Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[rockets]

Maybe you can't polish a 'xxxxx', but you can roll it in glitter.

[Circlip]

And I hought you coul do anthing Ian.

  No Peter, I seem to get a sinking feeling when walking out to retrieve a boat stuck in the middle of a pond, ----- but if-------

  Look in the Bargain Basement ads Rockets, who keeps pointing to Lidl?? SOME of the far Eastern trash is totaly acceptable for lightweight or one off use, but some is downright dangerous and unfortunately many don't have the advantage of your background to be able to sort the corn from the chaff.

  I bought a "Machine" vise years ago cos I needed an alternative for light milling and drilling rather than use my apprentice made toolmakers vise. An artical in one of the mags had shown that by truing up the basic parts with a little effort, a linen bag could be produced from a sows ear. Got the thing home and after a cursory measuring session it became obvious that the castings weren't thick enough for even the lightest skim to true up, not only that but in attempting to clamp a piece of flat in the jaws, the casting bent. A quick return visit got my money back, BUT, the same vice was part of a package of "Extras" supplied with one of their "mill/drills".

  So in comes the un-initiated starry eyed first time disposable incomer and takes a "Bargain machine tool" home. Quick look in the book (Or NOT, who reads the f'in manual anyway??) "Lets do a bit of milling". Cutter in bits clamped and --------. 'Taint missile technowledgy is it?? BUT we have the claim and blame people escape route.


  All that glisters might easily be one rolled in glitter.

 

[rockets]

Tis a fair and true point that you make Circlip. We've all been caught out by tat over the years. As you say it's a bit of a battleground for the uninitiated.

Perhaps we've all done some good with our debate on here and answered some questions? Or maybe we've just raised a few more!

Hope you all have a great weekend,

Rockets.

[geoff p]

Circlip, I have read this thread with great interest and a growing frustration until I came to your bit about Taiwanese castings that just bend under load.
Years ago I bought various machines for my business, in Shetland, some were ex lease-lend, some British built.  I treated myself to a brand new milling vice made by Record: just how 'British' can you get?  Unfortunately by then I guess Record were run by accountants - the perishing vice warped under the severe thermal shock of being unwrapped so my first task was to machine its base back to acceptably flat.  Over time it continued to warp as the casting stresses 'let go'.

My very first lathe was a Round-bed Drummond - built long before Drummond were taken over by Myford.
My second lathe was an ancient beast that was put up for scrap after about sixty years use.  It was flat-belt driven, with back-gearing, and served to re-bore an Amanco stationary engine (4" bore -> 4 1/4 bore to suit an ex-Rolls Royce diesel piston)  This lathe went on to earn me some money making things that others couldn't do economically.
My next lathe was a Russian-built 'semi-toolroom' lathe of 9" centre height by about 72" centres.  Its 3-phase motor was a mere 17 horse-power.  Power feeds and rapids in both axiis from a joystick control.  A beautiful machine to work with but at 3 or 4 tonnes, it could not be fitted into my suitcase when I started wandering around the world.

So now I have a tiny little made-in-China-badged-in-Taiwan lathe that cost about 150 pounds when I bought it in Taiwan.  At 10 Kg or so, it travelled easily when I left to come to Thailand.  It is by no means perfect but it suffices for the jobs I try to do.

Being in Thailand somewhat limits ones desire to 'buy British' - the cost of 'postage' is rather prohibitive even before one reaches Customs, where import duty can be 140% (one hundred and forty percent)  I would far sooner pay 140% of 150 pounds than on 1500 pounds for a British machine to do much the same job. 

Besides, I am no longer supporting the British Bankers who have also been responsible for the demise of British Industry.

I would dearly love to buy British ... if only ...

Geoff

[Circlip]

If you go back to post #61 Geoff you can see the order of the oldest manufactured which is also the quality trail. The start and what was undoubtably the worst was in 76 when the first of the imports came from Taiwan. The same list also gives the now best value in ascending order. On the original drawings, that seem to have been passed from country to country, there must be a note that says " To give the appearance of heavier better quality castings, DON'T clean them but spray paint over the sand to bind it together". We must have imported beaches from Taiwan, China and India, Where next??? They ALL suffered/suffer from the same low grade soft C/I to start with. A mate bought a wood turning lathe and asked if I could do anything with one of the clamping screw holes which had stripped. Rather than a backwards and forwards trail, ALL the tapped holes were fitted with Heli-coils, and within days the NVR switch had to be replaced. As far as "British" machines are concerned, I think you would be surprised to see where many of the castings now come from !!

  Although many say steer clear of the 3 in 1 lathe/mill/drills a mate who has just moved from Malaysia to the Phillipines had his own 3in1 AND a Chinese Mill shipped over there with him and swears by them (Not at them). Even my own Austrian iron (Which ALL the far eastern lathes are copies of to a greater or lesser extent) are now made in warmer climes.  We just have to keep kicking untill the quality rises, unfortunatly So Does The Bottom Line.

   Regards  Ian.

[dave301bounty]

Hi .my son works for a firm ,closing down ,relocating ,and ALL the machinery is getting chuked out ,i have seen this ,some nice lathes ,grinders ,all you find in a workshop ,,however ,i need no more ,if i get a date it will be disposed of would you be interested ,dockroad south/end

[rockets]

I received a parcel today, my brother sent me a shiny new Clarke CL300 mini lathe for my birthday. Now I can get rid of my model B in preparation for my relocation. I'll be very sad to see it go but I'm thinking of getting a small milling machine with the cash so that I don't lose capability.

Rockets.