Headstock and spindle work
Bearing replacement, spindle alignment, drive belt and pulley replacement, and gearbox attention are all common headstock jobs on conventional lathes.
Lathe repair
Lathe Repair & Restoration
Hands-on repair, servicing and overhaul of conventional and manual lathes — Colchester, Harrison, Boxford, Myford and other workshop favourites.
Conventional lathe support
Workshop lathes still earn their keep — if they’re looked after
Conventional lathes are still working hard in workshops across the UK. Jobbing shops, prototype departments, training facilities, restoration workshops, maintenance teams and one-man operations all depend on manual machines that have been earning their keep for decades. A well-maintained Colchester or Harrison can deliver work to tolerance that surprises people who’ve only ever worked on CNC.
Ringstones provides practical repair and servicing for conventional lathes — from a quick adjustment on a Boxford in a school workshop to a full strip-and-rebuild of a worn-out Colchester Triumph that’s been earning a living since the 1970s. The work is hands-on, the diagnosis is honest, and the focus is on giving you a machine that does what you need it to do.
Whether you’re running a mixed workshop with CNC and manual machines, or your shop is conventional throughout, we approach the work the same way: turn up, look at the machine, identify what’s actually wrong, and tell you straight what’s involved in putting it right.
Bed and slide reconditioning
Worn bed ways cause taper, chatter and poor finish. Where appropriate, we can advise on regrinding, rescraping or in-place reconditioning options.
Leadscrew and feed gear repair
Worn leadscrews, sticky feed selectors and damaged change gears are typical of a well-used machine. Replacement and adjustment are common requests.
Tailstock and barrel
Out-of-alignment tailstocks, worn quills, sticking clamps and damaged tailstock spindles all affect work quality. Inspection and remedial work is straightforward.
Apron and saddle
Sticking saddles, worn gibs, damaged half-nuts and threading mechanism faults are all amongst the more common apron-side issues.
Full restoration
For machines worth saving — and a good Colchester or Harrison is almost always worth saving — we can advise on full restoration: strip, inspect, rebuild and recommission.
Why work on conventional machines
The case for keeping a good manual lathe running
A new CNC lathe is a major capital decision. A good conventional lathe, properly maintained, will keep doing useful work for decades at a fraction of the running cost. For jobbing work, prototype runs, one-offs, repair work, training and restoration projects, a well-set-up manual machine is often the right tool.
The cost of putting an old Colchester or Harrison back into proper working order is usually a tiny fraction of what a replacement would cost — and the machine you get back will have decades more useful life. Where it’s not worth saving, we’ll tell you that too.
Need machine tool support?
Speak to Ringstones about repairs, maintenance, servicing or installation support across the North West, North East and Midlands.