# Weiss lathe WMP280VF



## ivel03 (Dec 6, 2021)

Purchased this unit used off from Facebook Marketplace.  Story was that it was purchased but never used.  Seemed to still have the shipping grease on it.  






Really excited i set it up and started to clean and oil it.  That went well until i attempted to use it for a test cut.  I made a few cuts and then ran the carriage into the chip shield in the back.  This twisted the lower shaft inside of the gearbox.  







Where can i find a replacement shaft?  I have tried the following:


Precision Matthews - they don't sell parts to machines they don't sell.  Looks the same as the 1127 they sell but they said it's not exactly the same.
DROPROS - they don't do much with Weiss b/c of price increases; the parts guy is looking into it but likely wouldn't be able to help much
Emailed Weiss direct; given the time zone difference it'll likely be tomorrow morning.  
I would have thought that the shear pin to the drive shaft would have broken before the shaft bent.  It seems that the newer version of this machine has some sort of slip clutch instead of the shear pins.  Maybe i should try to turn my own shaft - do you think that would be possible for a novice?  Is the shaft hardened or something that can't be done in a home machine shop?  

Thanks,
-Levi


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## matthewsx (Dec 6, 2021)

Hi and welcome,

Hopefully Weiss will get back to you with a readily available and affordable replacement.

If not, you are fortunate to have a lathe and may be able to make the part yourself. I've used a broken lathe to re-create parts which I destroyed in the past, not that tough.

The keyway slots may be a challenge if you don't have a mill but there are lots of good folks on here who might be able to assist.

You've come to the right place....

John


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## woodchucker (Dec 6, 2021)

I thought those little lathes had a plastic gear to take the shear ... I guess not.
It also looks like the casting took a hit too. I can't enlarge the picture, but the gear box looks like the support to the left of the twist is not straight up and down. If it's not please let us know... That might change how you fix things.


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## markba633csi (Dec 6, 2021)

A shaft twisting like that means it had no heat treating whatsoever- if it hadn't twisted it would have worn extremely fast.
You might be able to cross reference a similar part from Grizzly if Weiss can't supply it
-M


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## ivel03 (Dec 6, 2021)

Thanks for all of the replies and thoughts so far.  I think the picture makes the casting look like that - or at least i don't remember it looking like that in real life when i tore it down.  I'll have to take another look and verify.


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## ivel03 (Dec 6, 2021)

markba633csi said:


> A shaft twisting like that means it had no heat treating whatsoever- if it hadn't twisted it would have worn extremely fast.
> You might be able to cross reference a similar part from Grizzly if Weiss can't supply it
> -M



I would have thought similar about the lack of heat treating.  I do wonder if the top shaft is equally as soft.   Thanks for the suggestion on Grizzly however i don't see them listing a machine with 3 levers on the gearbox.


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## markba633csi (Dec 6, 2021)

You just never can tell where corners may have been cut with these import machines- that's why it's so important to pay a bit more and buy from a dealer that will stand behind the product, and provide spares.  A properly tempered shaft  would have withstood the impact,  even though a few gear teeth may have broken.  What I'm wondering is why the machine didn't protect itself better? A shear pin for example
-M
I wonder too if the shaft could be carefully untwisted, straightened, and then given some heat treatment?


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## ivel03 (Dec 11, 2021)

I was able to get the parts via Weiss - the shaft was $6, the triple gear $10, and the keys were $1.  I ordered the top shaft as well in case that got damaged and because shipping was $80! 

Hopefully the parts are on the way soon and i can get the machine put back together.  In manual mode i was able to make this out of scrap:






The rod was a bit rusty but i liked the patina.  I attempted to put some knurling on the end of the handle; it turned out OK - a bit of a tight pattern but i was pleased for my first time.  The handle is threaded into the brass head.  

The handle rod is 1/2" and the brass is 1" in case the scale is hard to tell from the pic.


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## ivel03 (Dec 23, 2021)

Recieved the parts today.  It took many emails back and forth to get the parts ordered and shipped to me but they did eventually come.  Quality of replacement parts seems good, spent a few hours test fitting the parts and cleaning things up.  From the testing i did it's going to be a bit of a treat to get the 3 gear shift levers lined up but i'm sure after enough fiddling i'll get it.


