Inside the Boleyn 2026

Welcome to Inside the Boleyn 2026 and another riveting year of classic machinery and my own maroon rabid ramblings.  January came and went with zero attendance mainly due to the weather and recovering from an eight week virus induced complete lack of motivation.  However I soon perked up when the enquiries began to arrive in my inbox and regenerated some interest. It doesn't take much to be honest.  Manuals for the Major and Elf from Derek Pyatts old stock have been sent off to various parts of the UK and I have been looking into reprints from his master copies which he kindly sent to me when he decided to cease supplying them himself.  I also spent a weekend sifting through his kindly donated archive of Coronet and Record Power literature and what a weekend it was.  My family was as good as dead to me as I pored through the workshop manuals, brochures, price lists and correspondence that he had collected from the glory days of the 50s 60s 70s  and early 80s.  In fact most of the second half of the 20th century. OK I'll admit every day is a glory day for a Coronet owner. I finally found a use for the box files that were an impulse buy off of fb marketplace (another guilty pleasure) and sorted the collection into six parts.  Manuals, brochures and catalogues, attachments, price lists and correspondence, miscellaneous  and lastly the Record Power which sort of feels like a dirty secret that the family don't speak about.  I added my own collection to the archive at the same time though it seemed a measly contribution compared to Derek's.  
Other enquiries have been about bearings for a Coronet Home Cabinetmaker, drive belts and bearings for various machines and a very interesting enquiry about the height positioning of the tee bar on a Major when turning.  The owner had been taught turning by a "turner" who had advised him to set it above the centre of the work so the chisel was pointing down on to the work.  My advice would be to not just accept the advice of a well meaning acquaintance but to check out one or two manuals written by an expert.  Advice that I could have done with myself accepting when starting out if I'm honest.  I was very fortunate to have been advised by Derek himself on many matters over the phone while standing over the machine I was working on.  
I was asked to supply some roller bearings and guide blocks for an Imp owner which I assured him I had in stock but to my great shame my workshop is currently such a tip that I simply could not find them.  I know they're in there somewhere, sound familiar?
I was contacted by a multiple machine owner Julian with who I've had correspondence before in the past.  He has a large collection of machines of various models and various attachments which he is sorting through with the intent of putting up for sale, retaining a selected few for himself.  They will eventually be listed up on my For Sale page with his contact details for perusal at leisure.  We had a very enjoyable chat about Coronet machines and his lorry.
Keep looking in for updates and in the meantime keep it Coronet!

March 2026

In classic early Spring fashion enquiries of the Coronet variety are quietly filtering into my inbox.  I have photos to post in Readers Machines of David Wetherell's Coronet Major and his Imp and several manuals to send off.  I have finally tracked down somebody who worked at the Coronet factory and is willing to talk about it.  I was perusing the Coronet thread in the Axminster Tool forum when I saw a post re the factory and replied to it.  Despite the website's best efforts to keep us apart we managed to make contact and I will be asking many important questions in due course.  I feel obliged to point out that the Axminster Tool Forum is not a list of people who are tools and happen to live in Axminster though I'm sure there must be a few.

During my recent annual therapeutic visit to the Motherland (Egypt) I spotted a fine looking MILF lurking in lower El S'Haby Lane, Luxor.  Although technically not needing fixing as she was performing at the time, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for this cracking bit of mature to join the proud MILFS of the Boleyn Workshop.  Enjoy.

A Coronet Minor has been posted on the For Sale page.  It is in West Sussex and is collection only.

Coming soon...an interview with Paul Spencer who is an ex-employee from the Coronet factory itself.

June  2026

Things started livening up this month with enquiries trickling in again with requests for thread protectors, information on the Home Cabinetmaker and a couple of Minor manuals.  In the Boleyn Workshop itself the new Minor setup donated by Rob has been earning it's keep by fabricating parts for an indoor aquarium set up, Fathers Day gifts with the assistance of various grandchildren and garden gate repairs.  I am drawing up plans for cold frames for the veg garden after acquiring many sheets of free tempered glass from good old fb marketplace in the hope that they would fit my greenhouses.  They don't in fact, but they were too good to leave behind after taking 45 minutes to find the donors address in darkest North Dorset.
The Major is out of action temporarily after I removed the main bearing in a burst of annual maintenance which was a simple enough procedure in itself as I have done it many times on both Majors and Minors.  However on this occasion the pulley wheel will not slide back up the spindle on to the keyway where it should sit.  It wasn't a problem when I rebuilt it initially and I'm not sure why it's playing me up now.  I have tried heating the spindle in the oven to cause it to expand but still without success so I'm investigating the option of using a higher heat without finding a pile of molten aluminium on the baking tray afterwards.  A spare pulley wheel I had would not fit either.  Fortunately I have the Tyzack 8" table saw as backup for the larger jobs but my Major needs to be back in action asap.
In true Boleyn Workshop tradition I cannot find my notes from the interview with Paul Spencer who worked at the Alfreton factory in it's glory days although I am clearly regarding it with maroon tinted spectacles on.  I'm going to get a tech savvy grandchild on the case as I am only too easily confounded by technolgy.  Yes I know I have a website.  The website builder was recommended to me by a six year old daughter at the time who had seen it promoted on CBEEBIES.  Even I can use it and I don't mind if it looks like a school project.

