PM-1127VF-LB Lathe vs PM-1228VF-LB Precision Lathe?

I’m 5’8” and I can assure anyone who’s curious about bench height.... 38” would be a bit high for me. I build my workbenches so that the top stands about 30”

28-32 would be usable but 38” would drive me crazy and probably aggravate the heck out of me.
 
Been checking out this PM-1228VF-LB lathe as much as I can before really doing anything with it. The latest thing I found is that there is apparently rust inside the camlock holes in the spindle nose.


Sorry about the shakiness of the video. Those darn borescopes are tough for me to hold onto very steadily. :(

I guess the best thing to do would be to remove the camlocks and try to clean it up as best I can. Plus check the camlocks themselves for any rust on them. Looks like there is a socket head cap screw for each camlock, which I guess holds it in place. Never taken one apart before, nor could I find any videos showing how to do it, so I guess it is just a plain vanilla thing to remove the cap head bolts then pull out the camlocks. Anything that I could screw up doing that?

The inside of the spindle bore also has rust in it, but the outside surface, which I can view by removing the top cover to the head stock, is clean as a whistle. Then while cleaning off the preservative gunk on the lathe (which sure would have been nice inside the spindle bore and those camlock holes) with WD-40, a chunk of white paint right in the center of the base in front flaked off, leaving metal showing. Kind of red looking, but not sure if that is primer, rust, or something else. I'll try to get pics or video of that as soon as I can process it. Been taking a LOT of photos and videos while inspecting the lathe. I have found that this is good to have around for reference at some later date, if needed.

The control knobs on the gear box are nearly unusable. I about tore the skin off of my left hand trying to work the right most knob. I then took off the lever on the half nut control knob, and that made it a LOT easier to work with. I notified PM about the issues, but so far, no response out of them.

Anyway, the lathe looks good on the work table I set up for it, and I then stashed some tool chests underneath.

husky_tool_cabinets_04.jpg


husky_tool_cabinets_01.jpg
 
you may need to jiggle the chuck back and forth a bit when changing gears to help them mesh properly. There are no synchros in these boxes :)
 
Manual states that you can change those gears while the motor is running, as long as you stay under 600 RPM. So I don't think I would want to grab the chuck then to try to wiggle it. :)

So I was trying to change the gears at a couple different speeds, and, well, a video is worth a couple dozen words, at least.

 
Well, here is a question. If you had rust inside of your spindle bore, what would you do about it?


Lightly hone it out? Just oil it up and forget about it? Something else, or nothing else?

And speaking of rust, here are the rust spots I mentioned on the base of the lathe.


The one on the front just flaked the paint off while I was wiping off the gunk using WD-40. The one on back was "as is" when I got the lathe. It appears both will flake off more paint over time.
 
I would not be surprised if Matt did not act on this, just give him the information nicely. Line by line with your videos, to me the spindle bore is a minor issue, but it adds to the whole.
 
Aukai said:
I would not be surprised if Matt did not act on this, just give him the information nicely. Line by line with your videos, to me the spindle bore is a minor issue, but it adds to the whole.
Click to expand...

Hmm, how nice is "nice enough" to warrant a reply from Matt? :)

I will quote the latest correspondence, as I think I could have been "nice enough", but heck I don't know the calibration on the yardstick being used. :)

11/9/2020, 3:19 PM

I haven't heard anything back from anyone about this issues I made mention of in my previous email. So I am sending this duplicate in case it got lost in the mail. I am also attaching some pics showing the rust issues I mentioned. I also noted quite a bit of rust in the spindle bore, and also in the camlock holes in the spindle flange. It looks like I would just need to remove the cap head bolts on the spindle flange to remove the camlocks so I could take a stab at cleaning out the rust in the holes and also inspect the camlocks themselves for rust. Any caveats I need to be aware of when I do that? Honestly, I am really not pleased with finding so much rust associated with the spindle. What is odd is that the outside surface has none whatsoever. So how come so much in the inside of the spindle and in that flange? And yeah, rust flaking off the paint on the base doesn't thrill me neither.

Anyway, can I get some progress on resolving these issues, please?

Thanks,

Rich Z.


