Colchester Student Mk1 Won’t Start

[Phil WhitleyParticipant @philwhitley94135]

Noice!!

[Donovan KaardalParticipant @donovankaardal43990]

Very nice!

If you've got a car battery charger, you can also tinker with some galvanic etching. Basically reverse electroplating – I've used it in the past to make my own version of machine name plates, and also some medieval reenactment stuff.

With brass you just need a bucket of water, some copper sulfate crystals (used for killing weeds), a DC power source (aka car battery charger), some wire, bits of brass, and a few vague memories from grade 9 science class. At least, that's how I did it.

For the resist, I just used cut vinyl stickers made at a sign shop. You can use all sorts of things though, and you can etch a lot of different metals. I've etched some of my own home-forged knives back in the day.

Regards,

Donovan

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Parts have arrived! The main 4 parts I needed are exactly as I wanted, so they can be replaced easily

There is much more than I need. So now I have spares, which don't fit my machine either

End cover, not needed and wouldn't fit anyway

Backsplash needs a good clean then I'll see how/if it fits

New on/off lever, no slop in handle and I can swap over the red knobs so mine will stay the same colour. Perfect

Lead screw spare I think, with dials I won't be using.

Interestingly the gear box cover there is aluminium instead of steel like mine. The holes to mount it are also in different positions.

Handwheel is very nice, so I'll be swapping my non original for it. Think it needs a good clean and polish before that though.

The toolpost seems to have been mounted just using a bolt and 1 locator hole. Not sure how beaten up it is. I may still just get a new one and stay away from the more expensive tool holders.

Pretty much the whole compound and most of the cross slide, the top part including the nut and leadscrew

Assorted bolts and nuts and small gears. None of them have chipped teeth, so I may swap a few over if any are the same

Much better

This bearing housing is also aluminium, which I need to use. So I'll have to get the etch primer out!

The knurled knob that goes onto the end cover fro the lathe is the same thread as the one on the threading dial here, so I've used one of the spares to go on here. It should have had one on here anyway, so it'll be much easier to engage and disengage. Spanner free!

So, lots of parts, a few I'm unsure of what they are, which is impressive considering i've taken most of my lathe to pieces. So there must be more differences in the models

I imagine there will be spares if anyone needs anything. I'll probably put it on the Colchester forum as well. No point me having parts that don't fit

[Donovan KaardalParticipant @donovankaardal43990]

That's a nice haul!

Not sure if you can say it was worth the wait, but at least you've got 'em now.

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

Nice gift to yourself! I was looking last night as to what the cross-slide and screw cost on the Bay. Sit before you look at the price …

Edited By Herman van der Merwe on 28/07/2020 19:27:01

Edited By Herman van der Merwe on 28/07/2020 19:27:13

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

All the spare bits will come in handy, one day. If not for you, for some other person who is in need!

Keep up the good work, chaps!

Howard

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Posted by Herman van der Merwe on 28/07/2020 19:26:43:

Nice gift to yourself! I was looking last night as to what the cross-slide and screw cost on the Bay. Sit before you look at the price …

I actually plan on keeping my original cross slide parts. I don't think these ones would fit mine anyway. So once again, I'll hopefully find someone who needs them.

Lots more progress made this evening.

Firstly I looked at the on off levers. They are almost identical. Except the new one isn't worn! So it will be perfect. but only if the ball comes off the original. I don't like the brighter red one…

Then I got to work on the apron wheel. I took it to the wire wheel and polished it up a bit. Not its final finish, but close enough for a quick play today

Then came a very important task. The splines were full of crud and rust and all sorts, so I spent an hour filling down the inside of the wheel so it now pushed on and off with a little bit of force. Not too tight, not too loose.

It looks fantastic, I'm very pleased. However, It most definitely needs a lick of paint(more so than the rest of the lathe)

Then I had a look at the backsplash. This part seems to go on here? But I don't know what It's for?

Then I had a little mock up of where the backsplash attaches. It looks perfect. From what I remember it's not the same shape as Hermans and Phils, but it has a space for the two holes in the back of the headstock to pass through. Which I think is for the taper attachment? I'll have a go at fitting this after I've given it a clean tomorrow.

I thought I'd take the wheel off the tailstock while I was cleaning things. So I removed all the paint from the areas that shouldn't have been painted; They both still need fully stripping and painting nicely

Meanwhile, it's looking better

Then I removed the nut that was on the threading indicator mount bit, and I put on the Knurled thingy. Looks and works much better

Then I moved onto trying to swap over the balls. The new ball came off without any struggle, but the old one put up a bit of a fight

Then just onto cleaning

I went to look at the end and try to thread the bolt back into the new one. Looks like there isn't a thread, I'll have to consult the later manuals to see how it should be held in place on the new ones. I think I will probably drill and tap the hole that is there. Possibly m12 if there is enough wall thickness(looks like there should be)

Then I realised that I haven't seen the apron carriage wheels button spacer that goes in the middle. I had it earlier but it's gone walkabout and I cannot find it for the life of me. That's one way to ruin what would have been a perfect night! The search shall continue tomorrow.