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## ivel03 (Dec 24, 2021)

Got it back together.  It was a bit tricky but it did go back together.  I discovered that the bushing that holds the change gears Z3 and Z4 together cracked in half as well.  I had one and it looked the same but it was a tight fit - i filed the key ways of the gears a bit and it did tap on but doesn't slide on.  I'm pretty sure it's sintered metal so i was as gentle as i could be with it.  

 Added new gear oil and it seems to run OK.  What a relief getting the gear levers lined up and also getting the balls and springs back in there.  Had time to do a few cuts and it works!  Thanks for all of the encouragement everyone!


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## ivel03 (Dec 25, 2021)

Was able to get a few hours of play time today.  While playing I made a replacement bushing on the lathe - the finish was quite nice.  My skills are basic; i overshot by just a bit and it's not as tight as i'd like it to be but it will work for now.  I attempted to copy the little machine shop style bushings where the key is separate and the bushing is slotted to take the key.  It came out OK.  I made two bushings - one i slotted with the mill for the key.  Here's a pic of what i was describing - also shown is the broken sintered metal bushing below the gears i was testing with.  





Here's a pic of the machine after re-assembly.  I didn't get one while i was working on it a few days ago.


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## ivel03 (Jun 14, 2022)

Still working on improving my skills here.  After some more hours on the machine i'm getting so i'm not completely terrible at it.  The next thing is to get better at measuring and trusting the measurements i'm getting as i've overshot a few times and had to start over.   Taking everything apart, cleaning, adjusting and lubricating parts has helped.  I purchased a carbide aluminum cutter and on some steels it leaves a very nice finish but sometimes it seems that the HSS cutters do better.  

I bought this lathe used and it didn't come with a 4 jaw chuck.  I emailed Weiss and they can get me one but shipping is quite pricey - but it's probably the best solution.  In my looking at the typical places like LMS i found that the spindle on this machine is a bit of an oddball size - using a caliper the rough measurements are a 52mm registration boss and a 72mm bolt circle.  The machine looks almost identical to the older PM1127 or Warco WM280V or Craftex 701 (although that has the larger spindle like the newer LB series from PM) but no one will sell me parts as it's not their machine.  DRO Pros don't have parts from Weiss coming in currently even though they are still a distributor.  I do wish that it was a D1-4 or similar chuck mount for both convenience and availability but it was the one in my price range and in driving distance.


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## ivel03 (Jun 18, 2022)

Purchased a digital micrometer from Harbor Freight - $30 with the 20% off coupon.  Other than the rachet being closer to the anvil which takes some getting used to it seems like a decent unit.  As I mentioned I was having issues getting repeatable (and accurate?) measurements with my digital calipers but switching to the digital micrometer made it much faster and easier.  Set what i want the final part to be, hit the incremental mode button, then measure my part.  The display will tell you how far you have to go.  That's what i was trying to do with the manual micrometer and also the digital calipers but i was going wrong somewhere.

Well worth the $30.  I made another hammer which has both plastic and brass faces and is a bit larger.  I posted it in a thread here:  https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/soft-faced-machinist-hammer.100463/  which is hopefully the correct spot.  

LMS said they didn't have anything that would bolt right up to my lathe so i emailed Weiss again.  I inquired about a follow rest, steady rest and the 4 jaw chuck with backing plate.  All together is about $450 for those part air mailed to me.  Shipping alone is $285!  :0  I don't think i'll use the rests much but i think that i'll always want them if i don't have them.  It's about $250 for the 4 jaw chuck + backplate and shipping. 

Thoughts and advice is appreciated.


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## Winegrower (Jun 18, 2022)

I am pretty impressed at your replacement shaft cost, good for Weiss.   And the quoted costs seem very acceptable, especially if you could get them on the slow boat.


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## ivel03 (Jun 18, 2022)

That's airfreight.  They didn't offer any other shipping options and i do wonder if it's the only option because of customs or the fact that it would be hard to track such a small shipment via a container ship.  Who knows.  It wasn't terrible and honestly the costs for the other items isn't that bad either; i see just chucks on ebay for more than they're asking for the chuck and blackplate.


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