[Lathe] Help to identify Colchester Dominion lathe

[aaronpadilla]

Hi there,

I am going to check and may be buy this lathe next week, check photos,

This is the actual ad (in french): https://www.kijiji.ca/v-autres-equi...-rive-nord/tour-a-metal-dim-12x-42/1501091829

The owner does not know so much about it and can't say the size or weight, he claims that it is a 12 x 42 inch but I can't find any like that, can someone help me to identify it and may be figure the size and weight?

He is asking $1500 CAD but he is open to negotiate, does it looks good?

 

[hermetic]

Mk 1.5 Colchester dominion straight bed, early sixties. It was basically the export model of the student, or the Master, depending on bed length. If this one is 42" it could be tne master version, or that could be the overall bed length. The student will turn 24" between centres. From the angle of the pic it is difficult to tell. It is the mk1, with the later safety apron sliding/surfacing control, which was known as the Mk1.5, although not a factory name. see
http://www.lathes.co.uk/colchester/page2.html very well made machines!

 

[benmychree]

Looks OK, but the proof would be in hearing it run and have a close look at the ways.

 

[mmcmdl]

Looks very similar to our 13" Clausing in here at work . Nice lathe other than ours being worn out .

 

[john.k]

It simply the Student/Master with no metric feeds in the gearbox.......Ive seen various issues develop in these machines with passing years. .....refer to my longstanding opinion of damage caused by bed stops.....Ive bought sold ,repaired dozens over the last 40 odd years.,and have one now I use ......but IMHO ,not a particularly good lathe.....and not for a lot of money ...$500 tops for a well used/ worn machine .......if threadcutting is important to you ,make the seller demonstrate cutting a finished thread with multiple passes.....a typical issue is leadscrew/halfnut wear that prevents clean /any threadcutting.

 

[markba633csi]

I believe another gotcha on those is the extremely expensive Gamet bearings which are the heart of the machine. If they are bad then you are sunk. Several thousand dollars to replace, last I heard. You MUST check out a machine like that in person and give it a good workout before deciding.
Fairly nice machines- when they were new...
-Mark

 

[Martin W]

Try these guys http://www.soudogaz.com/. I think they are near Quebec City . A little ways from Granby but they seem to advertise on Kijiji with smaller stuff. There is a couple nice lathes near Ottawa on Kijiji also which is probably closer to you.
The right lathe for you will come along.
Cheers
Martin