my new lathe ... Precision Matthews 12x36 ...

[Programmergeek]

Re: RUN AWAY FROM THIS LATHE!

I looked at the boxes they appeared to be in non smashed shape. The wood was worped and the thinest plywood I have ever seen, looked like it got wet but I didn't see any rust or water damage I looked for that. There was no way to unbox everything while they where here it took me an hour to get the metal bands and the box unnailed alone and I called you about an hour after I received it and you have pic that same day of the damage. Doubt the driver would of stayed around for hours while I unboxed it anyhow.

Guess I signed for it, it is mind and all my problems glad that is your take on things.

Now I go in the shop which use to be my haven and don't even want to be in it thanks to this thing.

 

[Clark]

Re: RUN AWAY FROM THIS LATHE!

My used Rockwell mill off Ebay arrived all broken up from shipping and I did not inspect before signing.
It had to be welded back together and all the handles replaced.
The shipping company offered 10 cents per pound for replacement for used cast machinery. They said it was my fault for not insuring it for it's high value.

My PM1236 arrived without assembly instructions. It was all straight forward, but the parts were heavy, and it took a day.

Years later, I am all settled in, and on a good day I use BOTH the lathe and the mill.

A friend has used the thin PM1236 crate plywood for the roof on a mobile chicken coop. I hit his apple tree with it, and the thin plywood peeled off.

 

[darkzero]

In all my previous jobs & current, it is the receiver's responsibility to inspect freight shipments before signing the waybill. Items shipped freight are commonly expensive items, if you suspect damage, you'll have the driver wait for you (reasonably).

When my PM1236 arrived at my home, I did just that, inspect for any possible signs of damage before signing off. It probably took me 20-30 mins tops to cut the bands for the cabinets, inspect the cabinets, & to remove the top or side panel to get a decent look inside. Warped wood & thin plywood, you expected better from something coming from China? The thin wood would have made it quicker to open it up for a peak anyway.

It's unfortunate you were unlucky with your lathe. Although frustrating, patience will get it up & running as it should. Sounds to me like most of your issues may possibly have been shipping damage related.

 

[PEU]

Chinese lathes usually come with two small tin cans of white and blue for touch ups, not that will solve your problems but it will make your machine better looking...

OTOH, its naive to expect a machine to travel thousands of kilometers without a scratch. I'm sure you will be able to solve these problems sooner than later.


Pablo

 

[wquiles]

Sorry to hear you had this much trouble. You can see the pictures and state of my lathe when I got it, so I guess you can call me lucky in that mine arrived in pretty good shape - again just good luck.

My lathe had the DRO installed and was literally ready to run "as is" when I got it. Obviously as I stated using it and getting more comfortable with it I made adjustments here and there to my satisfaction, and now-a-days it turns out as good work as the apprentice machinist using it - enough for me to make some small amount of money!

One thing for sure - I don't care much for the shinny paint/dents - it will get dinged as you start using it more and more, and the paint will naturally start fading away from plain use and cleaning solvents/etc. - I would concentrate in getting the lathe assembled and then checking how well it runs, and then change whatever oils it has for new ones, once you finish the break-in procedure (I did all of this and it is detailed in this post).

Good luck. Please keep us posted once you get the lathe running 😉

 

[Programmergeek]

Yea the paint doesn't bug me much the bent sheet metal door and cabnet does. Most of the dings I supect where not from the shipping company anyhow PM is just blaming them if you look some are on the bottom cornors of the machine where it was well protected and bolted to the pallet. I dont care about little dings I can touch them up. I am more pissed they are not lifting a finger to help me out and I they are great when I called them 5 times but nothing has happened. Also I am missing parts like the mounting bolts, I can't even put it together if I wanted to and they just tell me to keep looking for them like they will majically appear.

Some support would be nice and some help afterthey way they shipped this to me. I doubt they even looked at the thing in thing in there shop or the tech was blind. by the dings onthe motor and areas you can see things where bouncing around in the container and not secured. The freight company would not of covered that and PM is stating it is the freight co problem. Again great understanding and support.

 

[precisionworks]

IMHO, you have only two choices.

The first is to place an ad on Craigslist or eBay, price the machine at half of what you paid for it (because of the extensive damage) and get it out of your life. Fast & easy, the only painful part being the loss of money.

The second option is more difficult - accept what you have & fix it. PM is under no obligation to do anything more than to ship you the lathe that you ordered. Matt is a super guy to work with ... unless someone is calling him names or spreading false accusations around the web. I have the occasional customer who's unhappy with a job I did for them - if they behave like a business person & are courteous & reasonable, the job gets redone quickly, often at no additional charge. If they insist on screaming, yelling, sending me threating emails or texts, my service is not quite as good - meaning that the rework will get done sometime this year & there will be an extra charge.

No offense meant, but you do remind me of the screaming customer. It's no wonder that Matt doesn't drop whatever he's doing to help you.

