# Craftex CX701 Lathe



## Drifter1885 (Dec 18, 2013)

Howdy all, new here, and fairly new to machining. Bought a Craftex CX701 in July 2012, have barely 10 hours on it; on the weekend  was getting ready to face a piece of plate for a wheel adapter, hadn't  started the cut yet, when the motor pulled down like it was cutting to  hard, then crunch-munch. Took the gearbox  cover off, found it had broke the web inside that supports the shafts in the middle  of the gearbox, trashed 3 gears, and one shaft. Thankfully, Busy Bee  tools, where I bought it, is covering the parts for the repair; however, likely won't have the parts until spring. It was always stiff to move the shifters, on it, but put that down to being new and an offshore machine. In hindsight should have checked it out sooner. Has anyone here had or heard of this problem before on same or similar machines?

Thanks in advance.

Btw, great site!

Drifter1885


----------



## Bill Gruby (Dec 18, 2013)

Could you get us a few pictures from different angles please. Maybe we can spot why it happened for you. That way when you get the parts you can modify it if necessary.

 "Billy G"


----------



## Drifter1885 (Dec 18, 2013)

Sorry, read the post earlier, then promptly forgot to post pics. Now.....lets see if I can figure out how.....there looks like I succeeded in spite of myself...hew:


----------



## xalky (Dec 19, 2013)

Yikes. Are you kidding me! You're taking this better than I would. I don't want to get you riled up, but That kind of stuff shouldn't happen to a brand new lathe. I certainly wouldn't be OK with waiting till spring to get parts. They gotta do better than that! :angry:


----------



## ScrapMetal (Dec 19, 2013)

I don't think that casting is supposed to be busted either.  Wow, what a mess.  IMHO They should definitely be seeing that one back.

-Ron


----------



## Drifter1885 (Dec 19, 2013)

If you look close, that casting is AT MOST 1/16" thick where it broke. Problem with parts is they have to go back to Timbukto or wherever they build them. On the bright side (there are only 2, and they barely made muster as to being "bright sides") they are paring for the parts. Also, if I remove one gear on the drive side of the gear box, that will isolate the gearbox from the power side of the lathe; I could then still run the headstock for manual turning. Not the best situation, but can still work on some of my projects not requiring a high degree of finish. 

But yes, you are right, they should replace this unit. The fellow I am dealing with doesn't know if they will replace the entire gearbox as a unit, or just the idividual parts; if individual parts, then I will be stuck with rebuilding the gearbox. And I am not holing my breath that they will pay for the parts; they can always ding me for them when they arrive. I hope not, but have been down that road before.

Thanks in advance for any help regarding what could have caused this. I cleaned the gearbox thoroughly, with bare fingers, looking for 'chunks' that might have caused this; other than a lot of black greasy muck that I assume was a moly based assembly lube, I found one very small chunk that I think came from one of the damaged gears, but not the cause of the pile-up.

Regards,
Drifter


----------



## Railway Bob (Dec 21, 2013)

That looks to be like a defective casting.  You need to have Busy Bee inspect the lathe and you should then return it to them.  This piece of machinery didn't stand a chance right from the get-go.  

One of the first things I did when I got my B2227L lathe was to remove the lid of the gear box.  The first thing I discovered was that the gasket was blocking the oil groove on both the front, back, and right side so that it would be highly unlikely that oil splashed up onto the lid would then flow back into the bearing hole.  So I got some gasket material from NAPA AutoPro and cut a new gasket.  Then I splashed some oil over the gears as they were quite dry and ran the lathe with no load at slow speed with no load for about 5-10 minutes; changed to a higher gear and did the same; continually repeated the process till I had run through most of the gears.  After running in the gears, I then changed the gear oil and put in some fresh stuff.  

Check with Busy Bee and see what they'll do.  

Bob M.


----------



## Drifter1885 (Dec 21, 2013)

So far all they have agreed to is supplying parts; which they should anyway, as the warranty is good until July 2014. My plan is to install their new parts, then take it to a "local" dealer (about an hour and a half from home) and trade it in. Had I known that dealer was there to start with, I would have bought from them in the first place. They sell "King" brand tools; anyone on here familiar with them?

Drifter


----------



## genec (Dec 21, 2013)

It almost looks to me as if something got in the gears bent the shaft, and started the whole chain reaction.
anic:  I would definitely be asking for a whole new head.