July 2026

Thanks to assistance from a tech savvy grandchild in finding the Paul Spencer interview it has now been edited and published on the website.  Use the link here  interview-with-paul-spencer-ex-coronet-employee.php

I have sorted out the issue with the reluctant pulley wheel and I am kicking myself for not remembering the obvious  remedy.  If you have to tap out the spindle then obviously you have to tap it back in and use a wooden block to keep the pulley wheel in position so it lines up with the motor pulley.  If only I'd done what I advise everyone to do and check the manual.  Well there's no fool like a maroon fool but at least the old Major is back in action again.  
My workshop mate Pete from Devon sent me the ebay auction pics of a Capitol bandsaw with an asking price of over a grand. (£1000 in new money)  I would expect gold plated bearings and a signed photo of Charles Parker for that price.  But like a lot of maroon fiends I will still be watching it play out..  It's well worth looking at the listing alone for the pictures and video.  It seems complete but sadly without the factory stand which had levers for the 7-speed control. Don't misconstrue this but I do like levers and knobs.  See below for an entry in the Parrys woodworking catalogue from the 1960s.

August 2026

Every cloud has a maroon lining.

I was tipped off to a Coronet Capitol on ebay a while back by workshop buddy Pete the Hedge which although advertised at a very hopeful price in my humble opinion, it ignited my interest in one of these classic top of the range machines again for the Boleyn Workshop.  This one is still up for sale and seems complete from the pictures but is in need of some tlc as you'd expect for a sixty year old machine.  It remains to be seen just what price it will eventually make.  Some time later I was informed by a website reader called Richard of another one within travelling distance for the princely sum of £25.  Sadly it was gone already by the time I messaged but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as while trawling online sites in a Capitol fervour I found one on a factory cabinet no less for the princely sum of £50. Yes, £50.  Likewise my long suffering better half's minor traffic accident a month ago turned out to be a blessing as the hire car company that my insurance company works with only had a Transit van available.  "We're very sorry but would you mind a Transit van?" they asked tentatively over the phone. Now let me think about that for a minute...a Transit van...a Transit van eh?...Hmmmm...let me see...I still regret swapping my Mk1 Transit for a Mk2 Escort van nearly forty years ago...so would I mind a Transit?   Well let me tell you I've been driving around in a Transit van for the last month like a dog with two dicks.  No hold that, maybe three.  So tomorrow I will be making a seven hour round trip to to collect this massive beast of a bandsaw on it's factory cabinet in the aforementioned van.  What perfect timing.  The big question once I get it back to the Boleyn is whether to keep it it's current colour or give it the maroon treatment.  I'll be guided by a colour photo of one if I can find one in the Derek Pyatt archive which he kindly donated to me last year.  I'm sure there is one.
So now you can see why every cloud can have a maroon lining.  No accident=no Transit van=no Capitol bandsaw.  It's the only way to look at it.  Photos to come when back in the Boleyn.  Link here to a sneak preview. coronet-capitol-bandsaw.php
(I feel I should add that after the accident my wife was shaken but not stirred.  She's fine.)

August 19th

A midweek road trip.  We left the Boleyn Workshop at 8am sharp and took the A354, A303, A34, M40 and then either the A444 or the A4118 (the right roads but not necessarily in the right order) if you believe that the satellite technology can be trusted.  Personally I don't as at one point the road had two different numbers according to which source you were half paying attention to.  We arrived at Keresley End, Coventry at about 1pm and there she was, patiently waiting on a pallet saucily wearing the flimsiest tarpaulin.  It was love at first sight.  I had a brief chat with the seller and learned that this machine was purchased for a foundry in nearby Alderman's Green for the purpose of trimming castings.  The foundry used to make aluminium castings for the likes of MV Agusta motorcycles, Lambrettas and the like but a new owner had designated a new direction of cast iron house name plates and so the operator and machine were no longer required. What a great loss of skill and experience but this is the way of the world sadly.  I'm not sure how the machine left the factory and came up for sale but I'd like to think it was some form of covert compensation. It was left to me to supervise the loading as my driver's mate and the seller performed an admirable job lifting 364lbs of classic Coronet into the van before a final chat about Trojan ska and scooters then eventually hitting the road.  Thanks to a multitude of grockles rubbernecking a pile of rocks on Salisbury Plain and a road closure between Salisbury and Wilton we didn't arrive back at the Boleyn Workshop until nearly 6pm.  The machine then stayed in the van for three days until my mate and his son returned to unload it for me and drag it up to the Boleyn Workshop on a dolly.
On the back of the machine is a plate/decal stating that the machine was at one time supplied by Craig Strong Machine Tools Ltd of Bayton Road, Exhall, Coventry. This firm is still trading though these days it deals in modern CNC metalwork tooling and machines and there are no woodworking machines on its website.  It's good to see that an industrial business in the Midlands has survived. It's impossible to tell whether they supplied the machine originally or bought it, sprayed it up and moved it on at some point.  Looking at the official Capitol leaflet and spec it appears that the machine was only offered in grey with the classic gold highlighting.  It is currently an industrial pale green colour plus the highlighting and I see no reason to change that (yeah ok mate). The motor interestingly is the post '76 blue colour but it's not clear whether this is a repainted original or a later replacement.  It is currently fitted with a blade for metal cutting and has an unused similar spare blade.  It doesn't have the levers for speed control and locking but the seller informed me that he just used it at the one speed for trimming and that is how it arrived at the foundry.  Winter project sorted.  Link:  coronet-capitol-bandsaw.php  More photos to be posted soon.

September

Investigation into the Capitol has started. I removed the 3ph motor and associated wiring and found a variable speed drive pulley attached.  I had assumed that speed control would have been electronic but was pleased to see that it was in fact mechanical which makes it so much easier to work on from my perspective as just a bloke with a workshop.  See gallery below and please get in contact if you know anything about this drive pulley as the internet has nothing.  It may have been an in-house fabrication by Coronet as there is a small crown motif above the HCA/CHA? badge but so far nothing has showed up. Does the P.C.D. REF: FSLO_ (last letter obscured) refer to Pitch Centre Diameter?  
See gallery below for more Capitol pics

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