Either accept what you have & figure out how to fix it, or get rid of it. I don't believe you'll find a great deal of sympathy on any of the machining forums.

 

[Programmergeek]

Yes I am trying to work around it but it is kind of hard when you don't havethe parts to put the thing together in the first place. Matt was great with hispre sales support and really understood the machine and my needs. I still thinkthe machine will serve my needs. It was fine when it arrived and they said sendthem pic and they would remedy it, I did not ask for them to replace the machineonly the bent cabinet door and cabinet. Although that kind of quickly changed aweek later when I guess they figured it is not so easy. I never one yelled andonly spoke to Matt once all the other calls was to someone else in his office.Now it has been 5 phone calls and they never one called me to follow up andpretty much when I am calling them it is the same storie. Pretty much it is nottheir fault, I think they just can’t get parts for them. It's great when you buy a machine and theyhave great pre sales support. Tech support is also good but costs them verylittle. It's a whole different sortie when something bad happens, and I reliesit is my fault for signing the receiving paper before I had the thing totallyassembled and inspected for damage, honest the box looked fine.

When the customer goes out of his way to make a bad product work that is supposedto be new repaint scratched items and the dealer doesn't even follow up or tryto help or replace missing part that pisses me off. I bought this because if the good reviews online and I feel it is my responsibility to also add the positive and neg to theon line forums. Maybe someone can learnfrom my mistakes.

 

[tino_ale]

I would think the best thing you can do is get over it and realize that even if frustrating, your issues are minor no matter what. Some WWII machines are beaten to death aesthetic wise yet remain exceptionnal machines because they are extremely sturdy, heavy, rigid and true.

I can understand your frustration, I'm frustrated myself when I get a "brand new" item with aesthetic issues on it, but it's to be expected on a chinese machine, as already said. You get what you pay for. At this level of price any machine has some irregularities here and there. It is not a problem as long as it doesn't ruin the purpose of the machine.

Just fix it and enjoy it because it seem to be a very capable machine for the price. If you wanted a perfect machine you should have paid x10, x20 what you paid.

 

[Programmergeek]

I don't mean to keep posting I am trying, Iran out twice to get parts so far. It is just frustrating when it is new, notall the damage was from the freight company so PM really should make good on someof it. It seems like they are just using the Freight Co. as an out since theydon’t have parts. Also it was handled verypoorly I notified them hours after I received it and sent them pics withinhours of receiving the machine. They indicated they would take care of it thenthey didn't! ONCE THEY TOLD ME they would take care of it they should have.Also they should of notified the freight company right away. I doubt they did.Now it would be weird if I called the freight co. Truth is they are suppose tolook at these machines when they get them from china and that obviously didn'thappen well or they just looked at the box. Digs scratches are not nice and Idon't like them but I expect some. Missing parts, bent parts, are somethingthey should correct and stand behind if they want to sell machines. Basically Ipaid for a lathe I did not receive a whole lathe. Chinese or not that doesn’tmatter harbor freight has better customer service then they do. I hope mysituation is an isolated one Matt seems like a great guy and I don't think itis his fault probably just a comedy of errors and maybe one or two of theworkers there.

 

[Programmergeek]

Well after several months I never got a cabnet or door apperently they can't get parts for these! So I am stuck with making what I have work PM is not standing behind it once I signed the receiveing papers it is mind that is there stand. Really should of bought the Grizzley they at lest can get parts and have sttod behind every thing I bought from them. Anyhow I am trying to mount the DRO and I have the DRO some parts to mount to the bottom but no screws it looks like it should pount to a post mounted on the back of the lathe but there are no instructions or enoght parts does anyone have a pic how to mount this so I can try to figure out what I need and make it?

 

[darkzero]

Anyhow I am trying to mount the DRO and I have the DRO some parts to mount to the bottom but no screws it looks like it should pount to a post mounted on the back of the lathe but there are no instructions or enoght parts does anyone have a pic how to mount this so I can try to figure out what I need and make it?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-To-a-PM1236&p=3670031&viewfull=1#post3670031

I did not get mine from Matt but the mounting kit is the same. Mine did not come with installation instructions either. I replaced most of the screws that were included with larger & stronger screws but that was expected.

