Lathes

[blades]

same here pulled the cork on the smith biz years ago. heck the state depart even came out with deal that says if you repair something sporting goods and some other areas you have remanufacted it and now wants what ever the original surcharge was again. poppycock. to put in perspective you repair a camping stool for someone 10 cent bolt but they want the the tax on the whole item as if it were new. this came about 1.5 years ago. $2500 manf.lic another crock foisted on us by anti types and the reasoning behind it as stated by the atf is faulty as all get out.

 

[Nutball]

Precision Matthews PM 1022v

 

[Al Smith]

I have no idea what the size is for the propeller shafts are on an aircraft carrier but I saw the lathe that turned them .Talk about massive ,Newport News ship building and dry dock company ,Newport News Va .

 

[Nutball]

I see no reason to get a PM lathe over a Grizzly or similar. I assumed I was paying more for a likely chinese lathe that was thoroughly inspected, cleaned, tested, and even modified if necessary by good ol Americans. It appears I assumed wrong as it came covered in metal dust and needing adjustments that it shouldn't have if pre inspected by an American, and literally had chinese written on it. I finally figured out how to turn it on , so we'll see how it does.

 

[Nutball]

4 jaw chuck isn't lined up properly where it mounts, Chinese Junk!

 

[Mastermind]

4 jaw chuck isn't lined up properly where it mounts, Chinese Junk!

You have to make a facing cut on the chuck back plate, then reassemble the chuck. That's normal.

 

[Nutball]

I figured they would have mentioned that, or better yet match it to the lathe like they did the 3 jaw. I also figured it would be possible to square up everything by design rather than matching imperfections to compensate for imperfections. I guess I'll look up the procedure. Still a pain in the butt, but I guess precision always is.

Thanks

 

[Mastermind]

I figured they would have mentioned that, or better yet match it to the lathe like they did the 3 jaw. I also figured it would be possible to square up everything by design rather than matching imperfections to compensate for imperfections. I guess I'll look up the procedure. Still a pain in the butt, but I guess precision always is.

Thanks

You just got lucky on the three jaw evidently, the back plate on it should be faced as well.

 

[Nutball]

The 3 jaw came mounted, and with 3 "O"s marked on it, so you can be sure to put it back on where it was factory aligned. The 4 jaw was really rough and dirty, and with no indexing marks. I just have really high standards when it comes to precision machinery.

 

[Al Smith]

I've made backers,D1-3 mount for the Monarch for example .That was for a 4 jaw which I seldom use .I already had two three jaws ,OEM monarch .Cushmans 6" and 8 " two 10" face plates .A Hardinge collet chuck
I've got a scroll 4 jaw I think is a Buck that needs a backer and 4" Sunnen super precision 3 jaw I'll tinker with some day .
The hardest thing for me on a pin mount is making the pins ,the backer isn't that big of a deal .

 

[blades]

I still have my 8' x 2" hex bar for changing chucks on the old 20" X 8' Sebastian ( old American iron ) I used to have years ago. That was for persuading them to unscrew, another shorter round bar just under headstock bore dia. to keep it from falling off. The 8" chucks I could muster, after that I had a chain hoist off the beam in the ceiling for the 10,14 and 20" units. Besides that there was a 9x36" Sheldon via the war department with a taper attachment ( for the little stuff). I have 14" x40 midrange import now days gets me bye ok although sometimes I wish it were bit stouter.

 

[Trevj1]

Cheap Chinese lathes are a lot like crate racing motors. The reason they come assembled, is so you are reasonably sure that all the parts are there.

A strip-down and some massaging is going to be required often enough.

That is the price we gotta pay, to not have to pay what was the going rate before the Chinese came on the scene and started producing small machine tools that were affordable, if a bit limited in their Quality Control dept.

In the early 1980's, I contacted South Bend (before Grizzly tools took it over as a brand) and the quoted price on their 9 inch lathe was pretty close to what I made working that year.

Having to skim a mount plate is a cheap price to pay so that you pay a cheap price!

 

[Nutball]

Yes, and it at least gets me by doing pistons and cylinder bases. Originally I had hoped Precision Matthews had gone through the whole thing at the price they charged, but it appears they likely never opened the crate.

 

[KS Plainsman]

Yes, and it at least gets me by doing pistons and cylinder bases. Originally I had hoped Precision Matthews had gone through the whole thing at the price they charged, but it appears they likely never opened the crate.

Have you called and talked to them? I'd be curious to hear what Matt has to say. They can't fix things they don't know about. It was my understanding they inspected everything in the US as well. If that is not the case on your lathe, I'd call and talk to them. I know several people who have dealt with them, and I will be soon as well, and they all have nothing but good things to say.