----------



## xalky (Dec 21, 2013)

genec said:


> It almost looks to me as if something got in the gears bent the shaft, and started the whole chain reaction.
> anic:  I would definitely be asking for a whole new head.


Ditto.


----------



## blaser.306 (Dec 21, 2013)

Drifter1885 said:


> So far all they have agreed to is supplying parts; which they should anyway, as the warranty is good until July 2014. My plan is to install their new parts, then take it to a "local" dealer (about an hour and a half from home) and trade it in. Had I known that dealer was there to start with, I would have bought from them in the first place. They sell "King" brand tools; anyone on here familiar with them?
> 
> Drifter



I have a King 10x22 and am happy with it, Has a couple of shortcomings that I can work around! The majority of the line from King are carbon coppies of both the Grizzly and Busy Bee stuff. I originaly was looking @ B-B myself then they pulled the plug on the local branch here in town, Then when the time actually came to buy a machine. I contacted Busy bee in Edmonton and was informed of their Warranty / return policy. When you bought it as long as you never opened the crate to look at it they would take it back for a re stocking fee. I sugested they keep it and I spent my money elsewhere. As to the king, I have had a couple of small problems all of whitch have been taken care of directly from the head office in Quebec.


----------



## Bill Gruby (Dec 21, 2013)

Took me some time to try and see what failed first. Looks like the casting did. Then the gears went then the shaft bent. This is definitely a factory defect as far as I can see. You should get a new lathe as this was not your fault. A fac6tory rep needs to see this.

 "Billy G"


----------



## Drifter1885 (Dec 21, 2013)

I agree to needing a new lathe out of this, but unfortunately they don't. Going to call them on Monday and try to wear 'em down a bit. I also had to pull the cross-slide apart; there was a roll pin that was too long, was dug in to the base enough to leave a deep mark. Touched it with a grinder, it worked right. Tailstock screw keeps hanging up; needs tear-down too. And on and on. But, if they won't replace it, I will have to be patient, wait for the parts, rebuild the gearbox, and trade it in for a King. At least the dealer is within driving distance.

Thanks to all you pro's out there for your advice; nice to know there is all that knowledge out there; too bad I can't be working on my tractor right now. Need the lathe for a lot of what I am doing, and have to do it the hard way. Oh well.

Regards,
Drifter


----------



## markknx (Dec 22, 2013)

Driffter,I would ask them who is installing the new parts, If they say it is you then ask them where you are to send the invoice for your time at a good rate of pay. I do not know about you but my time is worth money. this my make them rethink the issue. I did this with grizzly because of shipping damage and they agree to a gift card for my time.Mark


----------



## Drifter1885 (Dec 22, 2013)

They have a 2 year warranty, but only do days on labor. Had I known that, I would not have bought their product. It was advertised as "2 year warranty". But, I will be trying to get a new machine from them. )

Regards,
Drifter


----------



## ARM (Dec 22, 2013)

Drifter1885 said:


> They have a 2 year warranty, but only do days on labor. Had I known that, I would not have bought their product. It was advertised as "2 year warranty". But, I will be trying to get a new machine from them. )
> 
> Regards,
> Drifter


Hello  DRIFTER
Sympathise  with U,  BUT  and  that  is  a  BIG  BUT..............
We  reckon  U  Guys  definitely  ought  to  have  more  "after-sales  back-up"  there  than  on  this  side  of  the  pond.
Like  the  others  said,  U  seem to  have  taken  this  very  lightly,  if  not  more  aggressively.
Tell  them  to  come  and  take  back  their  piece  of  ~!@#$%^&*()
And  replace U  with  another  better  brand-spanking  new  machine.
What  the  hell  ..........can't  understand  why  U  taking  this  lying down  ????
U  paid  hard-earned  bucks  for  it  !!!
Come  tomorrow,  U give them  a  piece  of  Your  mind.
We  think  U  too  passive  about  this  whole  affair
U  should  be  fuming  ............  blowing  fire  !!!  ~!@#$%^&*()
aRM