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Continuing inspection of PM-1228VF-LB Lathe
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2020 12:34:50 -0500
From: Rich Z. <>
To: Precision Matthews Machinery Co. - Sales <>


Hi Matt,

I've been checking out everything, but honestly haven't finished checking out absolutely everything. For instance, I haven't set up the 4 jaw chuck yet and tried to mount it on the spindle. My wrists hurt and I don't want to chance lifting that chuck and dropping it. But I think I need to relay stuff to you now to at least get a ball rolling to get some things resolved. Order of things will be for issues I believe I need replacement or additional parts for. Then things that are pretty much comments or requests for guidance how to fix them.

(1) Missing label on front of machine showing model number.

(2) Missing a couple of screws on back of machine. I believe they are 4mm screws. One appears to be stripped, so I might have to drill out and tap all pertinent holes for replacements. I'm pretty sure I have screws for this job, if not I will order them when I know what thread size and pitch I will need. I may have to go up to 5mm screws. Of course, doing this will flake off the paint around the holes, but I mention this paint problem later on.

(3) The gearbox knobs are a real bear to operate. Video showing what I mean ->

I believe that levers threaded into existing holes underneath those knobs would make them MUCH easier to operate. I tried using the lever off of the split nut knob (#628, part #Z2518), which is just about a perfect fit and makes the gear switching MUCH better, so if I could buy two of them from you, that will help a LOT. Maybe they will break in at some point and be easier to work, but right now my wrist is still aching from the attempts. BTW, I watched videos by Frank Hoose, and I'm pretty sure that he is not THAT much stronger than I am to work those knobs as easily as he does. :) Honestly, those knobs are wrist breakers as is now. It hurts just to be typing on my keyboard. :(

Please note in the video that at some points working the ABC knob would just disconnect the feed shafts completely. Would be aggravating if it popped out of gear while doing actual work using the lathe. Is that normal?

(4) It looks like I have a wobble on the bolt/washer holding the pulley onto the motor. But it's really a pain in the butt to remove that interlock key (#862, part #Z2370) to take a look at it again. Could I buy an extra interlock key from you? There are things I need to watch under that cover with the motor and gears running, and that interlock just makes it a real hassle. Have video.

(5) There is an area on the back of the base below the tail stock that appears to be an area of rust that was painted over and now the paint has peeled off of it. In a like vein, while I was cleaning up the lathe with WD-40 and a shop towel, a chunk of paint flaked right off the front of the base about mid center. About the size of a half dollar coin, if you remember them. Pretty much an eyesore. I am not sure if it is rust or something else. Sort of reddish in color. I have pics, which I can enclose later when I have time. Also some paint has just flaked off at off spots, especially near any bolts or screws. It appears that there was no primer used in various areas on the metal. As such, I would need some touch up paint to repair those paint blemishes. Honestly, I wish I could just take apart the entire lathe, take it down to bare metal, and repaint with POR-15 and never have to worry about it again. Have pics.

(6) Speaking of rust, there is rust inside the spindle. It appears that this area was never protected by the coating applied just about everywhere else. I took the cap off of the head stock, and the spindle metal seems fine there. Just kind of odd why there would be rust INSIDE of the spindle but not on the outside. No protective coating under the head stock cover, neither.

There is also a few spots of rust on the front way slide, right up against the head stock. I don't think they will be an issue though, as it is not likely the carriage would ever need to go inwards that far. Just seems that the corrosion protection was pretty much it and miss. Have pics.

(7) Speaking of corrosion, there was some light corrosion of some sort on the taper of the spindle that the chuck attaches to. At that time, I was getting .010 runout on a milling bit in the chuck, which I was NOT happy about. After cleaning up that area with some fine 3000 grit paper, I brought runout down to .002 which is a lot better. I still need to do more work, since I neglected to look on the inside of the chuck itself where it mates up with that surface. So I'm hoping I can get it to .001. Have pics.

(8) In the manual it shows some Zerk oiler fittings on some of the gears, which I do not have on my lathe. I am guessing that the fittings indicate lubrication at those areas is important, however, with the plugs or whatever are there now, I'm not sure what I need to do to lubricate those points. I have also seen those fittings in videos on YouTube. Have pics.

