p>

And if you decide to move on bigger it will be easy to sell……

[messy457Participant @messy457]

So recon the Boxford is worth it?

[Nicholas Farr]

On Nicholas Farr Said:

Hi, well this is how I would write 1-1/16″

Regards Nick.

Not ideal!  Every child in the land is taught  1-1/16 = 15/16

This kind of ambiguity one of many reasons fractions fell out of favour in engineering during the 20th century.

Decimal thou and mm representations are both safer.

Dave

 

 

 

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi messy457, Boxford’s are a good machine, and fairly popular, and AUD is the best one of the under drives. Mine is a CUD, which is the one above the basic TUD, which was a tutorial one. It was an ex-industrial one. bought as seen on ebay for £400.00 about 20 years ago, and I had to fetch it away from Glasgow, and it still does good work.

Regards Nick.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Dave, well I didn’t put an = sign after it.

Regards Nick.

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

“Hi, the Student is an old machine, and were last made 50 or so years ago, but while they are good machines, they will wear over time and use………”

The Colchester Student is still marketed by Colchester (600 Group) but where it’s made is anybody’s guess.

https://www.colchester.co.uk/products/turning/manual-centre-lathes/colchester-student-2500-harrison-m300/

I suspect that it is mostly produced in the far-east and probably just assembled here but I don’t know and may be completely incorrect, or at least I hope I am. You will notice that no prices are quoted on the Colchester Lathes website for the lathe, as per British practice, and the all the mostly essential accessories have to be purchased separately, unlike a Warco etc. equivalent which appear to be supplied with a comprehensive kit for an all inclusive price. Very nice if you can afford it but I think most of us would need to be seated before being told the price!

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