Hi Gang,

I have been asking a lot of questions over the past few days as I try to
figure out what lathe works best for me. I asked about Lagun lathes, now I
would like your opinions on a Colchester Model 6535 15"x50" Lathe. I took a
look at one today and the bed, apron, ways and geared head were in superb
condition. The only thing I did not like is the way the chuck mounts onto
the spindle. It is not a D1 Mount.

I am amazed at the difference in opinions expressed by members of the group
as well as machinery dealers and machinists. I was speaking with a very
nice machinery dealer who told me to stay away from the round head/bullet
head Colchester's because parts were absolutely impossible to get. Another
dealer said they were not one of his favorites either. Then, a well known
machinery rebuild with an impeccable reputation advised that the lathe I was
looking at was in excellent shape and thinks it is an outstanding lathe.

I inspected it today and I must say that physically it is in fine shape.
Close to zero backlash on the apron and crossfeed and the head was quiet
when running. I opened the head and the gears are perfect with no broken
teeth. There was oil in the apron and head which was clean and the sight
glasses were clean.

The asking price is $2500 which includes an Aloris CXA tool post and one
holder, a 10" three jaw buck chuck, a 10" 4 jaw buck chuck, follow rest, 5C
collet Closer (lever style), Drive plate and a set of 5c Collets.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

My sincerest thanks.

Joe...

On Sun, 9 Oct 2005 18:16:03 -0400, "JB" wrote:

Hi Gang,

I have been asking a lot of questions over the past few days as I try to
figure out what lathe works best for me. I asked about Lagun lathes, now I
would like your opinions on a Colchester Model 6535 15"x50" Lathe. I took a
look at one today and the bed, apron, ways and geared head were in superb
condition. The only thing I did not like is the way the chuck mounts onto
the spindle. It is not a D1 Mount.

I am amazed at the difference in opinions expressed by members of the group
as well as machinery dealers and machinists. I was speaking with a very
nice machinery dealer who told me to stay away from the round head/bullet
head Colchester's because parts were absolutely impossible to get. Another
dealer said they were not one of his favorites either. Then, a well known
machinery rebuild with an impeccable reputation advised that the lathe I was
looking at was in excellent shape and thinks it is an outstanding lathe.

I inspected it today and I must say that physically it is in fine shape.
Close to zero backlash on the apron and crossfeed and the head was quiet
when running. I opened the head and the gears are perfect with no broken
teeth. There was oil in the apron and head which was clean and the sight
glasses were clean.

The asking price is $2500 which includes an Aloris CXA tool post and one
holder, a 10" three jaw buck chuck, a 10" 4 jaw buck chuck, follow rest, 5C
collet Closer (lever style), Drive plate and a set of 5c Collets.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

My sincerest thanks.

Joe...


I have a 6525..which is the 13x36 version. About 1963 or so. The shop
I got it from has 3 more under power..and they all run every day. Im
the only guy who does maint for them...and in the 8-9 yrs Ive been
doing work for them...the only thing Ive ever done vis a vis these
machineswas machine a small box full of shear pins for them.

I loved mine..but it was serious bed wear due to using it with a tool
post grinder that surplused it in the first place..and I learned a
hell of a lot on that machine. Ive since loaned it out to a guy who
does misc. stuff that dont care if it cuts a taper or not.

Its one hell of a machine. Just make sure you stop the spindle before
changing gears. Shrug. Yours should be L0 or L00, which is one of the
finer spindle nose configurations ever made. And chucks etc are easy
to find.

Hummm...I wonder if my taper attachment would fit your lathe? I have
a spare....

Oh..thats a very fair price if its in good shape.

Gunner

Confronting Liberals with the facts of reality is very much akin to
clubbing baby seals. It gets boring after a while, but because Liberals are
so stupid it is easy work." Steven M. Barry

I just picked up a nice clausing Colchester myself, from what I have
learned, they are very nice machines, but, if something breaks, you
better know how to make the replacement part, they are "stupid"
expensive. From what I was told by the gent that sold me mine, the
prices are driven by accountants that mark-up the old inventory by X %
each year (storage cost and inflation). So, if the part has been
around for 20 years, it's the same idea as compounding interest on the
savings account....wouldn't be so bad if the accountants used the same
2.5% we get from the local bank ;-)

John

"JB" wrote in message
...
Hi Gang,

I have been asking a lot of questions over the past few days as I try to
figure out what lathe works best for me. I asked about Lagun lathes, now
I
would like your opinions on a Colchester Model 6535 15"x50" Lathe. I took
a
look at one today and the bed, apron, ways and geared head were in superb
condition. The only thing I did not like is the way the chuck mounts onto
the spindle. It is not a D1 Mount.

I am amazed at the difference in opinions expressed by members of the
group
as well as machinery dealers and machinists. I was speaking with a very
nice machinery dealer who told me to stay away from the round head/bullet
head Colchester's because parts were absolutely impossible to get.
Another
dealer said they were not one of his favorites either. Then, a well known
machinery rebuild with an impeccable reputation advised that the lathe I
was
looking at was in excellent shape and thinks it is an outstanding lathe.

