Coronet Lathe

[Northerner]

Morning everyone. Brand new to the world of turning after finding and restoring an Axminster lathe I found in one of the farm buildings here. Got instantly hooked and yesterday became the proud owner of a Coronet Major that I found on a well known online auction site.

It all appears to be there - saw, sander and planning attachments, a huge thing I believe is a mortising device and a large box of assorted other bits and pieces. The motor runs fine although I think I will replace the cables as they are looking rather brittle. I've sent for a manual and intend stripping it right down and giving it a good clean up and service.

Does anyone else still use or own such a beast? With zero experience of lathes and turning, it's all a steep learning curve for me, but this machine appears to be solid and well built. One thing that springs to mind straight away is that there does not appear to be a way of disconnecting the saw blade when the lathe is running - seems fraught with danger to me! I could remove the blade I suppose - but the examples I've seen on the internet all seem to have the blade in position.

Anyway, I love old machines and the money I paid for it was well worth it if only for the entertainment value of tinkering with it. I'll post some before and after photos when I get started on it.

 

[dickm]

You've got a nice piece of kit there! But as you've noticed, there are limitations; the constantly running saw blade is one. A friend ever so nearly sliced his forehead open on its smaller brother when using the lathe and forgetting that the saw was running WITHOUT ITS GUARD .
AFAIK, the only way to get round this is to remove the blade when using other attachments, and at the very least, keep all guards in place.

 

[vankou]

Hi Northerner, well done on getting hold of the Major. I very rarely raise my head above the parapet on this excellent forum as I am well down in the pecking order when it comes to woodworking knowledge but I have owned very nearly every machine that Coronet made including the Major ( have one stripped down at the moment) If you need any advice at all let me know. Is yours a red (maroon) or blue one ? (no pun intended)

Cheers


Paul.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Paul - it's a maroon one. Started to strip it and got so far but decided to wait for the manual to arrive before I proceed any further. So far the only thing that seems to be missing is the short tool rest. One question - how do you remove the chuck from the headstock?

 

[vankou]

Hi Northerner,

Your Major is a pre 1977 model (they were blue after 1977) not very much difference except the number of speeds changed from 3 to 5, the spindle thread changed from 7/8 by 16 to 3/4 by 16 and the belt changed from poly vee to multi vee. If you get heavily into turning and want to get the best out of your machine and particularly want to turn larger diameters keep a look out for the countershaft arm and pulley which fixes to the rear of the headstock. (you may already have this)

If you decide to purchase a new wood turning chuck and have trouble finding a good one for the spindle thread size the Sorby Patriot one can be supplied with the appropriate adaptor.

I don't know what chuck you have mounted on the headstock but to remove it you will find a hole running through the main spindle towards the left hand end if a steel tommy bar came with the machine that should pass through the hole hold that tight with the left hand while unscrewing the chuck with the right. If the chuck has been sat on the spindle unused for years just keep having a go at loosening it without taking any drastic steps like using a hammer to loosen it.as you need to look after the spindle thread. If it really will not come loose a car oil filter wrench around it will give you some purchase. If the chuck is of the three or four jaw engineering type I would seriously suggest not using it, they were popular at the time the machine was made but pretty frowned upon for woodturning these days. On the other hand you may have the Coronet expanding chuck on there which would be worth holding on to.

These really are great machines, plenty of people will tell you otherwise but with a little thought they are capable of extremely good work, they wouldn't meet the stringent H & S rules these days but used sensibly and with one or two home built guards they are just fine.

When using the lathe the best advice is to raise the saw table up until it almost covers the blade and then drop the front of the crown guard down to touch the table so the blade is completely covered. This will expose the blade below the saw table unless you have the then optional below table blade guard , but if you don't it would be very easy to make one.

If you haven't already found it the date your machine was made should be stamped on the tailstock end of the bed bar near or just under the right hand end foot.

As for the short rest, if you don't manage to find one locally please feel free to give me a shout.

I hope I have been of some help.

Paul

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for that Paul. There is no chuck as such in it at the moment, just a 4 pronged centre that seems to be stuck absolutely solid. I also think the bearings may need attention, there is a lot of lateral play on the headstock, although it actually runs very smoothly and is concentric.

Cant wait for the manual to arrive!

 

[vankou]

Ok, I see. Behind the 4 prong drive is there a thread protector which is a circular piece of steel about an inch thick by 1 1/2 inch diameter with a knurled finish. This should unscrew from the spindle and at the same time draws the 4 prong drive out which is mounted on a no. 1 morse taper.

There are 2 bearings in the headstock as you probably know. The main bearing at the right hand end of the headstock is the main bearing which is a bronze taper bearing (the same as the record Power CL lathes who bought out Coronet) this bearing is adjustable the other bearing at the left hand end is a normal non adjustable ball race.

The main bronze bearing periodically needs to be adjusted by drawing it further on to the main spindle to take up any play and wear. There are two locking rings each one about 1/4 inch thick with notches in them using the correct locking ring spanner if you have it or if you don't using the end of a tommy bar loosen the front locking ring turning it towards you then tighten the rear locking ring also turning it towards you this will draw the bearing onto the spindle then make sure the front locking ring is tight again. Do this until there is no play in the bearing. Please also remember that this bearing needs to have oil added occasionally particularly after adjustment and then after every couple of hours use but just 2 or three drops. The correct oil is an sae 30 Record Power will supply the correct oil but lawnmower oil is of the correct grade, definitely not 3 in 1 oil.