I probably won't clean these parts too excessively. I don't see the point polishing them like Herman has(even though his look amazing) Definitely rust-free, but I don't need to be able to see myself, at risk of cracking the parts then!

After all, A LITTLE BIT OF RUST IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

Posted by Richard Kirkman 1 on 28/07/2020 22:42:32:

>Then I had a look at the backsplash. This part seems to go on here? But I don't know what It's for?

It should be where the lamp mounts. The lamp has a mounting bracket with the same holes.

>After all, A LITTLE BIT OF RUST IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!

Ha ha ha, funny joke … NOT … I know it is aimed at me.

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Mid day update, More progress.

I tapped the end of the shaft to m10 as there was enough meat there. It was over the drill size however, so I tapped extra deep so there is more engagement so the pressure is more spread out. I also used a bolt that is twice or three times the length. So that will fit nicely now.

I couldn't see on the diagrams in the manual how this was meant to fit as it was a bit complicated as the model was meant to have the forward reverse switch going through this shaft too? Or at least it was in the manual

Then I got onto cleaning up the handle and shaft properly. The little button at the front came off accidentally. But it made cleaning a lot easier. It was quite scored so I put it in the drill press and cleaned it up a bit. Nothing too extreme. I don't see any point making it perfect as it would take a very long time, and then I'd have to get everything perfect

Then I gave the old ball a bit of a polish on a very fine buffing wheel with some very high grade compound. It shined up nicely. Once again, not removing the dents and scratches, but just making it look a little bit better.

Then It's all done, Finally a satisfying click instead of a sloppy handle! I believe the feel of the machine is very important. The better it feels to use, the more I'll want to use it!

Upside down, but still shows the same thing. The mount for my light isn't original, but the holes seem to line up for the mount. So I will probably need to machine something to make it fit nicely. I'm not too sure how it's meant to be done. Does anyone have any pictures of this?

Then I moved back onto the Apron wheel. A little more wire wheeling and it was looking good enough to buff. I can't see myself in it, so it's safe. But it definitely looks the part

Then I stripped all the paint, cleaned it and put a coat of red oxide primer onto it.

Productive morning, time to look at the backsplash

[Phil WhitleyParticipant @philwhitley94135]

back splash is what you get when you haven't got a splash back!! That one looks the same as mine Richard, but the handwheel is a lot posher than mine, which does not have the corrugations on the inside of the rim. The 2 hole bracket on the splash back is for the early type of amglepoise lamp I think, is it not like the one you have?

Phil

Edited By Phil Whitley on 29/07/2020 21:09:45

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

I didn't end up getting onto the backsplash, the grandparents paid a visit.

However I did get 2 parts back onto the lathe, both the oil seals are definitely in tight with their silicon gasket. I'm praying for no more leaks…

The shaft with the gear on actually went back in a lot easier than it came out! It's got a gasket installed with it now, so that should reduce the chances of leaks even further.

As it turns out, the yellow bearing cover replacement part that I wanted is the wrong size. The last of the 3 mounting holes doesn't line up, so i'll have to fix the old one somehow

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

Posted by Richard Kirkman 1 on 29/07/2020 22:56:02:

As it turns out, the yellow bearing cover replacement part that I wanted is the wrong size. The last of the 3 mounting holes doesn't line up, so i'll have to fix the old one somehow

Just TIG weld the wrong hole close and drill a correct hole in the flange of the cover.

Edited By Herman van der Merwe on 30/07/2020 08:58:29

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Yeah Herman, that sounds like a good idea. But I can't TIG, don't have the facilities or the practice. Plus, If I'm going to be tiging then I may well just fill up the old one and fix that instead of modifying a different one

I've looked at the splash back this morning. Not great news, but problems to be solved!

The mounting hole does not line up conviniently.

I do not particularly want to put any holes into the headstock, and I'd like to put as few holes as possible into the splash back.

I started off by removing the chuck guard which had been added at some point. I do not plan on reinstalling it. It just gets in the way.

This is how the light was mounted. As far as I know, the light was attached to the back of the headstock orignally. But I don't have any holes for that, so i will try to use the splash back's mount. It needs a good clean. Everything does

Obviously not in the right orientation, but the hole size is right at least

Since all that was out of the way, I looked at the mounting of the splashback. The holes don't line up perfectly, so some work is going to need doing

The pictures make it look closer, but it's probably a good half-inch away.