 

[BVH]

I also finalized the simple wiring change to correct my initial mistake with the white/return wire (boy do I feel pretty stupid about now!). I verified that there are no 120V devices:
- the pump is a 220V pump
- the lamp is a 24V lamp
- the DRO runs on 220V

I removed the white/return blade, and soldered both wires in the plug to the earth ground (green) blade. They are already shorted together at the electrical box as well:

I guess it is good to feel stupid but being safe, right? Thanks again for all of your help in making sure my lathe was wired properly and safely 😀


Will

I've read this and the previous page of this thread twice. If I'm following correctly, I can redirect an unused, dedicated 240V-30 Amp circuit cable in my attic down inside my garage wall and terminate it in a 3-prong, 240V receptacle. I am still not sure, but I think the lathe does not come with a cord? If so, my electrician can open the machines' box up, find the two hot wires (or are we looking for terminals) and the machine ground wire (or terminal, and on your machine, it is white, not green) and make a cord for attachment to these 3 points and stick a 3-prong plug on the other end. The ground from the machine frame/terminal goes thru the cord to the ground prong on the plug. The ground prong of the receptacle is where the bare/3'rd wire of the Romex conductor goes. Finally, we need to be sure that the 3'rd/bare wire from the existing conductor actually lands on the ground lug inside the breaker panel. Yes, I know the electrician should know all this but I also like to follow along and know it's being done right. In the pic, why did you have to solder two (a white and a bare?) wires together? Does the pic show your original connection where the neutral and ground wires were tied together?

 

[metalbutcher]

You'll want to check your local electrical code. What's shown in that picture would not be to code where I live. The only place where the bare wire and the neutral white wire are allowed to be connected is back at the main service panel.

Ed

 

[gadget_lover]

Like Metalbutcher says, it's not really allowed. The thinking is that the white is there to carry return current, and the ground is there to provide a path for current if something is broken/shorted. Without the ground the metal frame of the lathe can end up energized and YOU might be the path used by return current.

By tying the two together at the lathe, a broken neutral in the wiring for that circuit may result in the frame becoming hot as current flows through another tool to neutral, then back to the lathe, and finally back to the panel via the ground wire from there.

It's relatively safe if the circuit has only the one outlet, and if the lathe is the only thing on the circuit.

Daniel

 

[wquiles]

The photo above is out of context, so it appears it is not up to code, but it is. The problem is that initially I did have both the white and green wires connected back to the 220V outlet (which was NOT up to code, as clearly stated above), but the good folks here in the forum corrected that mistake. When I fixed the problem I simply tied the white wire within the yellow cable to be the same as the green/bare wire, so I have them shorted at both end of the yellow cable - they don't go to different places.

So from the 220V outlet, to the 220V power box in the lathe, there are only 3 wires: the two hots and the green (bare copper for neutral). There is NO white wire from the 220V outlet connected to the 220V outlet going to the control box - that pin in the plug is not there - I left it out, so there is no chance for a physical connection to the white wire in the 220V outlet. As I said, the photo is misleading since it clearly shows a white and copper wire shorted together going to the lathe's power box, but those two wires are only connected to ONE wire at the 220V outlet - the green/bare copper wire. The white/copper wires that you see in that photo are tied together at both ends of that yellow cable, and connect the 220V outlets' green/bare copper return to the GND in the lathe.

Will

 

[BVH]

The photo above is out of context, so it appears it is not up to code, but it is.

Will

I didn't mean to imply that the connection in the photo was how your machine was ultimately hooked up, but that I thought it represented your original connection, before all the changes were made. Sorry for the confusion. So it would appear that I can use a 3-prong plug & receptacle instead of a 4-prong.

Just to confirm, are there loose wires in the cabinet to connect to or am I looking for terminals?

 

[wquiles]

Just to confirm, are there loose wires in the cabinet to connect to or am I looking for terminals?

I think that you will have to wait until the lathe arrives to know what to look for. In my case, the power box had already wired a white cable (wired inside the box already), but with no plug at the end of the table, as you can see in this picture, towards the top-right:

Will

 

[BVH]

Perfect, Will, thank you!

 

[darkzero]

Just to confirm, are there loose wires in the cabinet to connect to or am I looking for terminals?

I think that you will have to wait until the lathe arrives to know what to look for. In my case, the power box had already wired a white cable (wired inside the box already), but with no plug at the end

Bob, it's very likely that your lathe will come with a cable with no plug as does the similar sized Grizzlys. Like Will's, mine also came with a cable pre-wired to the control panel with no plug. But my cable was black with red, black, & yellow/green wires. So yours will probably come with one but with whatever color variation they had in stock during manufacture.

So it would appear that I can use a 3-prong plug & receptacle instead of a 4-prong.

Yes, I used the same style plug/socket as Will but in a 3 prong.

Sure it may be overkill/oversize but it was the best looking one the local hardware stores had that I liked. I like that it's an angle plug & somewhat low profile compared to a plug that would stick horizontaly out. Angled plugs are standard in Europe (220v) to help prevent yanking the plug out of the wall socket by pulling on the cord intentionally/accidentially. But there are also plugs that twist to lock into the socket.

You may want to check for your area if you want to meet code. I remember someone saying something like any 220V appliances installed after a certain date had to be 4 prong to meet code but not sure if that was for a particular area, for household appliances only, or if I'm even remember correctly. There's no 110V devices on our lathe anyway. I'm not even sure if I meet local codes.