Clarke Lathe

[Tom]

Ditto,

George, 8 posts a day for most of a month is fine, if they're contributing to the forum. If there were 5 people on this forum with a similar attitude (post now, think later), the whole place would be unreadable, and I wouldn't have time to sift through the rubbish to find what I need, so I wouldn't be a member.

A note of caution if you've truly been messed about by a seller is (possibly) fair enough (if you've got the time, and you really think others are likely to encounter the same problem). A one-man personal attack against an ebay seller is not a valuable contribution.
George, please post some of your pictures, and make some more valuable (and positive) contributions. Quality not quantity.

End of rant.

[GeorgeD]

New toy arrived....Oh dear...you just cannot trust the packer as it was terribly packed...but on the other hand the box was upside down in the van.

:cry:

[GeorgeD]

Hmmm! have not done a service on this because it looks as if it needs one.

Seems the person who put this together was in a rush to use it? one of the gear clusters is damaged(LargeOne)it was wobbling out of true on the shaft(needs replacing but the lathe still works.
The crack in the housing in the pic is not a real problem but its just that annoying feeling you get when an item of this ilk is poorly packed,the guy said he thought he'd packed it well lol and as stated the box/lathe was upside down in the van~(label says this way up please) on the top so I can't leave all the blame with the sender.

Bit noisy,are they noisy in general?

[irving2008]

no, mine runs near silent... They come with the gear clusters pre-installed, the only thing that is in the bag to be installed are the actual changewheels. I dont see how a cluster can be out of true on a shaft... suggests the shaft is bent.. maybe from the impact on the gear cover in transit? Incidentally these ship new bolted to the base of a wooden box...

I notice the year/batch code is 05/K... how does that tally with 'only a year old'?

[GeorgeD]

Hi Irving

Hmmm! year batch didn't look at that.

Took the gear cog off and its definatly the bore ie the person must have hammered? it on because the damage indicates the pin on the shaft didn't line up with the cogs pin cutout,Im summizing he's changed the gears for the threading gears at one time and hasn't relocated the main gear cog properly?

Well its not that noisy just whirring noise.

[irving2008]

Possibly main headstock gears running dry... see the LittleMachineShop user guide (an excellent resource) for how to lube them without removing/dismantling the headstock...

[GeorgeD]

Thanks Irving.

Had a bit of an headache earlier so went for a snooze.

Another question if you will,the crossslide feed handle and the dial are very loose is this normal? does it click per each segement of applied cut?

[BillTodd]

Just bought this with a load of extras,the lathe is 8 months old....did I get a bargain :whistling::whistling:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...hes-milldrills

Doesn't look like it :(

[GeorgeD]

What,Bill...I didn't get a bargain? or its not as new as they say it is?

Despite £30 carriage at £220 it was worth it,the crack in the case is really superficial and an aluminium plate screwed/glued? over it will suffice,the cog is buttons to replace.

[irving2008]

Thanks Irving.

Had a bit of an headache earlier so went for a snooze.

Another question if you will,the crossslide feed handle and the dial are very loose is this normal? does it click per each segement of applied cut?

no,there's no click, it needs adjusting... read the guide I linked to earlier... they loosen up with age and need tightening from time to time....sometimes the cross slide loosens because too heavy a cut has been attempted and the tool has dug in... tho with only 300W that less of an issue, the motor stalls out if you try too hard.

BTW, do not rely on the cross-slide markings for any degree of accuracy.... they are only good in a relative sense.... always measure the workpiece....