(9) Wish the drill chuck MT3 taper didn't have that tang on it. Makes the quill have to come out a bit too far. Was that an option I neglected to uncheck?

(10) What size parting blades do I need for the QCTP holder?

I have pictures and video of just about everything mentioned, except the rust inside the spindle (which I cannot seem to get a photo of), which I can provide as needed. I'm just feeling too lazy right now to get all that together for this email. So if you would like to see exactly what I am referring to, please let me know. Or maybe I will feel less lazy later on and send what I have anyway. I've taken pics of just about everything at every conceivable angle for reference. I've always found looking at photographs will unveil details that I missed looking at items directly. :)

All in all, the lathe seems MUCH better than that Ebay lathe I had to reject, so pretty much the problems I found are very minor in scope. There is a clicking noise I hear from the headstock while running that seems to coincide with a jump in the needle on my indicator dial that I need to track down. Just might be a chunk of material in a gear somewhere. But like I said, doesn't appear to be any show stoppers here. Which is great, since packing this thing to send back to you would have been a REAL pain in the butt. This 70 year old body ain't what it used to be! :)

Thanks,

Rich Z.
On 10/29/2020 8:57 AM, Precision Matthews Machinery Co. - Sales wrote:
>
> Not a problem at all, like I said I will come up with one.
>
> Check it all out and let me know how it goes when you have a chance.
>
> Thats a great looking stand and shop!
Click to expand...

This was before I discovered the rust problem in the camlock holes on the spindle nose, btw.

Honestly, I believe that the problems are all resolvable, and I am not even close to any point thinking that I should return the lathe. However, an unresponsive seller after the sale that would negate any sort of warranty offered, would certainly tip the scales in the other direction substantially. If I cannot get problems replied to, much less resolved, then there would be NO warranty as far as I am concerned.

I did hear that Matt was away on a business trip last week, so I imagine he has a lot on his plate this week as a result of being away, and does seemingly explain why email replies were a lot better pre-sale than they appear to now be post-sale. But I'm not throwing a red flag on the field quite yet about it, just trying to utilize another potential source of answers I need. Still, I really don't like being ignored when I am trying to get some problems addressed in a timely fashion on an expensive (to me) piece of machinery I VERY recently purchased from them. I asked to buy levers for the gearbox control knobs, and an interlock key, as well as some matching touch up paint. I originally asked for a label that was missing showing the model number, as shown in every other picture of this lathe I can find anywhere. The missing screws I already took care of. I know he can't do anything about the rust problems, but I would like some guidance about how best to go about taking care of this myself. At the very least this is something I believe he should be aware of about the product he sells as it appears to me that rust prevention was a bit lacking in notable areas. Is that at all unreasonable on my part or in any way not "nice enough" to warrant no reply from Matt or any other designated driver at that shop?

Actually had I gotten replies from Matt to the above replies, I doubt I would have much reason to be posting those questions here at all. But when I have questions, I WILL use whatever sources I can avail myself of to find the answers I need. It has been nearly a week now, that these problems have been nagging at me, after all.
 
Your doing great, it's frustrating to me when you hear good reviews, and your results differ. I'm not sure how the elections, and the virus may be affecting operations, but they do answer the phone. Good luck.
 
Aukai said:
Your doing great, it's frustrating to me when you hear good reviews, and your results differ. I'm not sure how the elections, and the virus may be affecting operations, but they do answer the phone. Good luck.
Click to expand...

With the issues I noted, email is the only way relaying such info would work. Attaching photos, linking to videos, quoting part numbers to reference, etc., would be impractical via phone. I guess if I used a smart phone for all my photo and video work, that might be viable, but with photography and videography being one of my other hobbies, I tend to use other more capable equipment for those tasks.

Besides, I firmly believe that if a company wants to do business on the internet, they need to do so fully. Which includes correspondence.

But anyway, back to the problems at hand, has anyone taken the camlocks out of their D1-4 spindle nose? Looks like a simple cap head bolt holding each camlock in place, but I have sort of gotten into the comfort zone habit of seeing or reading about someone else doing such things themselves first before I tackle it. Things like "watch out for the little ball bearing and spring!", just make things easier to know about in advance.
 
Not that it helps, but there is a shipment due in right about now. I'm waiting for my 1340GT....
 
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