New lathe arrived today : The ongoing saga

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

Ah, now I see it : bloody idiots could have expanded that section out a bit more so that it was not concealed like that. Anyway….do I have it or not ? I cannot tell until I get the hand wheel off the main screw. This is still a problem.

 

Edited By Brian John on 23/03/2016 10:37:30

Edited By Brian John on 23/03/2016 10:38:25

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

You might be able to unscrew it if you grip the bush in brass as your did before. At least to loosen it a bit anyway and the grip the screw. Might not be a good idea to use brass on that, wood is safer.

The spring is probably flat and under the scale dial.

John

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[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Hi Brian,

I understand that you are angry and upset with Optimum. I also understand that you yourself are going through a learning curve.

You have used two bad language phrases today regarding the manufacturer of your lathe. Last Friday, I had a new customer using exactly the same words about me whilst speaking to me as well as members of my team.

You are entitled to your opinion. However, have you considered the possibility that you might be wrong? Have you also considered the possibility that the manufacturer and supplier and some of the readers of this now 44 page thread may be using the same phrases which you have used today, to describe your abilities?

At times I am also guilty of falling into use of bad language. Either way, it is wrong. I for one enjoy reading about your journey. Please do continue to seek guidance and assistance as you are, but I would request you to re-consider your comments before using such harsh language.

Ketan at ARC

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

Your points are duly noted and the bad language will not be repeated. However the language I have used on this site is much milder than what was going through my mind. It was toned down and modified for public display.

I was not wrong about the incorrectly installed clutch. That should never have happened. Now were we wrong about the hole for the lead screw bushing being drilled in the wrong position so that the lead screw was not parallel with the lathe bed. Good grief….I have given these people a lot of leeway. This is/was a new machine and if I had known anything about lathes at the start then it would have gone straight back in the box to be returned.  I persevered only because I thought I was the problem. If it were not for Hopper's help then this lathe would be sitting in the garage gathering dust and I would have gone back to building model trains.

I use this machine every day but in the back of my mind is always the thought ''What will go wrong with it today ?''

PS. On the very first day it died (no power). A technician had to be sent out to fix the reed switches. I had forgotten about that.

Edited By Brian John on 23/03/2016 12:01:46

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

No problem Brian. If I was in your position on day one, I would have considered doing something else as a hobby. As it stands, I understand your frustration, and admire your perseverance.

Whilst I agree to a certain extent on certain technical limitations with the machine – good, bad or ugly, I can also see certain limitations in you as a user (with respect), due to lack of knowledge, training, and expectations of the machine for the price and design…for turning steel for example?. So, to a certain extent again, I do believe that there is a problem with you too (again said with respect). Some are too polite to say this to you, because they probably understand the combination of limitations. Some probably totally agree with you too.

People who are more learned than I am on this thread have their own opinion, and there is a lot of useful assistance which you have received freely. In turn, there is far more that you now know about your lathe, and turning as a subject, then others. Possibly a good thing?….FREE knowledge which would have cost you a lot more than your machine. It is too easy to cast cast aspersions on someone or something.

Ketan at ARC.

General Note: My comments are just being made to get Brian to carry on with his journey rather than to get into a discussion about fit for purpose or purse or Chinese against xyz

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Just for the record, I am in no way defending 'Optimum' as a manufacturer. Their and their agents comments about SIEG are less then complimentary.

Ketan at ARC.

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Ketan is correct about a learning curve Brian. If I had bought your lathe I would have realised that something was wrong very quickly after it arrived. In this case the lathe would have gone back 'cause the lead screw shouldn't be like that, That fault led to the rest in that area. The dog clutch is a cheap solution – as would be expected on a lathe in this price range.

As the lock nut doesn't seem to be locking the handle in place any more I am pretty sure that I would have noticed the handle was turning without the quill moving or a sudden increase in the pressure needed to drill. This isn't that unusual on any of the handles held in place this way. The solution is to add a key way but as that would involve more machining operations when the lathe was made it runs up against the fact that it's a very budget lathe. There will be several other things that have been done cheaply elsewhere on the lathe because of this aspect. Just 'cause a lathe is smaller than another doesn't mean that the cost changes proportional to its' size. Far from it actually.

