Needing a thin wrench is when your box of junky wrenches comes in handy. Just pick out a wrench and grind it to fit. It used to be that the 24" x 36" solid cardboard, that came with the paper to print map sheets, was very handy. I used to to make gaskets for cold applications and for mockups when making auto body parts. Look around for some that a print shop would be throwing out. Good video. Good Luck, Rick
looking at the gears Joseph, there may be a worn bearing on the right of the centre shaft! Loop a wire round the shafts at the ends in turn and see if you can detect any up and down movement. Excellent video, well explained! Phil
You have a very nice looking machine shop there. Your Colchester does look in very nice shape. As a retired machinist, I can tell you that they are pretty noisy right from the star. You are right. All of the head stock gears are lubricated by flinging the oil around. There are 2 oiler ports on the top. They are for lubricating the leaves that move the gears. It is very important that the oil level in the head stock be kept at the full mark in the oil level window. Nice job!
Very good explanation of how to remove the cover. Imagine a building full of those lathes running all day. I spent 12 years in a shop with lathes, mills, grinders and other machines. It was mostly Bridgeports and no Colchesters, so I don't know how they compare. But it was noisy!
Man they don’t build stuff like that anymore. Looks fantastic! Would look a lot better in my garage though Joseph. lol. Cheers, and thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much, I'll let you know when I get my lathes gearbox lid off! I also think that you could use a thin shim to place under the indent for the gear select lever to help get it out if you dont have a small enough wrench, i actually never noticed that nut on the lever to be honest. It also seems the first few gears on your lathe dont have much (if any) oil on them, prehaps this is contributing to your noise?
I hope the video helped. We noticed that lack of oil too. Making this video had encouraged us to get back to investigating the noise issue. Take care and let us know how you get on
How's she goin'? Thanks for this demo. You did a great job. That is a fine looking lathe and being 70 years is not that bad. It's just getting broke in, something like myself!! LOL Take 'er easy!!
Good of you to look to help them out 👍There must be a tolerance for the shafts that you can check on the end of the ends at the bearing / bushing with a dial gauge. I remember in shop they always encouraged us to rotate the chuck by hand to ease engagement and to ensure it by validating the detent position before working.
Hi Joseph, very interesting your gearbox, also mine is as yours, in very nice condition !! But yours is better because your lathe is more old that mine of course (mine Bantam was made in 1964), tooths sides are very nice, this mean that also, during the years, the previous owner used it in a good manner !! A big ciao from Italy !! Alberto.
The inside is the gearbox looks good. It has the same red paint as my 68 Case tractor gearbox . At the old machine shop (back home) there is an old Seneca Star lathe circa. 1920. It has three main speeds changed by moving a leather drive belt to one of three flat pulleys. Fine tuning for different speeds is accomplished by changing flat-toothed gears Under an open side cover. There is a rack on the wall behind the lathe with all the different possible gearing combinations, each gear a different size. The gearing in manually lubricated with oil drip positions. Nice to see old equipment kept working. No idea why this colchester is noisy ,it suggests wear somewhere or perhaps just the way it has always been.
The Seneca Star lathe sounds like a cool machine. The gearbox on these Colchester lathes are noisy but ours does sounds a bit more noisy than it should be, further investigation required. Take care
@@GardenTractorBoyThe Seneca Star, Patented in 1899, (this one built about 1920) was made in Ontario, Canada. I have some footage and will post. It was the mainstay lathe in a family workshop for many years. I've seen Colchester lathes in Canada too, they are abundant. Let's hope you find the source of the noise. Your dad is very good at these things so I suspect you'll be discovering what it is.
I's a kind of circular rack. A gear operated by the lever on the front of the headstock engages with it to move it left or right to select the low or high speed ranges.
Enjoyed workshop Wednesday especially a machine older than me functioning and looking great! Gives me high HOPE!💯🤣
The machine is in fantastic condition for the age, much like yourself if you do not mind me saying so. Take care
@@GardenTractorBoyAwesome you just made another OLD MACHINE SMILE!
Good Evening Joseph Crew ( Great Come Back !!! ) Looks like a car manual transmission and Keep Up Your OUTSTANDING Videos and School Works Cheers !!!
Thanks. The straight cut gears do not always make it easy to select different gears. Take care
Good to see workshop Wednesday again! Great stuff Joseph!!
Thanks. It was great to make a Workshop Wednesday but it may be a while before the next one due to school commitments. Take care
Great video Joseph. 👍🏻👋
Thanks 👍Take care
Needing a thin wrench is when your box of junky wrenches comes in handy. Just pick out a wrench and grind it to fit. It used to be that the 24" x 36" solid cardboard, that came with the paper to print map sheets, was very handy. I used to to make gaskets for cold applications and for mockups when making auto body parts. Look around for some that a print shop would be throwing out. Good video. Good Luck, Rick
Great tips, thank you very much. Take care
These lathes have had a long life and with good maintenance it will last for many years to come. Thanks for sharing how to remove the case cover. 👍
Thanks. It is a great machine and we enjoy using it. Take care
Good afternoon Joseph.
Glad to see Workshop Wednesday back
Thanks Gary 👍 It was great to do a Workshop Wednesday but it may be a while before I can do another due to school commitments. Take care
looking at the gears Joseph, there may be a worn bearing on the right of the centre shaft! Loop a wire round the shafts at the ends in turn and see if you can detect any up and down movement. Excellent video, well explained!
Phil
Thank you very much for the information, we will try that. Take care
I never understood all the different sized bolts. You are generous of going to the trouble of showing
how to remove the gear box lid.
