# New 1340GT in the shop



## Serpico1985 (Aug 11, 2021)

Hey guys,

I finally got my 1340GT single phase I ordered in November.  I worked myself up worrying about lifting it on an engine hoist reading about other members difficulty.  But it worked out well.  

I had to take it off the double pallet it came on and get it lifted high enough that my barrowed engine hoist could fit under the pallet it's bolted to.  

As it came out of the box:





Set on blocks to allow my engine hoist to get under it:





While it was in the garage I cleaned it up and got all/most of the heavy grease off that it ships with.  I swapped out the belt for a better one too as that is a universal recommendation.  I assembled the stand, installed the leveling feet and rigged the lathe on the hoist:





It only took about 5 tries lifting it to get it to stay balanced.  It was a little tricky getting the bolt holes to line up but all things considered not very difficult.  

Here it is installed:





I purchased the PM 4 jaw, PM 5c collet chuck, high precision drill chuck, PM DRO and enough extra oil to do the first oil change after it gets broken in.  I previously bought a Dorian BXA QCTP kit.  

I barrowed a 15" machinist leveled the bed left to right, then got all the twist out.  After getting the twist out I checked the left to right level and it was off only by a very small amount.  I won't worry about it until I do the final leveling/test cut procedure.  

Quick question.  To wire this for power I have a buddy who is a former electrician.  The motor for this lathe is 2hp, 11.5 amps.  We were planning on using a 20 amp circuit breaker and 10 gauge wire for power.  Only other thing that will draw power is the lamp.  Does that sound right regarding the wiring and breaker?

Thanks for everyone who helped me figure out what I want and the plethora of info on this lathe that the forum generates.

Zack


----------



## Doug Gray (Aug 11, 2021)

Congratulations nice looking machine and setup.


----------



## talvare (Aug 11, 2021)

Congratulations on the new lathe. Concerning your electrical, the 20A breaker is fine. 10 gauge wire is a little overkill. You would be fine with 12 gauge.

Ted


----------



## Winegrower (Aug 11, 2021)

These kinds of lathes are really easy to move around with an engine hoist.   Even the 2500 pound Takisawa was easy enough
to lift and position that way.   They provided a couple holes through the base to insert rods to lift from.   Of course it helps to set the base on some kind of risers so the hoist legs can clear…but for most of us, these lathes are a bit low anyway.


----------



## mksj (Aug 11, 2021)

A general recommendation on lifting is to use two additional straps, one through the headstock and one to the tailstock end, also make sure everything is locked down. If it is balanced and anything shifts it can get out of hand very quickly. I ultimately made lifting D rings for lifting my lathe along with the jack straps.

Breaker size for a motor is not only a function of the running amps, but the motor start-up amps and load. Typically with no load you want a breaker about 2X the running amps. It also depends on the type of breaker and the trip curve. A 20A breaker with 10G wire should be OK, you also could go to a 30A breaker with 10G wire.


----------



## Janderso (Aug 11, 2021)

Congratulations. November??
I hope you have access to a 10" or 12" machinists level to get the twist out of the bed.
The carpenters level isn't going to cut it.
You have an accurate lathe, set it up to perform as designed.
You will want to level it to .0002" in 10" front to back. side to side doesn't really matter.
I use precision 123 blocks on the flats of the ways and a precision level.
I'm sure there will be others that will agree and disagree.
Ask the pros.
Again, congratulations.


----------



## markba633csi (Aug 11, 2021)

A 15 amp breaker and 12 gauge wire should be fine for 240 volt operation 
I would not try to run a motor that size on 120 volts
-Mark


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 11, 2021)

Thanks for the info guys.

One more dumb question.  The manual shows where to hook up power for the single phase motor, the R and S terminals.  There’s no mention of a ground wire.  Can anyone advise?

Thanks
Zack


----------



## mksj (Aug 11, 2021)

There is a ground terminal on the bottom of the cabinet, make sure any paint is removed, the motor ground wire should also be attached to the same point.


----------



## kb58 (Aug 11, 2021)

Serpico1985 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I finally got my 1340GT single phase I ordered in November. .....To wire this for power I have a buddy who is a former electrician. ...