I didn't know you had interlock problems. That's not that unusual either. I believe some people over ride some of them on some machines. They are often simply a magnet somewhere pulling a reed switch in or a more expensive option – microswitches. Both may work when the machine is built but can just be set borderline so misbehave at some point. Assembly and checking costs money too.

One aspect about your current problem is that you tightened the handle up against the bush. It wont have happened by itself. I hesitate to suggest this but your best option for unscrewing it at least partly might be to fit it back into the tailstock with the bush clamped via the grub screw but I am a little concerned about how tight you might set the screw and doubt if the end rests in a dimple or on a flat in the groove. So all in in all gripping the bush in brass is probably the best option. I can't see how they could weld together but corrosion could cause problems and there are other signs of that. I still think it's down to the problem I mentioned.

John

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Edited By Ajohnw on 23/03/2016 13:13:42

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

With respect, the reed switches stopped working after you removed and replaced the chuck guard. As the function of one is to detect the position of the chuck guard, It is possible that it was dislodged or damaged during that operation.

Neil

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

Turning steel : I have not turned any steel since I got the lathe back from Hopper. But this is a 0.45kW watt motor. Are there other considerations besides the power of the motor ?

 

 

Edited By Brian John on 23/03/2016 13:50:59

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

The total consumption of the lathe is 450w Brian. That isn't a 450w motor. Output is probably <300w.

What ever it is it will only give that at max speed so if you run it at 1/2 of that the power output will also halve, same for 1/4 and etc.

The lathe has 2 speed ranges that are set with a pulleys and a belt. You will probably be better off using the lower speed range as the motor power will then be available at a lower speed but 1/2 that speed and the power available will 1/2 again.

John

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[Steve WithnellParticipant @stevewithnell34426]

Could one of the moderators please change the title of the thread? "I have a few questions" seems a little misleading now.

Steve

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Good idea Steve.

How about

"Should I have taken up knitting ?"

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by John Stevenson on 23/03/2016 21:29:17:

Good idea Steve.

How about

"Should I have taken up knitting ?"

A bit pathetic for your 4000th post JS. I'd 'ave 'oped for something more appropriate on reaching such an august number.

John

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[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Sorry, wasn't keeping tally of post counts, only works out to 1.5 posts per day though.

You will soon have caught up though at 5 post per day.

[julian atkinsParticipant @julianatkins58923]

Gosh,

You ought to give Brian a bit of a break or leeway! He has had a rotten time with this lathe but thanks to Hopper most of the problems have been rectified. A few more issues have now cropped up.

For those of us who have bought old secondhand lathes for our workshops these problems are not unknown, and are always worth airing here and discussing IMHO. Not everyone can afford what they would like, and make do with what they have, with the problems that arise as a result.

I am pretty critical of bad language on here as John S knows. But I havent seen anything that concerns me by Brian on here.

Keep at it Brian, and dont go into knitting!

Cheers,
Julian

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

Ajohnw : I always use the lower speed range now. I did briefly try the higher speeds when I first received the lathe. This was suggested to me by the company who sold me the lathe. I told them I was having problems getting a good finish and their advice was to use the higher speed range. I did not find this helped much and soon switched back to the lower speed range. It has stayed there ever since. At this point I cannot even see a need to ever use the high speed range. I rarely go above 1600 RPM on the lower range. Most of the time I am at about 800 RPM ; any more than this often produces chatter and the speed has to be lowered.

Julian :  I could understand (and forgive) all these problems if this was a second hand lathe… but a new lathe ! I have often wondered if I am the only person having problems with this model. Perhaps I got the only dud ; I guess we will never know but knitting is not in my plans for this year.