I inspected it today and I must say that physically it is in fine shape.
Close to zero backlash on the apron and crossfeed and the head was quiet
when running. I opened the head and the gears are perfect with no broken
teeth. There was oil in the apron and head which was clean and the sight
glasses were clean.

The asking price is $2500 which includes an Aloris CXA tool post and one
holder, a 10" three jaw buck chuck, a 10" 4 jaw buck chuck, follow rest,
5C
collet Closer (lever style), Drive plate and a set of 5c Collets.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

My sincerest thanks.

Joe...




A little depends on you intended use. If the machine is in good shape and
you're buying it for a hobby shop where it only gets occasional use and you
are the only one running it, you'll probably never have to worry about parts
(unless the Great White Stupid Bird flies over and craps all over you...).
A machine in a production shop operated by (marginally) trained monkeys who
beat the living daylights out of it is another matter...

Jerry

Hello,

Like Gunner I have the 13x36 version of the same lathe (if I have my
numbers right). I have 1/2 a tooth missing on one of the internal gears
and though I thought about repacing it until I found out the $. I
didn't have the means to make one so I just used the lathe, can't say I
have noticed a different in the 4 years or so I have had it. Unless you
beat the hell out of it for some reason I can't think of many things you
will cause to break and therefore the price of parts is probably the
least of your worries.

On the other hand tooling for that size of machine and type of spindle
seem pretty easy to come by for a good price. This is more important in
my opinion.

TTYL, Jeff

JB wrote:
Hi Gang,

I have been asking a lot of questions over the past few days as I try to
figure out what lathe works best for me. I asked about Lagun lathes, now I
would like your opinions on a Colchester Model 6535 15"x50" Lathe. I took a
look at one today and the bed, apron, ways and geared head were in superb
condition. The only thing I did not like is the way the chuck mounts onto
the spindle. It is not a D1 Mount.

I am amazed at the difference in opinions expressed by members of the group
as well as machinery dealers and machinists. I was speaking with a very
nice machinery dealer who told me to stay away from the round head/bullet
head Colchester's because parts were absolutely impossible to get. Another
dealer said they were not one of his favorites either. Then, a well known
machinery rebuild with an impeccable reputation advised that the lathe I was
looking at was in excellent shape and thinks it is an outstanding lathe.

I inspected it today and I must say that physically it is in fine shape.
Close to zero backlash on the apron and crossfeed and the head was quiet
when running. I opened the head and the gears are perfect with no broken
teeth. There was oil in the apron and head which was clean and the sight
glasses were clean.

The asking price is $2500 which includes an Aloris CXA tool post and one
holder, a 10" three jaw buck chuck, a 10" 4 jaw buck chuck, follow rest, 5C
collet Closer (lever style), Drive plate and a set of 5c Collets.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

My sincerest thanks.

Joe...

On Mon, 10 Oct 2005 12:06:41 -0400, Jeff Williams
wrote:

Hello,

Like Gunner I have the 13x36 version of the same lathe (if I have my
numbers right). I have 1/2 a tooth missing on one of the internal gears
and though I thought about repacing it until I found out the $. I
didn't have the means to make one so I just used the lathe, can't say I
have noticed a different in the 4 years or so I have had it. Unless you
beat the hell out of it for some reason I can't think of many things you
will cause to break and therefore the price of parts is probably the
least of your worries.

On the other hand tooling for that size of machine and type of spindle
seem pretty easy to come by for a good price. This is more important in
my opinion.

TTYL, Jeff

Im rather surprised out British buddies have not chimed in...this is
after all the Colchester Triumph..

http://www.lathes.co.uk/colchester/page7.html

Gunner




JB wrote:
Hi Gang,

I have been asking a lot of questions over the past few days as I try to
figure out what lathe works best for me. I asked about Lagun lathes, now I
would like your opinions on a Colchester Model 6535 15"x50" Lathe. I took a
look at one today and the bed, apron, ways and geared head were in superb
condition. The only thing I did not like is the way the chuck mounts onto
the spindle. It is not a D1 Mount.

I am amazed at the difference in opinions expressed by members of the group
as well as machinery dealers and machinists. I was speaking with a very
nice machinery dealer who told me to stay away from the round head/bullet
head Colchester's because parts were absolutely impossible to get. Another
dealer said they were not one of his favorites either. Then, a well known
machinery rebuild with an impeccable reputation advised that the lathe I was
looking at was in excellent shape and thinks it is an outstanding lathe.

I inspected it today and I must say that physically it is in fine shape.
Close to zero backlash on the apron and crossfeed and the head was quiet
when running. I opened the head and the gears are perfect with no broken
teeth. There was oil in the apron and head which was clean and the sight
glasses were clean.

