Colchester chipmaster rebuild

Hi Adam. Just click the camera icon & select a photo from your album.

regards

I just looked through your album - wow! What a beauty.

Thanks everyone, I used a different web browser as the camera did not show

This is the lathe in the barn. It was covered in all kinds of grime but felt good on the slides. 3 phase but could not test it but it was a very good friend selling it at a good price so I took it.

Also, all the serial numbers all matched and it came with a LOT of tooling (16 Dickson quick change holders) but only one 3 jaw chuck.

It also came with a capstan attatchment which is in full working order. Just a little...…. dirty

I get by with a little help from my friends...…. The buddy I got it from included delivery too. And a couple more mates and we got it into my garage with a but machinery jimmy and some elbow grease. Now to disassemble.

I still could not test it so I figured id just disassemble it and see whats what. Its bloody heavy, reassuringly so. Oh yeah it also came with a fixed, and travelling steady.

I Started by removing the larger components and started with the tailstock.

I removed all the old paint with a wire wheel on angle grinder then used some filler to fill the larger imperfections. Then (after careful masking) painted white enamel. The handwheel and other components were cleaned on a brass wire wheel in the bench grinder.

Next came the carriage gearbox (cant remember the proper name). It was stripped to every last component and cleaned in a large ultrasonic bath.

The part where you engage the power feed was a BA***RD to remove. Thanks to someone on here I got some advice. There is a hidden plug that needs to be removed.

Once out I found (much like all the components) it was covered in grease, oil and swarf. This was also thoroughly cleaned in the ultrasonic bath.

All painted and reassembled and greased up. Nothing was repaired or replaced. It all felt tight and no real wear.

Next I removed the gearbox and made a start on stripping and cleaning it.

The gearbox had clean oil inside and everything engaged well so I did not strip it completely but just clean it up and paint.

Next was the headstock. Again this felt good and the clutch seemed to work so I did not want to disturb. A lot of maskig and a lick of paint was all that was needed. oh and its seriously heavy!!!