Okay, I'll ask, what did your buddy do to lose his job... might want to ask before he does any work.

I kid, I kid.


----------



## tweinke (Aug 11, 2021)

As the others have said congrats on your new machine. Almost as memorable as the children arriving.


----------



## George R (Aug 11, 2021)

Nice machine

A 20 amp circuit with 12 gauge wire is plenty 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## pacifica (Aug 12, 2021)

Serpico1985 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I finally got my 1340GT single phase I ordered in November.  I worked myself up worrying about lifting it on an engine hoist reading about other members difficulty.  But it worked out well.
> 
> ...


You might have to align the head-I needed to on my 1340 gt. Not a big deal but a little tedious.Don't panic if it cuts a taper when you make the first cuts.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 12, 2021)

Roger that.  I'll keep that in mind. 

Thanks again for the info guys.

Next stupid question, pull up a chair.

I machined the t-nut for my Dorian BXA tool post kit.  I'm a little confused about how the tool post is supposed to attach to the cross feed.  The threaded rod is threaded about a half inch and doesn't go all the way into the cross feed threaded hole.  What is supposed to keep the tool post from sliding in the t-nut dove tail?  Is the rod that came with my Dorian kit not threaded enough or am I missing something?  







This is a far as it will go into the t-nut.





I would have thought it should thread into the cross feed:






Thanks.


----------



## Firstram (Aug 12, 2021)

Tighten the nut on top of the tp, the t nut and tool post sandwich the t slot and hold everything tight.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 12, 2021)

See, even as I typed it out I knew it was a stupid question.  Thank you.


----------



## Firstram (Aug 12, 2021)

You're just standing too close to see it!


----------



## davidpbest (Aug 12, 2021)

Serpico1985 said:


> See, even as I typed it out I knew it was a stupid question.  Thank you.











						What is the toolpost T-nut size required for 1340GT?
					

Definitely a newbie across the board when it comes to machining.   Thanks for the advice Bob. Something to watch out for when making your first t-nuts is the height of the nut above the step.  There is always some play in a t-slot.  When you pull up on a bolt or nut in the t-slot, the top of the...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




Note the comment:  "Just make sure the “T” leg segment sits slightly below the top surface of the compound when the T-nut is pulled upward - such that the QCTP bottom is pulled down firmly against the top face of the compound."


----------



## Ken226 (Aug 12, 2021)

Serpico1985 said:


> See, even as I typed it out I knew it was a stupid question.  Thank you.




With internet anonymity,  the small amount of embarrassment that comes from newbie questions will be insignificant compared the price of replacing parts.

Don't be shy about asking questions.  There are are very few buttholes on this site.  Most here will happily help out.

You've come to the right place.  Of the various forums I frequent, Hobby-machinist, by far, has the most helpful and well mannered membership.


----------



## tweinke (Aug 12, 2021)

Absolutely no such stupid questions on this site! Better to ask then learn the hard way.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 13, 2021)

Roger that David.  Thank you.  

Thanks everyone else as well.


----------



## Cletus (Aug 15, 2021)

That lathe is a beauty!   ....enjoy!


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 15, 2021)

https://imgur.com/a/mDHx2Fj


----------



## Ken226 (Aug 15, 2021)

Serpico1985 said:


> https://imgur.com/a/mDHx2Fj



Looks great!  Congrats on getting it all set up.


BTW,  that little bit of flicker on the displays X axis is from a little vibration, and should be fixable.  

I'm making an assumption here, but most LCD displays should have a setting to filter that out.

In posts #19 and #20, in the thread below, there's mention of the setting on my Ditron and Yihao displays.  Perhaps yours has a similar setting somewhere...









						Which DRO for 833TV
					

Thanks Dallas, that looks pretty similar to the Sino DRO I was looking at.  The price makes this a compelling value proposition as well.  Do you happen to know whether it got a feed speed functionality?




					www.hobby-machinist.com


----------



## Ken226 (Aug 15, 2021)

I could be mistaken, but I believe your display is made by Delos, for Precision Mathews.   If so,  according to the one Chinglish Delos manual I could find,  the digital signal filtering function is labeled "jazz".