----------



## Tozguy (Dec 22, 2013)

My new CT043N was making a racket in the headstock so I removed the top cover and looked inside. There is a keyway that runs almost the full width of the lay shaft. There are two screws that are supposed to hold the key in that keyway but they were very loose. The keyway itself was very 'generous' so the key was flopping around when the gears were in motion. The screws are exposed when in a certain gear so it is conceivable that one could fall out completely. I am sure that it was a disaster waiting to happen. I peened one side of the keyway to tighten it up on the key and tightened the screws. It will be inspected again after a few more hours to see how things are holding up.
How tight are the keyways in your CX 701? Could a key have slipped out of position and into the path of a gear? With a cracked case like we see in the picture I would insist on the replacement of the whole assembly. Tell Busy Bee that they can either send someone to install a new headstock within a month or you will return the whole lathe for a full refund. If it was me I would load the lathe in a pick up tomorrow and return it to the nearest BB store for a full refund. If they didn't accept it or help you unload it I would dump it in their front parking lot anyway. You have consumer rights on your side no matter what BB tells you. You have more options than what BB seems to have offered and those include small claims court. Take good pictures before returning the lathe so that you can show the judge. Take a good picture of the lathe sitting on their property in the parking lot.


----------



## Drifter1885 (Dec 24, 2013)

I hear ya. Called them today and said that, all things considered, I should be getting a new lathe instead of a box of parts. Less than a half hour later I get a call saying that the supplier that Busy Bee gets their equipment (junk) from thinks there is now way this could have happened, and they want more pics. Sounds like they are trying to weasel out of it. To me this is a declaration of "war". I WILL fight them in any legal venue I have access to, to get either my money refunded, or a new lathe....which I would then trade off. Personally, I would like to see a credit to my c-card, and a crate show up to put their pos in and send back to them. I am about 15 hours drive from them or I WOULD take it there and unload it right in their doorway, then tell all who would listen, that they do not stand behind their customers, nor do they support their customers. GAME ON!!!

And that, my friends and learned colleagues, was my "Christmas" present from them. Talk about take your money and run. Nice bunch.

And in my emailed response, I also outlined the other issues I have been having with this lathe; tailstock not retracting without almost ten minutes of coaxing, cross-slide totally bound up because of a rollpin being tool long and embedding itself into the base of the cross-slide. This for starters.

Anyway, enough of that.

A merry Christmas to all of you, and to those who have to travel, be safe. Watch out for your fellow drivers, and wildlife.

Drifter


----------



## Drifter1885 (Jan 4, 2014)

Update on my lathe issues: December 24th got am email stating that my lathe breakdown was not considered to be a "warranty item". After several emails, always managing to keep my temper in check, the advised me that I would have to return it to the outlet where I bought it, at my expense, which is about $200.00 one way, and they would look it over to decide if it was or wasn't warranty. I said no; I was NOT paying for warranty, especially since the warranty does not expire until July of this year. This was all from Busy Bee head office. Got an email from the manager of our "local" Busy Bee (800 mile or so away) and he said he had spent a good bit of time on the phone with the upper management in Ontario head office, and they agreed to pay for all parts. Funny thing is, all this started on December 24th, about 20 minutes AFTER I phoned them and said I wanted a new lathe, not new parts. I think it goes without saying that once I get my parts they will have seen the last of me.

Thanks again for all your input. I will post updates on this "saga" and pics of the machine I will own within a week of completing repairs on this one; I will be trading it in as soon as it is repaired. Once burned, twice shy, as the saying goes.

Regards,
Drifter


----------



## Metalbender (Jan 4, 2014)

You really are taking this too lightly. Crappy service like that can also be handled by your credit card co.  Contact the cc outfit and file a complaint, in most cases they have a lot more push than an individual customer.


----------



## george wilson (Jan 4, 2014)

Hopefully,they will not give you another head with that same too thin casting.

They ought to find out this crap is being discussed pin a large forum. It just might hurt their sales.


----------



## David S (Jan 4, 2014)

I am a bit surprised at Busy Bee.  I have had a few minor problems in the past and they took the high road and replaced no charge.

However I didn't realize that this was a $3k lathe we are talking about.  Have you told them that you are a member of a machining forum that has far reaching coverage?   This is not good advertising for them, and they should be aware of this.

Hopefully they will come to the party.

David


----------



## autonoz (Jan 4, 2014)

Post their E-mail address and lets all email them with our disappointment of their customer service and backing of their product. I know I would never buy from them now and would be happy to tell them.