 

Edited By Brian John on 24/03/2016 01:53:44

Edited By Brian John on 24/03/2016 01:56:16

[BOB BLACKSHAW 1Participant @bobblackshaw1]

I have nothing better to do at the moment as I am on a night shift sitting on my backside, so I must reply to this thread and hope it will be the last. Over the months on a night shift I have read John Brian s threads and thought like many I would imagine that Brian is having a game here. What I don't like is how anybody thinking of purchasing a Chinese lathe could be put off as the problems that can be encountered. If it was not for these good value machines I and many others could not have a small workshop and tooling for such a low price in the back garden. I had a few problems with a new lathe but I took this up with the supplier and has been sorted out, the last option would have to have shared my machine problems on this forum unless of no other option. Brian said that he uses his machine everyday, but the photos of the parts that have been stripped down look like new, and no swarf , or little of it.

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

1. I must remember Ketan's comments about modifying my language before replying here !

2. Swarf : I clean up every day after I have finished using the lathe. The machine is in the living room and I do not want pieces of metal all over the floor. The lathe is wiped and brushed down every day after use and most of the swarf is removed from the work bench using small paint brushes to get in all the nooks and crannies. Not everybody has the luxury of a back yard shed where you can make all the mess you want and just leave it like that at the end of the day.

3. ''Good value machines'' you have got to be kidding ! For the amount of money I have spent on this lathe I could have had an American made Sherline. Now that would have been good value for money.

4. If people are put off then maybe they should be. I fail to see why it is acceptable for a lathe (any brand of lathe) to need work before you can use it. Do you have to strip down your new car and rebuild the engine before you can drive it. ? Do you have to replace and check parts on your new TV or fridge ? No, you buy it new and it should just work. A lathe should be no exception to this.

 

Edited By Brian John on 24/03/2016 06:42:31

Edited By Brian John on 24/03/2016 06:43:16

Edited By Brian John on 24/03/2016 06:57:47

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by Steve Withnell on 23/03/2016 21:21:49:

Could one of the moderators please change the title of the thread? "I have a few questions" seems a little misleading now.

Hopefully my change will go down better than the knitting option!

[John FieldingParticipant @johnfielding34086]

How about "Caveat Emptor" !!

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

As its as much about Brian learning how to use a lathe as well as the lathe itself maybe we should also add Manufacturer beware (don't know what that is in Latin) as they need to look out for customers trying to use the lathe with the cutting tool upside down, not oiling it, etc as we have seen in this thread

[Brian JohnParticipant @brianjohn93961]

True, but my lack of knowledge, faulty workmanship and ignorance does not excuse the fact that this machine had major defects when it left the factory.

Anyway, it is what it is .

 

 

Edited By Brian John on 24/03/2016 09:09:17

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Posted by julian atkins on 24/03/2016 00:28:05:

I am pretty critical of bad language on here as John S knows. But I havent seen anything that concerns me by Brian on here.

Cheers,
Julian

Julian,

Nothing 'concerns' me about Brian or the use of his bad language on page 44 either. I am not here to judge anyone, nor is it my or anyones place to do so. However, I do wonder how you would personally react if those two phrases were used to describe you?…which is the point I was making.

If John S told me to take up knitting, I would react by telling him to 'vulgar slang' and I know that he wouldn't care. Brian has been restrained with his response – twice now. This has been Brians style consistently through this thread, regardless of his ability, lack of, combined with quality issues with his machine. When this thread started, there were far more people offering assistance, and now very few remain, all for their own reasons. Even after going through countless insults from a variety of sources, Brian comes back for more. So I thought that it was very unusual for him to abort from his normal style and resort to the bad language. Brian took on what I said, and I understood the reasons for his reaction. How much I agree with him is another matter.

Ketan at ARC.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by JasonB on 24/03/2016 08:40:02:

Manufacturer beware (don't know what that is in Latin)

Caveat fabrica??

Russell.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by Brian John on 24/03/2016 06:31:18:

1. I must remember Ketan's comments about modifying my language before replying here !

Mine would have been much worse! I admire your patience and perseverence.

Russell.

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