----------



## wrmiller (Aug 15, 2021)

I don't remember mine ever being that clean though. 

Enjoy your new toy!


----------



## Cletus (Aug 15, 2021)

Can you please show me your DRO display in more detail (like graphic display) and if possible a pic of the 9-pin connector pinout from the manual?  
I believe I am getting the three axis version of that DRO with my Milling machine.
Again, beautiful machine, CONGRATULATIONS!


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 15, 2021)

Thanks for the info guys.  I have a lot of stuff to figure out about this thing for sure.  I trained a little on a mill before I got mine.  Not so with the lathe.  I'm in no hurry though.  Trying to have fun while learning.

I still need to run it in all the gears forward and back and check the power feed for the carriage and cross slide.  

Have a very limited amount of cutters, just what came with my Dorian BXA kit.  I need to set their height and was planning on making a simple height gauge like Joe Pie showed.  

All in good time.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 15, 2021)

Cletus,

Not sure what you mean but here are a bunch of pictures.  If you need something not shown let me know.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 15, 2021)




----------



## Cletus (Aug 15, 2021)

WOW!   .....That's perfect! just the stuff I wanted to see.  Thank you very much, enjoy that machine.
My Mill arrives at my Miami freight forwarders tomorrow. Then the longest two weeks in history for it to arrive here in the shop! 
Raining bucket-a-drop here, Spent the day cleaning out the shop, but just one project and it's surely mayhem all over again!!


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 15, 2021)

Glad I could help.

I here you.  Had to pay a rigging company to deliver both my mill and my lathe on account of my awkward gravel driveway.  Cost an arm and a leg.  My next house and shop will be flat and paved and the shop will be larger.  When they delivered the mill I was a nervous wreck until it got into its final spot.  

Still got some things I need to tweak on the mill as far as it’s stability on the floor.  Probably make a separate post for that.

Best of luck to you.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 21, 2021)

Ok gents.  I took the front cover off the gear box because the gears seems really stiff.  I found this.  I thought oil was supposed to drop down on these gears.  I assume this is way too much grease?  Maybe not.  What should be done if anything?  The oil holes are clogged with this factory grease.  I know you guys make custom oilers.  That's not gonna happen any time soon.  More looking for the temporary solution.

Thanks,

Zack


----------



## davidpbest (Aug 21, 2021)

Clean off the shipping grease with a solvent and brush, then use oil dripped from above instead of grease on the Norton gearbox.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 21, 2021)

Roger thank you for that.

Next question.  I set the gears to cut a 24 TPI thread (C6).  Had everything engaged correctly (I think) and couldn't get the carriage to engage on any of the numbers.  The manual says for 24 TPI I can start on any number 1-8.  I must be missing something.

How it was set up.






I'm sure you guys get tired of answering easy questions but I really do appreciate the help.


----------



## mksj (Aug 21, 2021)

Are you trying to engage the half-nut, is the lead screw turning? The lathe should be running when engaging the half-nut. With regard to the gearbox, per what David outlined clean off all the grease and pump fresh oil through all the holes. I would consider a pump oiler system eventually with a distribution manifold. This has been posted in other threads.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 21, 2021)

Ok I think I know the problem.  Thanks!


----------



## Janderso (Aug 21, 2021)

wrmiller said:


> I don't remember mine ever being that clean though.
> 
> Enjoy your new toy!


Hopefully he'll have oil and chips properly decorating this beautiful machine tool in no time.
Congrats!!


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 22, 2021)

https://imgur.com/a/UfyniGl


----------



## Cletus (Aug 22, 2021)

Beautiful sight! ......congratulations!


----------



## Serpico1985 (Aug 22, 2021)

Unremarkable, routine, easy.  But I'm very pleased.  I can't tell you how many thread cutting videos I've watched on youtube.  And to finally be able to piddle around with my own lathe is immensely rewarding.  

Thanks again guys.


----------



## Janderso (Aug 22, 2021)

Serpico1985 said:


> https://imgur.com/a/UfyniGl


Just like a pro.