----------



## tigercat4519 (Sep 14, 2014)

Hi was just wondering if Busy Bee took care of that for you and what they done because I just purchased a new one and have a similar problem and I've only had it 5 days and less that 1 hr on it.
Thanks
phil


----------



## Drifter1885 (Sep 14, 2014)

Hey, Tiger Cat, I sent you a pm. Been a while since I been on here, what with moving and getting settled. Finally got my parts, they did manage to wait until all warranty was off before getting them to me. They supplied the parts but I had to pay shipping from Ontario to my place. When I got the new gearbox, lo and behold! The reason for the failure was self evident. The support web, located center-left of the gearbox, is machined WAY off plumb. The face that is machined off the support web in the original box is only machined about a quarter of the way across in the new box. The reason for it being machined at all is to allow clearance for the shifter to travel. In the new box, a quarter is sufficient. In the original box, the entire face had to be removed in order for the shifter to travel. Totally a manufacturing issue, and they refused to stand good for it. As soon as it was put under load, it failed. So, that being said, I am planning on picking up an old lathe in decent shape and sell this POS. Problem is, I don't really want to "unload" this on someone else. It's not in me to sell something that is no good. That being said, guess I own an 800 lb expensive paperweight....lol 

Anyway, good luck with yours. If there were enough people with this issue with this lathe, maybe we could get some satisfaction out of either Busy Bee or the manufacturer. Strength in numbers.

L8r;
Drifter.

- - - Updated - - -



David S said:


> I am a bit surprised at Busy Bee.  I have had a few minor problems in the past and they took the high road and replaced no charge.
> 
> However I didn't realize that this was a $3k lathe we are talking about.  Have you told them that you are a member of a machining forum that has far reaching coverage?   This is not good advertising for them, and they should be aware of this.
> 
> ...



Yes, David, I told them everything was being read by literally thousands of readers who would in all likelihood take their hard earned dollars elsewhere to spend. Their reply?? .....crickets....


----------



## Tozguy (Sep 15, 2014)

Thanks for sharing your experience with us even if it was/is unpleasant. It will certainly help others who may be shopping for a hobby lathe.
If I was a retailer (which I am not) keeping track of how my products are appreciated (or not) by using the internet would be a must.
Hope things eventually work out better for you.


----------



## Don B (Sep 15, 2014)

I find with the Busy Bee stuff you really need to be selective and expect to rework quit a bit of what you might purchase there, I've learned to remove everything that's possible from a package while I'm at the store and inspect it thoroughly, of course with some items this is impossible, I purchased a mill about 12 years ago for some heaver work that my hobby size mill could not handle, I considered the price verses what use I would get from it and just accepted the fact that I would need to strip it down and inspect/rework what ever was necessary, and the lack of quality control did not disappoint, I had to do every bit as much or more work than I had expected to, but I did know what I was getting into and it was what I could afford.

I've found the staff here at the store in Dartmouth Nova Scotia very good to deal with, the problems I've had is the times I've needed to deal with the people at the head office, I might have just been unlucky but the couple of time I've contacted them the people I've dealt with just don't seem to care whether there customers are happy/satisfied or not.

I purchased what was advertised as a super precision milling vise once, it rocked .025 from corner to corner and each side had a .015 dip in it....? I fully intended on re-machining it because I wasn't about to make a $60 trip to exchange a $100 vise, I called them just so I could express my dissatisfaction with the product, I honestly thought that they would be interested/concerned, but I was absolutely wrong, the guy I spoke to said no problem it will flatten out when I tighten It down, I asked if he seriously considered this to be an acceptable solution, he asked me what I had expected, I said I expected some level of accuracy seeing as it's advertised and sold as a "Super Precision Milling Vise" I was told some people are just to fussy an can never be kept happy....?


----------



## Drifter1885 (Sep 15, 2014)

When I decided to purchase this lathe, it too was advertised as an accurate lathe. But then who would buy it if they were truthful in their advertising and said it was a POS, buy it and take your chances...lol They shipped my lathe(12 hours+ each way so had to ship) the first lathe was JUNK. the crate had rolled, mashing the splash pan flat, wiped out some of the fins on the heat sync., and they argued with me, wanting me to accept it and they would supply all the parts I needed......after arguing for 2 days, told them to refund my money and I would ship it back. THEN they said your new lathe will be shipped today. Should have told them to stuff it. Oh well, hindsight is 20-20 vision. Sad thing was, after agreeing to accept the second lathe they shipped me (no shipping damage that time) I found an outfit an hours drive away that sold lathes...and they look after their customers. So, if I decide to scrap this out I will be buying from them, even though I now live 3 hours away. Ther are a lot of good parts and pieces on this lathe, other than the drive unit, everything else seems ok. I wonder about replacing the drive system with a different one.....any thoughts, guys and gals?