Obviously there is only so much adjustment that can be carried out before the bearing needs replacing ( these are still available) but if you can see any of the threaded part of the bronze bearing at the right hand end of the headstock you still have some adjustment available.

Have fun

Paul

 

[joethedrummer]

Welcome to the land of the Coronet,,for all help and guidance contact King Derek Pyatt (just google him), he is the fount of all wisdom and knowledge when it comes to these beauties. I believe the pre 77 machines didn"t have a date stamp (ask Derek Pyatt).
I"m in the process of building a countershaft for mine, I"ll post a pic or two when i finish (could be a while!!).
I got loads of help from the forum,, they are a group of really good advisors,,
Hope you get as much fun as i have from the Coronet,,

 

[joethedrummer]

WRONG AGAIN,,rethinking i believe it"s the pre 67 not 77 that had no date stamp,,

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for the tips and advice! I've started the stripping process and, as expected, hit a snag straight away. The pic shows a difference in height between the tailstock centre and the 4 prong drive. How much of a problem is this going to be? It's perfectly in line. Also - there doesn't seem to be a thread protector to unscrew. To remove that centre is it a case of finding a bar to insert down the centre of the spindle and giving it a tap to loosen the taper?

Most of the bits seem to be present, apart from the tool rest attachment but I can source that from Mr Pyatt, who, as you rightly say, is an incredible source of knowledge but I don't like to bother him every 5 minutes with things I should be able to work out for myself. 'Should' being the operative word........

 

[Brianp]

I wouldn't do much turning on that until I got that gap sorted. Is there anyway to "shim" up the tailstock end? I can't see the piece being properly supported, or central, on the lathe. Everything you turn will be eccentric!

 

[Northerner]

Can't see a way of inserting any shims - but the project is young! There is a noticeable gap between the headstock base and the mount that it swivels on, so it may be full of debris and it might be that that needs adjusting. Will see tomorrow when I get back to it. Off to apply some dressings to these skinned and bruised knuckles. It's been a long time since any of the parts were undone!

 

[vankou]

Hi Northerner

Definitely something not right there. Could you show a photo of the headstock where the large nut holds it tight and also a photo of the tailstock.

You are right ,there isn't a thread protector on the spindle, it would be worth getting hold of one. Neither the headstock or the Tailstock have a hollow spindle. If it was me I would be inclined to lock the main spindle by passing a bar through the hole on the left hand end of the main spindle and gripping the 4 prong drive with a pair of grips with a cloth in between and gently easing it out that way.

If the centre in the tailstock is also unwilling to come out you can sometimes free it by winding the barrel all the way in which may then push it out depending on the length of the morse taper.

By the way I can't be sure from the photo but I think your Major may have been upgraded with the later pulleys and multi v belt

cheers

Paul.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Paul

The pronged centre is out - brute force, an iron bar and a mash hammer finally subdued it and out it popped with no damage to threads or anything.

As you can see in the image, there is a gap between the head stock body and the plate it sits on, caused by a washer. I've now got the whole lot dismantled and will put it back minus the washer to see what difference that makes. I can't see that it serves any purpose?

Many thanks for your interest and advice - I'm enjoying this project!

 

[vankou]

Hi Northerner

Thanks for the picture, and you are absolutely right there shouldn't be any muck rust, washer or anything else between the two mating surfaces ( just a light oil for when you swivel the headstock) Even when both surfaces are clean when you put the headstock back on you really do need to do the main hexagonal nut at the bottom up really tight as there is the massive weight of the saw table, motor and planer (if you have one ) hanging off that one mounting point but you should find the 2 centres line up exactly. Don't forget the aligning pin that lines up the two parts as this will help align the centres in both planes or axis.

I am only too glad to have been of help, best of luck.

Paul.

 

[joethedrummer]

Looking good so far,,please post more pics as it progresses,,

 

[Gerald Peploe]

Just completed my first bit of turning on my Coronet Major. How do remove the base plate, cannot budge it turning clockwise as you look at the plate trust this is the right direction.

 

[Robbo3]

Just completed my first bit of turning on my Coronet Major. How do remove the base plate, cannot budge it turning clockwise as you look at the plate trust this is the right direction.

Presume you mean face plate. If so 'righty tighty, lefty loosy', so it unscrews anti clockwise.
Screw a batten to the face plate & belt it downwards with a mallet whilst stopping the spindle from turning.
Once free use a washer made from a plastic milk carton to prevent future sticking.

 

[Rupert_Bear]

Hi Northerner,
Bit late to reply as you've got the 4 prong drive ctr out. But on my maroon Major the spindle has an axial hole drilled along the length of the spindle, so with a bit of bar, maybe 8 inch long, you can stick the bar in from the back end of the spindle, and the centre comes out with a bit of a tap.

The faceplate is usually aluminium, so take care with the thread. But being aluminium, you can expand it a lot with a bit of heat. A cloth of boiling water or a hot air gun might help.
All the best.