So I began to work on fitting the light mount together in a fashion that would work nicely.

The holes lined up, So I just had to come up with a way to get them mounted together. Luckily the blue bit had some holes for set screws, and I found some set screws the right size in the spare parts!

So I drilled out to 10.2mm then tapped M12. Cut the bolts off and put slots in (with two hacksaw blades. Thanks for the tip Phil, it worked very well)

Fully mounted.

So now I just need to mount the blue bit to the splash back and the splash back to the headstock! If only the parts could have come from an identical lathe!

Edited By Richard Kirkman 1 on 30/07/2020 14:12:37

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

Good job!

For the holes that does not match up I will make a tuning fork type bracket which fits over the back plate. Put two holes in the two fork prongs and drill an extra hole above the existing plate hole. Then bolt the fork onto the plate. The stem of the fork gets a hole to match the existing hole in the headstock.

 

I drew with a crummy program. The bottom two bolts screws into the back plate and do not petrude. Otherwise use countersunk bolts from the back with a washer and nut on the exposed side.

 

Otherwise weld a plate extension to the splashing backing splashing plate.

 

Edited By Herman van der Merwe on 30/07/2020 16:24:16

Edited By Herman van der Merwe on 30/07/2020 16:25:11

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Good Idea Herman

Although my pictures didn't quite show it very well, the back splash splash back whatever its called does go up to the hole in the headstock. So I don't need to build up any material.

I'm currently thinking drill a hole and countersink for a bolt to go into the headstock hole and be flush. Then the light mount needs to attach and be flush on the rear side too. I think I'll be able to manage it. It would be easier If I had a lathe running to make some custom fittings! I'll need to measure the size of the hole in the headstock and buy some bolts. I only have metric here. Actually there may be exactly what I'm looking for in the spares box… I'll check before I go out

I've just reassembled the main lathe spindle. Probably the 5th time I've done it by now, so I'm getting much better at it. It still wasn't perfect. I'll have to practice more next summer. It still took me an hour and a bit, so I need to shave another half hour off my time.

[Phil WhitleyParticipant @philwhitley94135]

I will take a few pics of my splashback and post them up, does seem odd that it doesnt just fit straight on

Phil.

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

All sorted now, I just decided that It needed to fit, so I've made it fit. I'm not a fan of modifying parts, but there was no other option here. Apart from get a different one from Colchester spares

And very luckily the bolt I said I might have fitted perfectly

Simple, I just laid out my hole spacing, drilled and countersunk. Then I cut the bolt down to the right size

I think It looks very acceptable. Not out of the ordinary too much. Only someone who knows these machines would ever notice

Then I have a plan for mounting the light mount very easily. I plan to drill down a 3/8ths bolt and tap it M6, then I can secure it on from the back flush, and it can look nice with the hex head. There should be plenty of space for it. But I need a lathe to do it accurately. So onto more assembling

I've messaged a friend about potentially tig braze filling the broken out bit of casting, but meanwhile I am just using one of the longer bolts and a washer that I made fit. This holds the gasket so it wont move, so presumably It should seal alright. Only time will tell

Then comes the question of gearing. The gear that fits on that lower shaft has 2 teeth that are partially damaged. The spare one has all its teeth intact. But, the teeth look a little bit bigger. Is this just wear and will I be okay to use it? Or should I swap all the gears on the end of the lathe to make sure they're all the same.

It's not a big difference and they seem to mesh okay

The reverse forward switch needs a mount onto the splash guard too, otherwise the whole thing is too wobbly. Not too sure how I'll do that yet as I don't want to put a hole into the splash guard and just put a bolt and nut on the other side like it was. Perhaps welding a little bit on for a mount would be good

Then, a quick question. What is this little hook/tag for?

Apart from that, I think things are shaping up. Especially once I get the other parts painted (finally) and reassembled

The ON/OFF lever feels so much more satisfying to use. I'm very happy, it was well worth the wait. Actually feels like a proper machine instead of wiggling a stick about. Imagine if your gearstick in your car was loose and moved 3 cm before it actually went anywhere. Not a good feeling

Very happy with my progress today

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Little progress, but something. I got the splash guard cleaned up, or at least as much as I'm cleaning it up for now

Just wire brushed it and oiled it up so it hopefully won't rust any more before I paint it

Then I polished up and cleaned the new tap, since its an original one and my old one didn't seem very good. I like the new one more

I'm trying to get the other covers painted asap so I can reassemble fully and get the light mounts sorted. But I also need to take the apron to pieces to fit the new hand wheel and do some tinkering, since I seem to have messed up the threading lever when I took it off to polish it. Not good. I may have to fully disassemble it. We shall see tomorrow.