----------



## TOOLMASTER (Sep 15, 2014)

SAYS 3 YEAR WARRANTY AT 2:00 MARK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaktwmtMWNQ


----------



## Punisher 67 (Sep 23, 2014)

You guys just convinced me to go with the Grizzly - was thinking about the Craftex 701........not no more


----------



## bmw rider (Sep 23, 2014)

I'd be interested in seeing photos of where the failure was in the gearbox. Mine is still running just fine after nearly three years, so perhaps I got a good one. It does seem to indicate there are some variations in manufacturing and quality control. Mine was one of the first ones they imported, so perhaps a bit more care went into it.


----------



## AR1911 (Sep 23, 2014)

Somebody needs to send Craftex a link to this thread.


----------



## LHC (Sep 24, 2014)

AR1911 said:


> Somebody needs to send Craftex a link to this thread.




Not that I had any plans to buy a machine from Busy Bee, but in case they do happen to read this thread, here's another Canadian that will not consider it in the future......


----------



## ChipsAlloy! (Sep 24, 2014)

Wow I have been looking around their site lately checking at the small lathes. I even made a search on busybee on the forum but missed this particular thread .Even if im not ready yet to buy one I now know that when it happens it wont be from them! One less option will make the choice a bit easier! I dont understand how people feel ok selling non working crap in the first place and then look at you with the "who cares " face when you come back at them.

Sorry for your bad experience but glad you shared it


----------



## Travis7s (Sep 26, 2014)

Never been happy with BusyBee service. Example, the last time I tried to place an order online... after 5 days with no tracking number I send them a message and find out that 80% of my items are on 6 week backorder. Not only did their website fail to say anything was out of stock, but they were just never going to tell me about it either. I cancelled that order and haven't ordered since. Also when they opened the new location in Saskatoon (lasted less than a year IIRC) it took them forever to get my bandsaw brought up to me.


----------



## jimbojones132 (Sep 7, 2015)

Realize that this thread went quiet a year ago but wanted to add another opinion on the lathe topic:
Busy Bee: horrendous!  They originally advertised their CX-series as being 'better made' and that most of the machines were 'Made in Taiwan'. If you check as of today, not a single CX-series lathe comes from Taiwan...but China.
- I have a CX701 and it was barely a decent machine.  Had a problem with the carriage jamming and found that the pinion that drives along the bed rack was bent.  Got replacement parts ordered (paid parts price + 60% for RUSH shipping since I was told 3-4 months wait if I didn't) and 1/2 of the replacement parts I ordered were WORSE than the originals I was replacing.  Wrong dimensions, poor finish, dull tooling making jagged cuts...you name it.  Clearly they're not even making machines from these parts as they DONT FIT!!!  Other than my original parts being damaged, they actually had a better fit/finish than the new ones!!!
- Called Busybee back and asked what these garbage parts were supposed to do for me. Their answer 'yes, there may be issues...we have no control over what they send and you'll have to modify them yourself if you want your machine running again'.  What?!??  WHAT?!?!?  Complete cop-out of taking responsibility and the audacity to tell the Customer that they have to compensate for the manufacturers short-comings.  Complete BS and some of the worst quality control I've ever seen.

Was considering the CX707 as the next plausible lathe and told them I will never buy their junk equipment again.  The entire reasons for buying from these guys was 'local support' and 'Canadian Customer Service'...and they are almost entirely absent.  Heck, my lathe would have actually been a complete write-off unless I was willing to spend the time modifying the junk replacement parts and making them fit.

