The purchase of a Harrison Alpha 1400XS manual/CNC lathe from 600 UK (www.600uk.com) has brought major improvements in speed and product quality to a leading restorer of vintage motor cars.

Gloucestershire-based AJ Glew Ltd is using the machine to turn hundreds of different automotive parts, working from the original Rolls-Royce technical drawings, and the company says that the investment has already paid for itself by improving turn-round times.

The company was founded in 1997 by experienced Rolls-Royce engineer Allan Glew.

It specialises in restoring Silver Ghosts and Phantoms built between 1906 and 1928, and it supplies vintage Rolls-Royce parts to other restorers. Until last year, parts were turned on manual lathes, so achieving the required accuracy was very time-consuming. When investigating his options in terms of automated lathes, Mr Glew was introduced
to 600 UK and the Alpha XS range.

“I had actually been looking at a more complex lathe from another manufacturer, but when I saw the Alpha, I realised that it fitted the bill perfectly. It is designed as an entry-level model, so it was the natural progression for us.

“In addition, we like to keep true to Rolls-Royce’s British roots, so it is great that even a modern piece of kit like the Alpha is part of the nation’s engineering heritage.”

With most of the company’s portfolio of 400 turned parts now programmed into the new machine, production has increased from a few per day to as many as eight in an hour.