Update and a few things I have learned that most of you probably know but if someone gets the machine later and is looking for info, they might see this.
First off, I spoke with Matt and he sent me some new parts for the change gears. He sent 2 of the couplers, 4 or 5 of the square headed bolts, 5 clips, and the brass oiling inserts. I spent an hour or two with the change gears, the bolts, and the clips to get everything fitting better. I spun some sandpaper in a hand drill and sanded out the insides of the gears until the couplers fit snug, but not so tight they had to be tapped into place and not so loose the couplers would just fall out. I also polished the square headed bolts up to 1000 grit sand paper so they would turn as resistance free as possible inside the couplers. Last a filed down the backs of 2 of the clips so they wouldn't catch and start tightening down. Now changing gears is pretty seamless. It takes me about 5 minutes from turning the part to diameter to taking the first threading pass.
Still having an issue with the leaking gear box but we are trouble shooting and that will be resolved at some point.
A few things for new people/people considering the 1030V:
Changing the chucks is beyond easy. There are 3 nuts on screws attached to the back of the chuck faceplate. To change the chuck, you loosen those 3 nuts, rotate the plate behind the spindle face, and pull the chuck through. I didn't realize thats what the rotating plate was for, the first few times I took the bolts off all the way. Don't do that, use that rotating plate.
To change the gears, a few things to note:
-There is a circuit breaker (or something...) on the rear upper left corner of the change gear cover to make sure the machine doesn't run without the cover on. When you take the cover off, it will feel like there might be a hinge back there. Its not a hinge, pull straight out away from the machine.
-The couplers are made of a pretty weak cast metal. No idea what it is, but if you force it into the change gear, it will deform and jam up the nut that it has to rotate on.
-The change gear chart will tell you which gears need to be attached to each other and which order they should go. The bottom most one goes directly onto the lead screw, then the two above it go on the quadrant with the last one interacting with the spindle gear. On the chart, the gears next to each other go on the same coupler. If there is an H there, put one of the spacers on instead of a gear.
-When you tighten the quadrant back up, make sure the gears are spaced apart from each other so they don't rub on each other and grind.
A few things PMs site doesn't mention but are worth noting:
-Those little brass circles you see all over the machine are oilers. Put a shot of oil in each one and it will lubricate the machine while you use it.
-The handle you use to move the apron has graduated markings on it. That makes stuff much easier and that wasn't there on my HF lathe.
-The tailstock uses a lever to lock it in place. I thought I would be using a wrench to lock and unlock it but that lever is fantastic.
-The lathe has plenty of power to cut threads at its lowest speed setting which is 54 rpm on my machine. Its so slow I find myself speeding it up to get to the next number on the thread dial, but then I have forever to stop the thread at the end (for reference, the 24 tpi thread for .5" I cut yesterday took a little over 12 seconds to traverse the entire thing.) This makes threading way less nerve wracking because you can see everything thats happening and have lots of time to react at the end of the thread.
I have a few more pictures for anyone interested. The finish on one of the parts was so great I wanted to leave it how it was and not use it. But alas I have to use it, can't make multiples with suppressor parts. I also marred up the outsides getting them apart. Heres to hoping that buffs out. As a side note, the 3 jaw is very accurate. More than accurate enough for the stuff I am working on. Chucking 1.5" steel rod in the 3 jaw it was .004" out. After facing off, drilling, boring, threading, and tapering, then machining the brake and threading the mount onto the brake, the mount was turning .003" off center. This is fine because the parts that need perfect concentricity (The threads, the thread shoulder, the face of the mount, and the rear taper) were machined in set ups that ensured perfect concentricity (or as close as I can measure with a .001" DI)
Suppressor mount
Muzzle brake and mount threading
Fit of the two parts