The asking price is $2500 which includes an Aloris CXA tool post and one
holder, a 10" three jaw buck chuck, a 10" 4 jaw buck chuck, follow rest, 5C
collet Closer (lever style), Drive plate and a set of 5c Collets.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

My sincerest thanks.

Joe...




"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

Greetings and Salutations....

On 9 Oct 2005 21:46:35 -0700, "CAMCOMPCO"
wrote:

I just picked up a nice clausing Colchester myself, from what I have
learned, they are very nice machines, but, if something breaks, you
better know how to make the replacement part, they are "stupid"
expensive. From what I was told by the gent that sold me mine, the
prices are driven by accountants that mark-up the old inventory by X %
each year (storage cost and inflation). So, if the part has been
around for 20 years, it's the same idea as compounding interest on the
savings account....wouldn't be so bad if the accountants used the same
2.5% we get from the local bank ;-)

John

Yea, I have to second this. I picked up a really clean
Clausing Colchester lathe (I believe their "student" model from
Colchester lathes). The gears were mint, the ways were beautiful,
but, for some reason that was about all that was left. No lead
screw, no apron, no crossslide, no tailstock - It had come out
of a school system and, alas, although I spent some time
trying to track down the parts, no joy.
Well the folks at Clausing were VERY helpful at
getting together an estimate for the missing parts. There
were a few that did not exist, but, for the remainder...
I could have had all the parts needed for about $19,000.
So if anyone wants a nice, stripped, 11" lathe
for $300 plus shipping (and I get good freight rates)
I would LOVE for it to go to a good home.
Alternatively, if you have one that has some
spare parts, and want to deal, Email me (*smile*).
Regards
Dave Mundt

On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 23:28:56 -0400, Dave Mundt
wrote:

Greetings and Salutations....

On 9 Oct 2005 21:46:35 -0700, "CAMCOMPCO"
wrote:

I just picked up a nice clausing Colchester myself, from what I have
learned, they are very nice machines, but, if something breaks, you
better know how to make the replacement part, they are "stupid"
expensive. From what I was told by the gent that sold me mine, the
prices are driven by accountants that mark-up the old inventory by X %
each year (storage cost and inflation). So, if the part has been
around for 20 years, it's the same idea as compounding interest on the
savings account....wouldn't be so bad if the accountants used the same
2.5% we get from the local bank ;-)

John

Yea, I have to second this. I picked up a really clean
Clausing Colchester lathe (I believe their "student" model from
Colchester lathes). The gears were mint, the ways were beautiful,
but, for some reason that was about all that was left. No lead
screw, no apron, no crossslide, no tailstock - It had come out
of a school system and, alas, although I spent some time
trying to track down the parts, no joy.
Well the folks at Clausing were VERY helpful at
getting together an estimate for the missing parts. There
were a few that did not exist, but, for the remainder...
I could have had all the parts needed for about $19,000.
So if anyone wants a nice, stripped, 11" lathe
for $300 plus shipping (and I get good freight rates)
I would LOVE for it to go to a good home.
Alternatively, if you have one that has some
spare parts, and want to deal, Email me (*smile*).
Regards
Dave Mundt
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hey Dave,

All the makings of an early CNC lathe???? What "size" is it? And
where are you located?

What did Clausing tell you about it from the serial number?

Take care.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

Greetings and Salutations...

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 12:38:33 -0400, Brian Lawson
wrote:

On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 23:28:56 -0400, Dave Mundt
wrote:

Greetings and Salutations....

*snip*

I would LOVE for it to go to a good home.
Alternatively, if you have one that has some
spare parts, and want to deal, Email me (*smile*).
Regards
Dave Mundt
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hey Dave,

All the makings of an early CNC lathe????
Well, a good base for it at least (*smile*). It was one
of those "ebay deals" that was close enough for me to pick up,
and, while I was willing to throw SOME cash into it, my goal
was to have a lathe that I can actually MILL things on...not
a hobby project of lathe restoration. There was enough missing
and my life has gotten so hectic that there is no way I
am going to get squat done on it anytime soon, so I would
just as soon have it out of my way.

What "size" is it? And

it is what we call an 11" swing (that is the RADIUS
of the largest piece that can be put on it. I believe that
in much of the rest of the world, that is called a 22" (or
a 55.8cm) lathe (for the max diameter.
It weighs about 1000 lbs, and has the base. Here is
a link to a (slightly fuzzy) image of it from when I was
moving it into the shop:
http://www.ldktn.com/lathe1.jpeg
As you can see, it was VERY bare, and, had I realized
the challenges of getting the parts for it, I probably
would not have picked it up.
The Serial number on the bed is 2/0021/01948
and the ways are marked as "flame hardened".
I can post pix of the gears, etc, if interested.

where are you located?
I am located in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.



What did Clausing tell you about it from the serial number?

I really did not get much from them except a very
detailed price list for the missing parts - more because
that was what I was interested in, rather than any
unwillingness on their part to answer questions. They
were quite helpful, actually and I am sure could have
provided more info.

Regards
Dave Mundt