Grizzly: I hear guys frustrated with Busy Bee and say 'I gonna buy from Grizzly instead'. Really?  Do you know that they're owned by the same family?!?  I was on a vacation in Washington State and was stoked to be able to finally see the Grizzly Showroom and their lathes (was before I bought the CX701).  What I saw was a bunch of cheap Chinese garbage.  Lathes were sloppy on all axis, rough casting in a few spots and just by feel you could tell they were low quality machines.  No one came to provide me assistance in the 30min I was looking around their showroom and I had to hunt down a salesperson to get information.  Picked out a set of NPT tape set and they were $50USD...and claimed to be HSS.  I thought 'this is an incredible price' since even a single tap in the larger sizes is worth that in HSS in Canada.  However, I felt the taps and they edge didnt feel sharp...and I also noticed there was no HSS marking on the dies.  Salesman I hunted down said 'it doesnt have to stamped to be HSS' and I said I've never seen a HSS tool not marked.   Asked him if he wasn't interested in metalurgical test results since my wife is an Engineer and one of their Depts can do that testing.  Changed his story and said that 'maybe they aren't....'   Their 2015 printed catalog still shows them as being HSS but lo and behold, their webiste had been 'updated' to state that they are 'carbon steel'.  BUSTED!!!  

Frankly, I am frustrated with the garbage that is being sold as the Chinese have gotten very good at making products that 'look good', but arent...and there are a number of unscrupulous resellers that flog their junk and claim that its better quality than it is.

Dont even get me started on KMS 'Magnum' equipment and the plaster that they use as filler in the casting holes/heavy blue paint on top of to make the machinery look solid.  Salemen said that they get such 'good pricing' from Magnum that their policy is to simply to throw out all returns becuase they're not worth the cost of shipping defects back to manufacturer for claim purposese. Instead, they get a reduced cost to compensate for the expected 'failure rate'.

Pathetic.


----------



## LHC (Sep 7, 2015)

Maybe if we can keep this thread going long enough, it will have an effect on sales at Busy Bee and things may change.......maybe....


----------



## jimbojones132 (Sep 7, 2015)

LHC said:


> Maybe if we can keep this thread going long enough, it will have an effect on sales at Busy Bee and things may change.......maybe....


I hear your optimism...but it's unfounded and won't produce the desired result. If you had heard the tone of Busy Bee tech guy and how defeated he sounded, you'd realize 1) he doesn't care or 2) he's been beaten down by management and if he wants to keep his job, cannot afford to care. Really is only 1 way to have them hear us: STOP BUYING FROM BUSY BEE.


----------



## krprice84 (Oct 14, 2015)

So where to buy a decent hobby lathe? I can barely afford busy bee, no one in Alberta sells lathes used hardly ever, and I don't want to end up ripped off with a worn out old lathe with missing gears etc..... So frustrating


----------



## AR1911 (Oct 14, 2015)

I would suggest you post Wanted ads on a Craigslist site for the nearest US city you are willing to drive to. Keep it renewed for a period of time and see what kind of responses you get.


----------



## johnnyc14 (Oct 14, 2015)

Kprice84, After reading threads like this and looking at the Chinese machines in the Busy Bee showroom in Edmonton I ordered a PM932PDF mill from Precision Matthews. Yes it is a Chinese made machine but Matt makes sure the machines are right before he ships them. I did have a few small issues after I started using it but Matt was quick to send any replacement parts I needed as well as supplying me with some extra swag to pay for my labor to install the parts. The shipping from Pittsburg was actually pretty reasonable and the Canadian dollar at the time I purchased was much better than it is now. I have bought a few small items from Busy Bee but would not deal with them on any large equipment. Keep an eye on Kijiji in Alberta, there are quite a few lathes sold from this area every year. I bought my CanTek 1440 lathe used on Kijiji a few years back for a reasonable price. Here is an example of one recent ad. I don't know this owner but the machine sounds good and he is clearly open to offers.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-power-tool/e...he/1108393792?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true


----------



## krprice84 (Oct 14, 2015)

I saw that Southbend, and talked to him about it, but it's spindle bore is only 3/4 inch or so. Much too small for what I'd like to do - I want to be able to put barrels through the spindle, and chamber them that way.

I know that I could, in theory, chuck a barrel up, use a steady rest, and chamber them that way, with the long bed on this lathe, but that's not ideal from what I understand? Maybe I'm misunderstanding it, not sure. But either way, the 9A is just a little small in the spindle, and a little long in the bed (I don't have much more than about 50-55" total width to put this thing in).

I'm considering Precision Matthews, but with our dollar, a 2700 dollar lathe becomes 4 grand or more after shipping and exchange... I can't pull that off, sadly.


----------



## krprice84 (Oct 14, 2015)

AR1911 - I would, but sadly due to a youthful indiscretion years ago, I don't know if I'm even able to cross the border.