----------



## davidpbest (Aug 22, 2021)

I have that Dorian threading tool and like it a lot.  It's more rigid than the lay-down holders.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Jun 6, 2022)

OK guys,

I've done almost zero with the lathe until now.  I need to get it completely set up and actually learn how to use it.  

I ran all the low gears 10 minutes in each direction.  I then swapped the belt to the high gears in order to run all those through a break in cycle so I could drain the oil and replace it.

I went to the lowest high gear and within in a minute I could see the belt shedding black dust and felt a lot of heat.  I turned the machine off and the belt was HOT to the touch.  

Not sure what I did wrong, hoping for some assistance.  My plan was to run it through all the gears high and low, change oil, then get it to where it's not cutting a taper.  Ran into this so I stopped.

There was more black belt dust but I vacuumed some of it up before I realized what it was.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.


----------



## mksj (Jun 6, 2022)

The stock belts are known to be very poor as to durability and also throwing belt dust all over the place. I usually recommend switching them out for a notched type belt that can wrap around the pulleys better and shed very little. I use the Gates Tri-Power belts, the issue I had when I owned my 1340GT is I needed both a BX24 and BX25 to cover both pulley ranges. If you run off of a VFD then I usually recommend flipping the motor pulley and that requires a BX26 belt size. Also the 1236GT uses smaller belts. You will want to lube your external gears, I usually use impact grease, something that sticks to the gears and will not fly off, do not over grease them.






PM1340GT belting Gates Tri-Power BX26 reversed motor pulley for single speed when using a VFD and run VFD ~20-90Hz


----------



## Cletus (Jun 6, 2022)

I am thinking insufficient belt tension


----------



## Serpico1985 (Jun 6, 2022)

That is a aftermarket belt recommended on a youtube video of a review of this specific lathe.  Can't remember the members name, think he works in a auto shop.

Looks like I need a new one anyway so i'll order the two separate ones you recommend.  

The manual just says "reposition the Vee belt, then lower the motor to retension - not fully weight bearing, just enough to drive reliably without slipping"

When I switched the belt I let the weight of the motor hang and lifted it slightly until I saw a slight bow in the belt and tightened down the screw.


----------



## pacifica (Jun 12, 2022)

Serpico1985 said:


> That is a aftermarket belt recommended on a youtube video of a review of this specific lathe.  Can't remember the members name, think he works in a auto shop.
> 
> Looks like I need a new one anyway so i'll order the two separate ones you recommend.
> 
> ...


Try to order the belts from a company that will deliver a fresh belt. I bought a gates belt on ebay and there was set. Belts I bought from texas belting came direct from gates. The fresh belts had less vibration. I also balanced the pulleys on a simple knife edge set-up, drilling holes until balanced. It appears the pulleys on the 1340's are machined , not cast -decent quality. For me: making sure the belt was not tight gave a much smoother performance.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Jun 12, 2022)

I'm waiting on a couple new belts.  In the mean time I'm trying to get my collet chuck squared away.  It's the PM brand 5c with D1-4 back plate. 

I can't seem to get the collet chuck to repeat a decent low runout reading.  I messed with it for hours yesterday and started fresh this morning.  This morning I took it apart and whipped all the mating surfaces down.  It appears very clean and free of debris.

I started by checking the run out on the spindle itself.

I checked locations marked 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the spindle with my Starrett .0001" indicator and all these surfaces were about .0001' of runout.  Good.





I then mounted just the back plate per the instructions to check for a gap between the "1" surface in red above and the back of the back plate.  Of the 3 possible camlock positions one allowed me to slip a .0015" shim between the plates for about 120 degrees.  I mounted the back plate in one of the two positions that did not allow me to slip the shim in anywhere.  Does this make sense? 

I then installed the collet chuck onto the back plate and adjusted the run out within in the interior portion of the chuck to under .0002".  I'm referring to this area of the chuck marked in red:





The 3 cap head bolts were lightly snugged to remove any slop but left loose enough so that I can adjust the runout with the 4 set screws (like a 4 jaw chuck).

