Phase II QCTP. Not what I expected.

The import AXA QCTP i purchased from Lathemaster (no longer in business) has always worked really well.

Imo, the only thing on a qctp that really maters is the dimensioning, surface finish, and hardness of the dovetails.
 
For what it's worth, there was a recent post on H-M of a member disassembling their new QCTP and cleaning it thoroughly, with very positive results after.
 
Well, I can’t tell if it is the photo or if the holder is actually that far out. You should check it with a 1/2 hss blank? That would give a reference to judge by. I saw a er collet nut photo here, and it looked like the nut was bored way off center when actually is was just the angle of the photo. You can fix thatwitha carbide end mill chucked in the lathe then mount the tool holder on the QCTP and mill it square, by raising and lowering the holder. If you have a mill then you can mill it out square. The tool holders can go out to 5/8 without compromising the holder
CH
 
ezduzit said:
Sorry for the poor photo. Look at how cockeyed the machined tool slot is.
Click to expand...

The only part of the tool slot that matters is the bottom & maybe to a lesser extent the back. The top of the slot has no function in positioning the tool. I don't buy tools for their "beauty." Though a well made tool does have a definite aesthetic.
 
I have a bunch of AXA and several BXA toolholders, all from China. They are all of 'adequate' quality, more than sufficient for hobby use. I figure at the price, that I'll have 1 or 2 in 10 be defective, the 8 are about the price of a new Aloris, so I'm happy.

I'm going to buy some more BXA tool holders this week, 5 or 6, and expect to change the hold down set screws right away for European made metric cap screws (partly to make everything on my lathe 6mm allen head), and check for fit. So far everything I have fits very well. The tool holder could be made of anything with iron in it and will hold well for the depth of cut I typically use.
 
Thank you for the replies guys. I purchased the Phase II because of my experience on my brothers Jet lathe. I just felt that his was pretty decent, so for the money I was expecting better.
The one I got just has a lot of slop on the top where the handle attaches to it. I did take the jaws out to see if there were any adjustments that I was missing. All of the pieces that I got in this set were covered in a what appears to be a light weight machine oil. A LOT of it. The threaded piece that moves the wedges up and down had some light rusting on it despite the copious amount of oil. The rust was just surface rust but it was one of those "hmmm" moments.

It is not so much that the QCTP that came on the lathe or the Phase II won't do their job, but apparently I am picky and the slop in the QCTP is more of a irritant than a performance issue. I had the thought run through my mind "I wonder if anyone has built one of these in their shop".

Mikey... I certainly understand the value of quality tools. I have numerous Albrecht chucks and they are a joy to work with, and look at for that matter. I don't plan on keeping this lathe forever and that is why I chose a product underneath an Aloris for example. I hope to get a bigger lathe down the road, maybe a 1340 GT or an older American one if I could find a good one. Still trying to figure out why there is $4000 difference between the 1340GT and the 1440GT...

I will probably end up sending this Phase II back and just save my money. I am going to re-do the mounting system of the stock QCTP though in order to get more rigidity out of it. I have seen in flex under certain conditions.
 
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