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Schaublin 150 vs Colchester Master vs3250

Kobusvn

Plastic
Joined
Dec 17, 2018
Hi all,

I am utterly indecisive as I have the opportunity to get an out of the box new Colchester Master Vs 3250 with all the bells and whistles or a Schaublin 150 that is in a very good shape. Although I know that the Schaublin is probably a better buy in terms of quality build etc, I cannot decide an will value your input. I cannot really decide...
 
What are you using it for?

Work? Hobby? If work, what kind? Heavy dirty turning, or fairly lightweight and relatively 'clean' work?

I worked in a shop that had both. May still have both.

I'd be hard pressed to not glom on to the Schaublin for MY purposes, a 150 or 135 would be about the ultimate 'basement' lathe, but if I was buying as a sole general purpose lathe, for a maintenance shop or that ilk, like as not the capacity of the Colchester would serve you better, spindle bore, swing, and distance between centers.

They are not very directly comparable, as far as their niche in the overall 'ecology' goes.
 
I mainly only do hobby work on my lathes, restoration and parts on old motorbikes and the odd tooling etc that I need from time to time.

I have my heart on the Schaublin and I think that it might prove to be a better long term investment. The biggest jobs that I would turn on it would probably be more chuck backplates... I rarely ey ever have anything longer than 400mm in the machine so the length of the bed is not much of a concern to me.

Thanks for your comments!
 
Saw the title on this and frankly thought it was posted as a joke....

150, don't blink of someone else will have it!

By the by, isn't that Colchester made in Asia now?
Cheers Ross
 
I mainly only do hobby work on my lathes, restoration and parts on old motorbikes and the odd tooling etc that I need from time to time.

I have my heart on the Schaublin and I think that it might prove to be a better long term investment. The biggest jobs that I would turn on it would probably be more chuck backplates... I rarely ey ever have anything longer than 400mm in the machine so the length of the bed is not much of a concern to me.

Thanks for your comments!

Gotta say that I'd go with the Schaublin all day and all night!

The only 'downside' to such machines, is the compulsion to start collecting the whole set of accessories, which can be rare and expensive. But otherwise, yeah, if it's in any shape at all, and esp. if it has any of it's standard stuff with, steadies, etc.

And yeah, Ross, the ones we had in our shop at my former workplace were made by Dah Lian sumthin' sumthin', out of China. Didn't have any problems with them, other than the Newall C80 CSS DRO had a recall because the Constant Surface Speed function apparently ran away on some folks. The fix was to pull one cable and disable that function. Ironically, that CSS function never had worked on our machine...
 
congratulations ! the schaublin 150 is one of the best lathes i have ever worked on. it conjures top surfaces even in shitty material. operation, a dream.

i hope the drive belt is still good, changing it is no fun.

greetings

Julian
 
Any of those lathes will serve you well, especially for your type of work you describe.

Its only up to you, and which brand you like the most. To some, name are most important [emoji4][emoji16]

Colchester isn't what they use to be.
But they are still a great lathe, and a brand new one wouldn't be a bad. [emoji16]


I have a couple of Colchesters at home.
They feel good, runs good and then I got them cheap [emoji23][emoji4]

But again, it all depends on the job you do, and what you eyes see [emoji16]
For the jobs I do, bothhome or at the factory where I work, a Schaublin would be a total overkill. [emoji16]
But would still be nice to have, just beacuse it's a Schaublin [emoji16]

Colchester - The world turns on Colchester lathes.
 
Not much. But hours on a 125c.
They are great.
But maybe a bit overkill in a hobbyshop for most people. [emoji4]

I'm sure a Colchester would do just fine here. [emoji4]

I've spent hundred of hundreds of hours on Colchesters. They do also have a ability to do some quite good and fine cuts. [emoji6]

But again, it all comes down to what you feel and what brand you prefer [emoji4]



Colchester - The world turns on Colchester lathes.
 
Thanks guys, logic prevailed and the Schaublin will be prepped for shipping...

Yah done right. Classy lathes. Class tells, class sells, and class.... will never let you down.

Colchester can't justify "shipping".

Wudda had to hitch-hike, back-pack, paint boats, scrub floors, mind kids, generally work for meals along the way, even hoor itself and such.

Could have arrived a year late, pregnant. AND with an STD or been cannibalized for parts en route.

Tough ways to start a marriage, those can be.

:D
 
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Try a Holbrook C10:drool5:

We all have our preferences, eh!

In all honestly, when dealing with used machinery, condition trumps all.

Were you to offer me a Holbrook or Monarch, new in the crate, next to a Scaublin 150 in the crate, I'd still grab at the Schaublin.

Sorta like some guys looking for heat in winter, shade in summer, outta their woman, while others are looking for skinny and lots of corners. We all have our preferences.
 
Lots of Colchester bashing here on the board in general, seems a popular refrain....
Can't speak for the Asian version (i have my ideas though) but i have lots of seat time on the earlier 15" Clausing Colchesters!
Have one in the shop. Setup almost full time with a 5-c collet setup having the "Royal" lever closer..

Rebuilt this machine in the shop maybe 10 years past now...bed reground , Turcite on the cross and carriage scraped to alignment.
This machine is quite capable of fine work...good finishes and excellent at holding size.

It without question can produce more work per time than the other lathe in the shop ....Spindle speed changes are direct and no nonsense , no figuring which lever goes where for what speed ..its all graphic and a simple
rotation of the selector levers away.

The apron setup is also no nonsense..direction and cross or long select-able off plungers while everything is moving...fast
The controls for me fall exactly to hand...everything is where it feels natural.

Long travel on the cross allows cutting on the back side of parts...a nice feature. Not a heavy hogger but that is not the class of work i am doing.
In short this vintage Colchester given my class of work is very capable and i would not hesitate to purchase another .....


Of course having a 135 o4 150 would be pretty nice if for no other reason than its "cool" factor....
Cheers Ross
 








 
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