I will look into it, but I don't believe I can go there. So I'm stuck with finding something in Canada, or having something shipped up here at a huge cost. Not looking good


----------



## LHC (Oct 14, 2015)

krprice84 - 

One must think creatively.  You should get onto kijiji and put up a want ad for someone that travels across the border from time to time and has a truck - I am sure if you look for border towns on both sides, you will be able to locate someone.  In fact, there are shipto locations in the US all across the US/Canada border that will take delivery and hold things like this.  We have one fellow close to NB where I am, in Maine, that has taken delivery of everything from books to boats!  

Start asking around.  I am sure you can find someone that can help - hell, maybe even a kind hearted member on this forum 

I recently bought an old shaper that a fellow had listed in Toronto on kijii - with me being in NB - it's coming here in a guy's van next month who I found through a friend.  He's traveling back and forth every 1-2 months, but before I came across him, I had actually located a guy on kijiji that was going up with a truck to move some furniture back east.  There are "rideshare" sections on kijiji that you can post up wanted ads like this.

Good luck, and don't give up !


----------



## jimbojones132 (Oct 14, 2015)

@krprice84:  same dilemma as I have; to bring 1000lb+ lathe in from the US is too far from here...especially if you cant transport it yourself  e.g. $1K+ shipping charges.

Only consistently-found lathes I've been finding on Kijiji are:
1) too big  16"+ or very heavy 14"  e.g. 3200lb 1440 Nardini that you cant get parts for
2) too small  7-10"
3) overpriced  (guys asking 10-20% off MSRP for used machine)
4) junk; either abused, overused or just bad out-of-the-gate

There have been a few decent lathes but those are sometimes gone in less than a hour!

Biggest variety of used machines are Eastern Canada but again, that distance drastically changes your landed cost (who want to pay 2k to ship a 3K lathe?!?)

We almost need a Group Buy in Calgary from Ontario; share a truck and split the cost 

There is a place in N0rth York, ON that typically has a variety of used lathes for sale   CBTOOLS.  However, I haven't been able to verify the quality of what they sell via anyone locally and not comfortable buying a lathe unseen. Also, they will NOT help arrange shipping and here's my biggest worry: they REPAINT EVERY MACHINE.  Asked them about why they do that and the answer I got was 'we just do'.   I dunno...would you buy a used car from a place that repaints EVERY car?!?  If you ever find out more about their quality...I'd love to hear about it..or from anyone else here that has ever dealt with them. 



krprice84 said:


> AR1911 - I would, but sadly due to a youthful indiscretion years ago, I don't know if I'm even able to cross the border.
> 
> I will look into it, but I don't believe I can go there. So I'm stuck with finding something in Canada, or having something shipped up here at a huge cost. Not looking good


----------



## krprice84 (Oct 14, 2015)

jimbojones132 said:


> @krprice84:  same dilemma as I have; to bring 1000lb+ lathe in from the US is too far from here...especially if you cant transport it yourself  e.g. $1K+ shipping charges.
> 
> Only consistently-found lathes I've been finding on Kijiji are:
> 1) too big  16"+ or very heavy 14"  e.g. 3200lb 1440 Nardini that you cant get parts for
> ...



Jimbo,

that's just it, I've seen some perfect lathes for what I want out of ontario. There is a craftex gear head lathe that's been used by a guy in a machine shop, so my hope is that it's at least been gone through to the point that it works right, but I just don't know the guy, and I'm not comfortable sending this much money to someone for a private sale. If I could run it through a business, I'm more comfortable with it, but as you implied, you can't always be safe that way either (though at least you know you're less likely to have them take your money and run, you never know what you're really going to get unless they have a strong reputation).

And yea, I have been watching Kijiji for a few weeks now and I've seen two options come up, both of which were 10x22 with 1" bores, and that's just one size too small for me.

The Precision Matthews 11x27VF-LB (large bore) is EXACTLY what I want, but it's 2800 USD plus about 250-300 USD shipping. After exchange and duty, I might as well have just bought a 14x40 King lathe or something similar!

Then to add to all of it, I don't really know what to ask about when looking at used ones (I've seen a couple of southbend lathes) to ensure that they're likely to be decent.