Thanks. We are learning a lot about bolt sizes, it is harder over here as we have metric too. Take care
Hello Joseph. So true, a visual explanation is much better than a written one. This was kind of you. Have a great weekend. Ben
Thanks. It was also good to make another Workshop Wednesday. Take care and I hope you are having a great week
You have a very nice looking machine shop there. Your Colchester does look in very nice shape. As a retired machinist, I can tell you that they are pretty noisy right from the star. You are right. All of the head stock gears are lubricated by flinging the oil around. There are 2 oiler ports on the top. They are for lubricating the leaves that move the gears. It is very important that the oil level in the head stock be kept at the full mark in the oil level window. Nice job!
Thanks for all the great information. Take care
it's amazing to me that so many years ago they were able to make such a complex machine and to think,,, they did it all with out computers.
We were thinking exactly the same and the best thing it that it still works really well all these years later. Take care
I really enjoy your workshop Wednesday series thanks have a great one
Thanks you. It may be a while before we make another Workshop Wednesday due to school commitments but we do enjoy making them. Take care
It looks brand new inside. The last 70 years have been good.
I agree, it is very impressive inside. I don't think anything is made that well these days. Take care
Very good explanation of how to remove the cover. Imagine a building full of those lathes running all day. I spent 12 years in a shop with lathes, mills, grinders and other machines. It was mostly Bridgeports and no Colchesters, so I don't know how they compare. But it was noisy!
Thanks. I can imagine it was very noisy. Take care
Man they don’t build stuff like that anymore. Looks fantastic! Would look a lot better in my garage though Joseph. lol. Cheers, and thanks for sharing.
LOL, it is a bit heavy to move to your workshop. You got that right, it is a fantastc machine. Take care
Very interesting . Never seen the inside of one of these gearboxes !!
Thanks. The inside of the gearbox is very cool. Take care
That’s a nice old lathe Joseph, enjoyed the video
Cheers 👍👍
Thanks 👍We do like the lathe and I think we would love it if we can reduce some of the noise in the gearbox. Take care
Thank you so much, I'll let you know when I get my lathes gearbox lid off!
I also think that you could use a thin shim to place under the indent for the gear select lever to help get it out if you dont have a small enough wrench, i actually never noticed that nut on the lever to be honest.
It also seems the first few gears on your lathe dont have much (if any) oil on them, prehaps this is contributing to your noise?
I hope the video helped. We noticed that lack of oil too. Making this video had encouraged us to get back to investigating the noise issue. Take care and let us know how you get on
How's she goin'? Thanks for this demo. You did a great job. That is a fine looking lathe and being 70 years is not that bad. It's just getting broke in, something like myself!! LOL Take 'er easy!!
Thanks 👍 It is in great condition for the age, much like you. I hope you do not mind me saying so. Take care
It's nice to be compared to some old that still works, so I'm OK with the comment Joseph! LOL@@GardenTractorBoy
Full watch and a thumbs up👍🏻
Thank you very much. Take care
Good of you to look to help them out 👍There must be a tolerance for the shafts that you can check on the end of the ends at the bearing / bushing with a dial gauge. I remember in shop they always encouraged us to rotate the chuck by hand to ease engagement and to ensure it by validating the detent position before working.
We always like to help if we can. We should check the tolerances as you suggested. Thanks for the great information. Take care
Good video Joseph. I'm sure that will help people out some day. Take care my friend 🔧👍
Thanks 👍 I hope it is a help to someone. Take care
Good information. That should definitely help someone
Thanks, I do hope so. It was great to make a Worksho Wednesday video too, we have not done one for a while. Take care
Hi Joseph, very interesting your gearbox, also mine is as yours, in very nice condition !! But yours is better because your lathe is more old that mine of course (mine Bantam was made in 1964), tooths sides are very nice, this mean that also, during the years, the previous owner used it in a good manner !! A big ciao from Italy !! Alberto.
Ciao Alberto. The condition of the gearbox is impressive for the age, I can't imagine anything made today will last as long. Take care
@@GardenTractorBoy Yes i'm with you, mine gear box was made from people that had great experience in drawings and assembly too! Really incredible!!
The inside is the gearbox looks good. It has the same red paint as my 68 Case tractor gearbox . At the old machine shop (back home) there is an old Seneca Star lathe circa. 1920. It has three main speeds changed by moving a leather drive belt to one of three flat pulleys. Fine tuning for different speeds is accomplished by changing flat-toothed gears Under an open side cover. There is a rack on the wall behind the lathe with all the different possible gearing combinations, each gear a different size. The gearing in manually lubricated with oil drip positions. Nice to see old equipment kept working. No idea why this colchester is noisy ,it suggests wear somewhere or perhaps just the way it has always been.
The Seneca Star lathe sounds like a cool machine. The gearbox on these Colchester lathes are noisy but ours does sounds a bit more noisy than it should be, further investigation required. Take care
@@GardenTractorBoyThe Seneca Star, Patented in 1899, (this one built about 1920) was made in Ontario, Canada. I have some footage and will post. It was the mainstay lathe in a family workshop for many years. I've seen Colchester lathes in Canada too, they are abundant. Let's hope you find the source of the noise. Your dad is very good at these things so I suspect you'll be discovering what it is.
Great looking machine...any idea what the series of rings are for on the main shaft?
I's a kind of circular rack. A gear operated by the lever on the front of the headstock engages with it to move it left or right to select the low or high speed ranges.
It is a great machine, we love it and we are still learning hoe to use it. Take care
👍🛠️🚜🔥
Thank you very much. Take care
Built like tanks. What's that on the main spindle. It looks like a load of discs?
Yes, great machines. I believe they engage with the lever on the front to select the high/low speeds. Take care
That top looked a bit stubborn to get removed
Yes, it is not easy. If you have not removed the top before it is easy to think that something else is holding it. Take care
No help here, but good suggestions in the comments.
Thank for watching and commenting. This would be a great addition to your workshop. Take care