Member postings for Gareth T

I left it to soak in oil for two weeks before using the hydraulic press

but still need to know which way it comes out

Hi all,

I am currently restoring a Colchester Mk2 Student lathe. the whole Thing was pretty rusty when I started.

The Problem:

I am stripping down the tailstock but somebody has wound the tail out to the end and it has been left for many years and now rusted in place. I have removed every part as per diagram below except the barrel screw nut (8800 on diagram)

I have used a hydraulic press to push the tail barrel back in but it is still stuck and i do not want to damage anything, should the tail be removed from the rear of the tailstock by pushing the tail barrel all the way back through the body of the tailstock or should it come out from the front as if it was extended as far as it could go?
I know i will need to press it out but not sure which way to go

Picked up some of this at the local Gun shop, I will let you know how it goes with photos.

Edited By Gareth T on 24/12/2016 22:09:23

Some great advice guys, I am going to powder coat some bits, cold blue other bits and oil the rest that i cannot repaint.

I like the idea of the cold blue a lot better

Hi all,

I am in the progress of rebuilding a Colchester Student mk2. I am thinking about bluing some of the metal such as the tool post and other bits, they all had light surface rust and are currently in an oil bath after rust removal and I was thinking of oil bluing some of the parts to give them some rust protection.

What are your thoughts for and against doing this please?

Thank you, yes yours is a very late one.

Thanks to a private message from Mark I found the serial number under a thick layer of grime.

FC2/72536

So from **LINK** it looks like its a 1970 model.

Edited By Gareth T on 13/12/2016 12:24:52

Thank you Chris, mine looks like it had a fibre glass cover as there are bits of it all over the place. Glad to hear there are plenty of Motorbike and car people here.

Hi Neil, I have posted a photo of how it stands now along with some questions in the beginners section of the forum, however I do plan on photos and videos of progress throughout.

**LINK**

Hi Brian, the local Vicar in the village I worked in had a nice little 1931 austin 7 that had been turned into a 2 seater boat tail sports car. From what he told me this was something that was done very early in its life as it was a rare coach built thing. I have never worked on a 7 but I have worked on a lovely austin 10 lichfield and outside of the work environment helped out on the much larger but rather rare austin 18.

Gareth.

Hi all.

I signed up to this great forum a while ago but my first posts have been tonight.

I have a Colchester Student Mk2 lathe that will need a full tear down and rebuild along with sourcing several parts that are missing.

I know it would be cheaper to buy one in better condition but the journey of restoring it is half the fun for me.

Question 1:
From everything I have read the serial number should be stamped on the tail stock end of the bed where I have circled red in the photo, however even after scraping the paint there is no number here. I am guessing I am looking in the wrong place. Could somebody tell me where I should be looking please?

Question 2:
in the attached image you will see the cover is missing from the left hand side. What is this cover called please and can you please recommend some different places I might be able to source one.

Question 3:

Looking online I have found several places I can get the manual and have it posted. I really don’t mind paying for one but would prefer it digital. Can somebody advise me of where I might be able to get a digital copy of a Colchester Student Mk2 lathe manual/parts catalogue and any other literature besides what is available online at lathes.co.uk

I plan on doing a full documented rebuild of this lathe along with videos of how I do things and any help will be accredited as deserved. I am not doing this as a business it is for a lathe for me to keep.

Thank you for any help given,
Gareth

Hello all,

Just hello from me.

I have come across this wonderful forum looking for information about lathes and lathe restoration.

Well this evening my first lathe for restoration turned up. A Colchester Student Mk2, it will need a full strip down and rebuild with new paint, gaskets and at the same time will replace any worn parts like bearings.

I am 32 years old and work in cyber security but previous to this career I worked in a classic car restorers for a long time and this is what most of my tools and workshop orientate around.

I have a pretty decent mig welder and know how to use it. A nice 150 litre air compressor with a decent 14cfm which also connects upto my shot blasting cabinet. I also have various tools for working on older cars.

I have always wanted a lathe but did not want to buy something new as my budget was less than 1k and I always liked using the Colchester at my school.

I am going to post some questions on another thread but I hope to do a nice rebuild diary on the Colchester Student mk2, I am used to restoring classic cars to concourse standards and I plan on putting the same effort into this lathe. Then after the lathe I want to do the same to a nice old milling machine.

Cheers

Gareth