The runout was adjusted down to under .0002".  Cap head bolts tightened, re-checked runout.  Then I took the collet chuck off and put it back into the same camlock position.  I tried to tighten the camlocks in the same way as the first time applying a consistent amount of pressure.  I re-check the area marked in red and I get .004-.005" of runout.

A buddy suggested I try rotating the chuck via the 3 cap head bolts, advancing it clock wise to the next position and re-trying.  I did this and it never repeated, I'd get it to under .0002" and then put it back on and it was .004" or more.

The online manual for this chuck suggested that it may need to be "shimmed".  I don't know where to shim it or if that is even the problem I'm having. 

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks gents.


----------



## Ischgl99 (Jun 12, 2022)

I had a similar problem with my PM ER-40 chuck, the problem was the face near the pins was raised slightly and would not allow the chuck to seat properly against the spindle.  I sanded down the high spots on my surface plate and it was much better after that.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Jun 14, 2022)

I contacted PM and they advised that the likely culprit is that the tapered hole in the center of the chuck's backplate is undersized by 1 or 2 thousandths.  They suggested using dyekem or a sharpie to color that taper in the backplate of the chuck, and then use sandpaper on a dowel to evenly remove a little from the taper to make it wider.

I blued up the taper and attached the back plate and removed it and found a contact ring that goes all the way around evenly.  Simply adding the bluing made it much more difficult to remove the back plate.  Had to hit it pretty hard with a deathblow hammer to get it off.







I took some 320 grit sandpaper on a dowel and went all the way around the interior taper.  Tried it again and my runout shrank from .004-.005" to .002".  

I blued it up again and got a similar pattern as this first picture, but slightly less hard/shinny contact .  That's were I stopped last night.  I'll repeat the process again.

What is a reasonable expectation for repeatability for this thing if it is fixed and working properly?  I've been checking the runout inside the taper that the collets engage on the chuck.  Assuming I mount it in the same camlock position should I be back under .0001" every time?

Thanks


----------



## pacifica (Jun 18, 2022)

Serpico1985 said:


> I contacted PM and they advised that the likely culprit is that the tapered hole in the center of the chuck's backplate is undersized by 1 or 2 thousandths.  They suggested using dyekem or a sharpie to color that taper in the backplate of the chuck, and then use sandpaper on a dowel to evenly remove a little from the taper to make it wider.
> 
> I blued up the taper and attached the back plate and removed it and found a contact ring that goes all the way around evenly.  Simply adding the bluing made it much more difficult to remove the back plate.  Had to hit it pretty hard with a deathblow hammer to get it off.
> 
> ...


.0001" might be expecting too much, but a consistent .0005 should be accurate for most uses.If you put in a hardinge,etc 5c collet and a 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" gage pin what R/O do you get? That's where I would want to see .0005 " or less.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Jun 20, 2022)

Roger that.  That's what I don't know.  I don't know what is reasonable to expect.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Jun 22, 2022)

Did the first oil change.  Seems like a ton of metal particles in the oil.  But then again I have no reference point for what new lathe oil change should look like.  Does this look normal to everyone?






A look inside the head stock at all the metal flakes inside.


----------



## davidpbest (Jun 22, 2022)

The oil on my 1340GT looked like that also after the initial run-in for several hours.  Subsequent oil changes have come out clear.


----------



## woodchucker (Jun 22, 2022)

Cletus said:


> I am thinking insufficient belt tension


I agree, it looks like there might be enough slack to hit the gears maybe.


----------



## Just for fun (Jun 22, 2022)

Serpico1985 said:


> Did the first oil change.  Seems like a ton of metal particles in the oil.  But then again I have no reference point for what new lathe oil change should look like.  Does this look normal to everyone?
> 
> View attachment 411006
> 
> ...


I just changed mine on my 1236T after maybe 10 or 11 hours of use, it looked very similar.


----------



## Serpico1985 (Jun 23, 2022)

Just for fun said:


> I just changed mine on my 1236T after maybe 10 or 11 hours of use, it looked very similar.


Roger that, thanks guys.

I received my Gates Tri-Power belts and used them to finish the break in cycle.  They run much better than the previous belt.


----------