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

You missed a spot there on the top right corner, next to the red dot.

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Posted by Herman van der Merwe on 01/08/2020 20:32:54:

You missed a spot there on the top right corner, next to the red dot.

Not again…

Not all of our lathes can be as perfect as yours. The first scratch hurts the most!

I'll do it properly next summer. Meanwhile, I need to do some turning! I may even fill up the coolant tank!

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

Tip: Buy some phoshoric acid from anyone making liquid soap and coat the splashing backing splash plate with it. When the metal has turned a dark purple, rub it clean with a rag and wax it with some floor polish. It will not rust again.

Coolant tank filling – Check your pump's seal on the top of the impeller shaft. Mine was as hard as cardboard and a very good nothing do'er.

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Good news, followed by catastrophic news.

I finally got some paint on the parts, They aren't perfect, but a good start

Bad news after pictures. It might ruin your day. Hopefully the smiley paint face will soften the blow

Painting will need sanding down and spraying at some point, but I may as well get good coverage with a brush then worry about the finish on the last coat

Now onto the bad news. As I said in the last post, i seemed to have messed up the threading lever when I took it off to polish it.

The lever has always been tricky, hard to engage and even harder to disengage. I finally know why.

It looks like at some point there has been a collision. Resulting in the shaft that the half nut traverses up and down with being sheared off. This is not good news.

I have been in here before messing around, but I never tried to take anything to pieces. And there is absolutely no way that in my use of the lathe that I have done this. I'd have heard it go.

Anyway, so now I really need some assistance. I would extremely appreciate any input

Firstly, I need to remove the apron fully. Is there a way to do that without taking the threading change gearbox to pieces? As I don't want to remove all of that.

As far as fixing it, my first thought would be to drill a locating pin through the center of each part, then brazing back together. Or whatever fixing method is best for cast iron.

If only I could have got Traci's half nut. I don't think colchester spares will be cheap, so I think fixing is the only option

Edit-My friend has an oxy-acetylene torch so I could try my hand at brazing. However, advice very much appreciated 

Edited By Richard Kirkman 1 on 02/08/2020 14:13:56

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

Yes, you can remove the apron without stripping the gearbox. Just undo the leadscrew collars to the RH side of the gearbox side and unclip the shaft's clutch below it. Refer to my thread.

Brazing – The magic is to create a taper to almost nothing on either end of the shaft, put the two bits in a sturdy angle iron, clamp both down, heat the iron to be brazed to red hot (take it slow) and then braze bit by bit. Braze a bit. Turn, clean, braze, turn, clean, braze. So on and so forth till you are about level with the inner surface of the angle iron.

Remove, the braze to about 2mm (dunno what that is in imperial) above the shaft surface. Let it cool down. Turn it down to surface level on a lathe. Bling it. Oops you do not do bling …

Or you can machine a new shaft – https://youtu.be/9l86eVXWPNU

Edited By Herman van der Merwe on 02/08/2020 15:38:38

[Richard Kirkman 1Participant @richardkirkman1]

Just been through your posts, seems to be a good description, so thank you, Herman. I'll see how it goes tomorrow

I know what 2mm is! England is supposedly metric. Although it would work out to be about 80 Thousandths(possibly closer to 79). I must say that since the lathe is imperial, I have been talking about these silly fractions and thousandths more and more…

Skimming it in the lathe may be difficult due to it being attached to the half nut, but I'm sure there's a way around that. The break created a very clear place for the shafts to realign, so hopefully, I'll chamfer enough that they still register together, then I can always chamfer some more once the pieces are together a little.

At this point I wouldn't want to bling my lathe, I can't have it look like I'm copying you! I'll continue to do an inferior job as to make you lathe look even better!

As far as the silicon bronze brazing rod goes, does it matter what thickness I buy? My options are 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2mm(see, Metric!). And then just general flux?

I'll attempt repair before I look at turning a new shaft…

I have a small piece of angle iron, so that will be perfect, a fantastic tip. Thank you Herman.

[Herman van der MerweParticipant @hermanvandermerwe76509]

Posted by Richard Kirkman 1 on 02/08/2020 19:41:35:

As far as the silicon bronze brazing rod goes, does it matter what thickness I buy? My options are 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2mm(see, Metric!). And then just general flux?

Brazing is actually very easy of you wear your glasses and everything is squeaky clean. No blobbing, but just dab dab. However, if your friend knows how to do it very well, I would let him do it. The secret is to get the iron red hot before you start. I would use a 2,4mm rod on this job if your chamfers are fair.

Have fun …

Edited By Herman van der Merwe on 02/08/2020 21:19:10

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