# Clausing Colchester 13" x 36" Toolroom Lathe - $2,250 (hayward / castro valley, CA)



## MrWhoopee (Mar 4, 2021)

Clausing Colchester 13" x 36" Toolroom Lathe - tools - by owner - sale
					

Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom Made at Original Colchester Plant in England Excellent running condition Geared Drive Headstock (Gears are Shaved, Hardened, & Honed See Picture #...



					sfbay.craigslist.org


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## C-Bag (Mar 4, 2021)

I could swear that’s the same lathe that was on CL for many months last year. And if so why is it back and not selling? That seems like a reasonable price for it. Is there wear that you can only see live? Many times things look worse in person. Just curious I guess.


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## MrWhoopee (Mar 4, 2021)

Agreed, I had a deja vu when I saw it. There is a slot on the front of the apron where there should be a lever but none is there. Maybe @guero_gordo could drive over the hill and take a look.


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## C-Bag (Mar 4, 2021)

Good eye, for some reason I didn’t see that. Do you know what that’s supposed to do? I could see if that was the lever for the cross slide feed and it’s toast that would be a big deal breaker. The other deal breaker is if the headstock bearings are noisy. Those are some ridiculous $$ right?


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## guero_gordo (Mar 4, 2021)

I'd be fine to go give it a look, but I'm pretty ignorant.


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## MrWhoopee (Mar 4, 2021)

C-Bag said:


> Good eye, for some reason I didn’t see that. Do you know what that’s supposed to do? I could see if that was the lever for the cross slide feed and it’s toast that would be a big deal breaker. The other deal breaker is if the headstock bearings are noisy. Those are some ridiculous $$ right?


If I had to guess, that's the cross-feed/carriage feed selector lever. I recall @Janderso mentioning that those Gamet bearings cost more than this machine.


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## Janderso (Mar 4, 2021)

This lathe could be a beauty.
It all depends on condition as we all know.
Correct, if the spindle bearings are shot, it’s scrap.
This model is mid 60’s I believe?


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## guero_gordo (Mar 4, 2021)

If I'm reading the manual right(and there's little reason to assume so), the same apron is used on gap and straight beds, and the feed lever sits in one slot or the other depending on which type it is. Can't imagine why that would be.
I can't link but it's on chudov-dot-com, p6-7


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## guero_gordo (Mar 4, 2021)

guero_gordo said:


> If I'm reading the manual right(and there's little reason to assume so), the same apron is used on gap and straight beds, and the feed lever sits in one slot or the other depending on which type it is. Can't imagine why that would be.
> I can't link but it's on chudov-dot-com, p6-7


Yeah, I'm wrong. Levers are reversed gap vs straight, but the dual slot  cross/linear feed is a Mk1 vs Mk1.5 thing
"The Mk1 and M1.5 are most easily differentiated by the two separate slots for saddle and cross-feed present on the Mk1 (the lever slides longitudinally into one slot or the other), as you can see in the black and white pic above Tony Griffith's website. The Mk1.5 has one slot and a push-pull lever to select saddle or cross feed."


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## MrWhoopee (Mar 5, 2021)

guero_gordo said:


> Yeah, I'm wrong. Levers are reversed gap vs straight, but the dual slot  cross/linear feed is a Mk1 vs Mk1.5 thing
> "The Mk1 and M1.5 are most easily differentiated by the two separate slots for saddle and cross-feed present on the Mk1 (the lever slides longitudinally into one slot or the other), as you can see in the black and white pic above Tony Griffith's website. The Mk1.5 has one slot and a push-pull lever to select saddle or cross feed."


Ah, so the lever we see in the right hand slot slides over to the left hand one. I'm familiar with the push-pull knob from later Colchesters.  I'd love to have a machine like this, but space, $ and justifications are all limited. My Heavy 10 will have to do.


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## Janderso (Mar 5, 2021)

The push-pull sliders on the saddle allow you to easily and instantly change direction on the cross feed or the saddle.
It's a very nice feature.


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## guero_gordo (Mar 5, 2021)

so, at their best, these are described as noisy heads, so listening isn't going to help.
How would an idjit determine the condition of those precious bearings?  Single-syllables preferred, grunts optional.


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## Janderso (Mar 5, 2021)

guero_gordo said:


> so, at their best, these are described as noisy heads, so listening isn't going to help.
> How would an idjit determine the condition of those precious bearings?  Single-syllables preferred, grunts optional.


The first thing you do is measure the TIR.
I was concerned about mine. I thought they may have run dry.
I measured .0006" on a Clausing Colchester as a reference.
Some speeds are pretty quiet, some you can hear those spur gears singing.


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## john.k (Mar 5, 2021)

Quite a bit of misinformation here....its the early type roundhead (1962/3) ,the slots are for sliding  or surfacing cuts....lever is put into whichever slot you want........Having said all that ,machine is overpriced X2 or more IMHO...assuming the works are OK ...which is by no means a foregone conclusion......Threading is always suspect until proved otherwise.


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## guero_gordo (Mar 6, 2021)

gone, guess that's why they didn't ping me back


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