Our Clausing Colchester 15-48 engine lathe has had the tailstock's taper spun-out really bad (I didn't do it!). You stick drill chucks in and you can easily turn them by hand, not to mention the tapers look terrible. All of the drill chucks that we have for it are going to get new tapers, but we don't have any way to reqrind the quill.
Hi, I now have a 1974 model 15x50 clausing-colchester lathe in my home garage. It came out of the tool room where I work to make room for some CNC equipment. It looks just like the one you are looking at except longer. It did come with the taper attachment mounted. I ran it for 20 years there WITH NO PROBLEM and It works fine at my house also.
Sorry about short notice, however, auction tomorrow that has a Clausing-Colchester lathe on it. I believe it swings 17" and is 60" between centers. Does both inch and metric threading. That's about all I know about it right now. I was hoping for some input as to 1) how good a machine it is and 2) what to look for when I see it tomorrow. Thanks!
The normal Colchester English box has some metric threading capability built in, from memory something like 45 English threads and 25 metric. As far as I know the all English, Dominion, version was only made in short 27" bed form with Colchester badge. Dunno whether Clausing specified the Dominion box on longer bed machines tho'.
Also this is because the PO did an amount of polishing with this lathe. Since there are about a dozen oils (everything from hydraulic to gear oil) listed in other postings as the correct modern replacements for the Shell Tellus oils used on the CC Lathes, I called Clausing to find out their recommendations.
Hello all, discovered a *rich* petroleum reserve inside my lathe tonight, the cavity under the cross-slide was nearly packed solid with a neolithic black tarry grease. These issues aside, I will need to adjust the backlash on the cross-slide split nut (square head 8000 series 13x40 lathe - Master 2500).
According to the guy I talked to at Clausing a few weeks ago for my Clausing 15" 8000 series, the suitable sub for the Tellus 27 is Mobil DTE 24 light hyd oil and for the carriage apron the suitable sub for Tonna 33 is Mobil DTE 26 hyd oil. Clausings ph # is 1-800-323-0972. They were good people on the phone, parts are expensive as hell though ...
The Colchester is very highly regarded. It is perhaps the Rolls Royce of lathes. It sounds like someone had a bad experience with a Colchester, like they had to use a lathe someone had butchered or they had a fight with their wife that day, and then they generalize to include all Colchester lathes in their unfounded opinion.
CLAUSING-Colchester 15" lathe clutch, engagement, inspection, adjustment, binding I purchased a 15" swing CLAUSING-Colchester gear head lathe. I did not receive any history on the lathe when I purchased and it was not powered up for inspection. I started a full inspection and service before testing/powering it up.
A Clausing Colchester 15 popped up in my area for $1000, delivery included. I'm planning to go look at it this Saturday to look over it and pull the trigger on it if nothing jumps out to me. However, I am a newbie. I've operated lathes plenty at work and school, but you could fill several books with the amount of things I don't know.