 

[Nutball]

I had talked to them earlier (emailed) about the startup sequence which didn't make too much sense, I figured it out, but they said I needed to download the newest version of the manual, which tells me china puts their manuals in instead of them putting the most recent in just before packing it up for delivery, or china updates the control logic without them knowing. Anyway I wouldn't have much to say other than my expectations were not met. I have no desire of going through any kind of return hassles, I can turn pistons and cylinder bases which is good enough for now.

 

[KS Plainsman]

I had talked to them earlier (emailed) about the startup sequence which didn't make too much sense, I figured it out, but they said I needed to download the newest version of the manual, which tells me china puts their manuals in instead of them putting the most recent in just before packing it up for delivery, or china updates the control logic without them knowing. Anyway I wouldn't have much to say other than my expectations were not met. I have no desire of going through any kind of return hassles, I can turn pistons and cylinder bases which is good enough for now.

I think alot of folks just have too high of expectations for Chinese products. I did too. My first mill was made in Taiwan, which was supposed to be better than a Chinese machine, and it did OK, but wasn't what I was hoping for. Same goes for tooling. I do plan on getting one of his Taiwan lathes though.

There's a German Youtuber machinist, and he hits the nail on the head when he talks about Chinese machines or tooling. He says you are basically buying a kit and a kit that will likely require some work. He made mods to his machines and does amazing work with them. So they can be made to be good machines I think.

Thing about it is, old US iron machines will likely require work as well, since they are all starting to get pretty old. Mind you, one of my lathes will be 100 years old in 3 years, and it does OK.

I guess, at least it does what you want it to do!

 

[Al Smith]

You get into those old screw on chucks with any size you'd better eat your Wheaties .I have a 16" 4 jaw that fits my pre 1920 Boyes and Emmes 20 by 48 " I can't even lift that thing let alone install it .
I once bought an entire pallet full of old chucks at an auction for 65 bucks and sold some off ,at the action for over $300 and still had half of them left .One was a 24" four jaw .That old lathe cost me $225 and weighs over 8000 pounds .Heavy duty Judy .It cuts fine, runs true but not well suited to carve out chainsaw parts .Does fine facing a flywheel or a big brake drum .

 

[Al Smith]

You get into good old made in the USA cast iron if they get oiled you can't really wear them out .My old Model M Bridgeport I just tightened the gibs,rotated the in feed nut and fixed the fine feed which had a slipping clutch and it most likely cuts as well as it did in days BA--before Al .That one BTW has a brass tag, Mall tool company Chicago Ill .

 

[KS Plainsman]

You get into those old screw on chucks with any size you'd better eat your Wheaties .I have a 16" 4 jaw that fits my pre 1920 Boyes and Emmes 20 by 48 " I can't even lift that thing let alone install it .
I once bought an entire pallet full of old chucks at an auction for 65 bucks and sold some off ,at the action for over $300 and still had half of them left .One was a 24" four jaw .That old lathe cost me $225 and weighs over 8000 pounds .Heavy duty Judy .It cuts fine, runs true but not well suited to carve out chainsaw parts .Does fine facing a flywheel or a big brake drum .

That's a fact! Mine is a South Bend 16"x60" between centers, with 3 inch riser blocks on it, and it has a 4 jaw Skinner on it. More than likely, that's what it came with. It cuts good and does fine, but it's not for smaller work, by any means. I did end up ordering a new chuck, I just need to make a backing plate for it, but that thing weighs plenty, and I'm not a small fella either. That's one reason I'd like to get another lathe, and a new one at that, so I can just leave that chuck on the South Bend and get something in the 13-14" range, with a 3 and 4 jaw and a collet chuck as well. Those are much more manageable weights of chucks.

If you find a decent old machine they will last, but there's alot of old machines that weren't cared for and the wear in them shows it. It also depends where a person is located as well. We have no second hand market out here for machines. So you either have to drive for a few days to pick one up, or pony up the dough to ship it and take your chances with a trucking company.

 

[Al Smith]

Well yes location has a lot to do with availability .This area during the late 80's was dubbed the "rust belt" because of the declining industrial base . Every say large factory supported several small "job shops " .When it went off shore the little guys just turned off the lights locked the door .
My advice if somebody is looking at a smaller lathe ,older ,take somebody with you who knows something about them if you don't .Then if you don't have the tooling you can get more money in that than you have in the machine so that's something to consider as well .They are out there you just have to find them .