Clausing Colchester 13 Questions

C

Carruthers Weld

Plastic

Joined

Feb 5, 2019

• Feb 5, 2019

• #1

Hi All,

First post here. I own a precision welding shop in Snohomish Washington and recently acquired a Clausing Colchester 13 lathe along with some other machinery. I have some basic turning experience, but I'm rusty and haven't used this particular model of lathe before. I just hooked up power, leveled the machine and started setting tools.

The first thing I noticed is an obvious high pitched "whine" noise from the headstock/chuck area. I've never ran a lathe that made a noise like this. It does it across all speeds, high and low.

I took a video and I'll try and link it here:

YouTube

 

C

Carruthers Weld

Plastic

Joined

Feb 5, 2019

• Feb 5, 2019

• #2

Also, the lower sightglass shows oil about halfway, and the upper sightglass appears empty. Does the upper fill from the lower while running?

 

L

Limy Sami

Diamond

Joined

Jan 7, 2007

Location

Norfolk, UK

• Feb 5, 2019

• #3

That's nothing unusual on those square head Students, (and one of the many reasons I don't like C words) check the oil level to the manual and carry on. …………..there is no oil pump.
Oh yes, that C word whine used to give me terrible headaches, so either get some ear protection or turn your hearing aid off.

 

C

cg285

Stainless

Joined

Jan 31, 2007

Location

sumterville, fl

• Feb 5, 2019

• #4

i thought there was 13 questions

 

J

john.k

Diamond

Joined

Dec 21, 2012

Location

Brisbane Qld Australia

• Feb 5, 2019

• #5

The upper sightglass is the head lube...........if it gets low the rear spindle bearing may seize..........and you dont want that..........my suggestion is take the top off,fill with oil to half way up the glass,than look outside and see if you can see anything.The glass may be so dirty you cant,so clean it....The gear noise is pretty good actually,not very loud at all.....The noise can be reduced a bit with a ISO 68 oil,not if you are in a cold area though.

 

J

john.k

Diamond

Joined

Dec 21, 2012

Location

Brisbane Qld Australia

• Feb 5, 2019

• #6

While you have the top off,have a good look around for problems,and see how much crud is on the bottom of the casting.....motor oil will pick up this steel grit and circulate it thru the bearings.So dont use motor oil.

 

C

Carruthers Weld

Plastic

Joined

Feb 5, 2019

• Feb 5, 2019

• #7

Thanks for this info. For some reason I thought there was an oil pump that pumped up to the upper headstock/spindle area, but I ran the lathe for almost a minute and didn't see any oil in the upper sightglass. So pull that cover off the top and add oil through there?

 

SAG 180

Titanium

Joined

Sep 17, 2007

Location

Cairns, Qld, Australia

• Feb 6, 2019

• #8

Master 2500 Manual:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4Mz2p8kJwnkOFk2Q2JsU1hpU1U/edit



Can't seem to find one for the Student 1800 online.

 

J

john.k

Diamond

Joined

Dec 21, 2012

Location

Brisbane Qld Australia

• Feb 6, 2019

• #9

The Student has no pump,but the Master does......not a pressure pump,but little more than a stirrer......Anyhoo ,if there is a pump ,its driven off the electric motor.,and there will be a tube inside the head..........the student doesnt have this ,but it seems yours has a sightglass high up on the left..........this doesnt do anything,if there is no pipe,and can be ignored.The sightglass directly above the bed is the one to check.It wont hurt to fill this nearly full,but make sure oil level is visible before filling,or clean the glass.

 

zimbo

Aluminum

Joined

Apr 22, 2017

Location

Richmond, VA

• Feb 6, 2019

• #10

Mine only makes that noise on the 2 highest speeds, so don't use those speeds much.
I use hydraulic 68 oil but some folks I have gotten some advice in the UK use hydraulic 46 oil.
I bought a copy of the manual from Tony at lathes.co.uk and it has everything you need to know about your lathe. I think I have a pdf manual for the 1800 if you want. Just let me know.