Is This What A Machined Surface Should Look Like?

[HBilly1022]

So today I took apart my King Industrial 1022 lathe saddle, cross slide and compound to give them a thorough cleaning and this is what I discover. The surface of the saddle that rides on the ways doesn't look machined, to me at least. There are a few spots on the front way saddle that look like a milling machine may have touched them but I'm thinking that may just be the areas that are contacting the ways. If you look closely you might be able to see them in the second pic. How bad is this? If I just accept it, will it come back to bite me in the future or should I go after the manufacturer to replace the saddle. I've already had several parts replaced on this lathe, through the dealer. EDIT; I forgot to mention that I bought this lathe new about 3 months ago.

 

[TOOLMASTER]

thats pretty ugly

 

[stupoty]

Is it a new lathe?

In the third picture the metal looks like it has bubles in it.

The general bad finish, is that a visual issue or can you substantualy feel the patern if you drag your fingure nail across it?

Stuart

 

[HBilly1022]

Stuart, it's not just visual. There is a very obvious roughness to it and can easily be felt with a finger tip. No nails required to feel this. The second pic may not show the roughness well but there are humps and valleys that can be felt when running a finger over it. These surfaces can only be riding on the ways in very small, limited spots.

Yes this is a new lathe ....... well it was 3 months ago when I got it from the closest dealer. I've had numerous issues with this lathe but at least the dealer has been there to help replace defective parts. I don't think he really understands the issues when I point them out to him but at least he will go to bat for me with the local King rep or get a new part in for me. Don't know if he will now because it has been 3 months since I bought it. May have to deal directly with the manufacturer.

 

[stupoty]

Definetly worth contacting the dealer, it's dificult to know what the best thing todo is. If it was an older lathe I would say lap it but as it's new they may want to swap it. Surely that can't be their expected level of fit and finnish? And even though it's 3 monthes old i'm not sure how that could happen from use.

Humm.

Hopefully other owners of king industrial stuff will chime in.

Stuart

 

[TommyD]

I would hope it is warrantied for more than 3 months. I'd be placing a call to the dealer requesting he look at the pictures and to explain to you why it looks the way it does.

Did you pay with a credit card? If so, and you get no where with the dealer, I'd give my card servicer a call and explain your situation to them. I have seen card companies make things happen.

Good luck.

 

[kvt]

I would contact them and have them look at it. because that looks like it will cuase wear to you problems later. They should at least talk to you about it.

 

[HBilly1022]

In one of my other threads I made a comment about some blackish sludge that develops on the ways and now that I look closely at the saddle, I can see that the sludge that shows up on the ways is in the same alignment as the shiny wear marks on the saddle. I think the saddle is made of cast iron (could be wrong though - maybe it's cast steel) and that the saddle is wearing at the contact points with the ways. I believe that is what is causing the blackish sludge and the shiny areas on the saddle. My fear is that if I don't fix / replace the saddle that it will eventually wear the ways, especially if it continues to make its own lapping compound by wearing in.

The dealer has been very good to deal with but I'm thinking that he may just refer me to the manufacturers rep since it has been 3 months. I returned the first lathe because of 2 issues with that one. The main lead screw wobbled (looked like a bent shaft in the gear case) and the cross side had a serious machining flaw. The dealer replaced it with the one I have now and I've worked through a bunch of issues with it. There's a lengthy story about that in my intro thread follow up post. I thought I had resolved all of the important issues with this lathe but it looks like I missed at least one. The manufacturer has also been good so far. They just replaced a drawbar and motor for my newly purchased milling machine. They were quick to respond and quick to ship the parts. The warranty on the lathe is 2 years, I think. It might only be one year but I'm pretty sure it is 2. In any case I have lots of warranty left.

I'm a little concerned about constantly going back to the dealer and manufacturer as I get the feeling from the dealer that he doesn't know machinery very well and thinks I'm one of of those guys that complains about everything without just cause. As an example here is a pic of the cross slide that I returned after picking up this lathe. I showed him the machining flaw and explained that I could not adjust the gibs properly with the taper on the machined face. I would have to adjust the gibs every time I pulled the cross slide back or the slide would loosen and cause vibration. He looked at me kind of dumbfounded and just told me to swap the part with the cross slide from the first lathe I returned.

 

[Holescreek]

Given the retail price, that's insane. Looks more like a scraping project kit. Black sludge is soft cast iron. If I could return it and get my money back I would. Too many issues.

 

[Steve Shannon]

You should not feel bad going back to the dealer. If the machine is a piece of soft junk with a poor finish, he needs to know. If it's not, then he needs to help you understand what's going on. In exchange for that, he has already received a profit.


Steve Shannon, P.E.