I also have BIG CONCERNS about what parts are needed with a lathe. For example, I saw a Southbend 10L, but I don't know if they are supposed to come with extra gears to do metric threads, and if so, how many gears they should come with? I fear that many older lathes are going to be missing parts like this - parts that aren't required to run the lathe day-to-day. I wish there was a resource that was able to point me towards what exactly I should make sure comes with a lathe such as a Southbend 10L or Heavy 10, or other similar ones - any pointers? And any pointers when I'm looking at a lathe, regarding what to look out for, how to tell if the ways are worn, bearings/bushings are worn, etc?

THANKS!!


----------



## krprice84 (Oct 14, 2015)

LHC said:


> krprice84 -
> 
> One must think creatively.  You should get onto kijiji and put up a want ad for someone that travels across the border from time to time and has a truck - I am sure if you look for border towns on both sides, you will be able to locate someone.  In fact, there are shipto locations in the US all across the US/Canada border that will take delivery and hold things like this.  We have one fellow close to NB where I am, in Maine, that has taken delivery of everything from books to boats!
> 
> ...



I've thought of this - what scares me is that I know very little about lathes, and I know even less about what to look for in a used lathe. Someone could send me a video of it running, and I'd have no idea what to ask them to show me in the video, to confirm all is well.

Not to mention, I'd still have to pay them before it's picked up, and then I'd have to trust the driver to actually pick it up and bring it to me - I've heard horror stories from people who've got things picked up by people from Kijiji, only to have the item not arrive at all! If I knew someone out east, that's totally different. And if I knew a member on here who was out there, and who wouldn't mind going to look at it for me, that would be great, but that's asking a lot from someone I don't know!


----------



## jimbojones132 (Oct 14, 2015)

KRPRICE84: The best way to find out if you're getting what should come with a used lathe...is a copy of the original manual and/or product information from the supplier.  They should break-down the list of accessories that originally came with the machine and you can use it as a check list. 

BTW - in Calgary, about 1/4 of the lathes I've looked at, the guy tried to claim that the accessories were add-0ns and therefore makes his higher-asking price valid.  Of course, I pull up the parts list and show him that they were standard equipment..ahem!

I know others on here are trying to be helpful re: advice on perseverance, getting equipment from US, etc....but I've been looking for a lathe around here for 3 YEARS and exhausted these options... and still dont have exactly what I want.  Finally got my CX701 running as it should have run originally and its still better than 90% of the lathes that pop up here.  Trust us fellow Forum-folks...Calgary is a TERRIBLE market to find a good, used lathe for a reasonable price.  No amount of hope/strategy is going to change that. If you want US or East Can lathe, do it like a mission:  get yourself ready (knowledge,/budget), travel there to see it for yourself and stay there until you have the lathe you want then drag it back.  Make sure you understand that including shipping, your going to either pay a lot more for it or get a lot less lathe for your money than you'd expect.

BTW - Craftex gear head....would advise staying away. Worse than the CX-series....is it super cheap?!? if so...why???
CX701 is nearly identical to Precision Matthews 11x27VF-LB ; in fact, PM manual is written by Weiss and if you look closely, there are references to CX701 in it...and there are even Craftex emblems on some pages!!!  To be clear...SUPPORT from PM is TONS better than Busy Bee; I actually got some parts from PM for my CX701 and Matt there was very easy to talk/understand.  With our current exchange rate, however, the overall value isn't there at the moment.

As for figuring out what to look for, I found it helpful to look at some lathes you DONT want to buy and find out what to look for on those.  e.g. 16" @ auction that you could never move/provide sufficient power for.  Lots of little things to look for and after you check some out, you start realizing that you can see/feel differences...even between same models with different amounts of wear.  

FWIW - I'm in Calgary; PM me if you find a lathe you want to check out or even just look at mine and compare it to Busy Bee floor model. HINT:  I rebuilt the apron assembly and mine now even feels different...like the way it should operate.








krprice84 said:


> Jimbo,
> 
> that's just it, I've seen some perfect lathes for what I want out of ontario. There is a craftex gear head lathe that's been used by a guy in a machine shop, so my hope is that it's at least been gone through to the point that it works right, but I just don't know the guy, and I'm not comfortable sending this much money to someone for a private sale. If I could run it through a business, I'm more comfortable with it, but as you implied, you can't always be safe that way either (though at least you know you're less likely to have them take your money and run, you never know what you're really going to get unless they have a strong reputation).
> 
> ...


----------

