Phase II QCTP. Not what I expected.

[Dabbler]

7miles, there are vendors of offshore stuff that try to keep their names as a good supplier intact. Grizzly and Sars seem to offer 'better quality' offshore stuff, or at least make an effort to replace/fix what isn't right... (so far in my experience)

 

[MarkM]

I never understood the purchase of an import qctp. with the uncertainty of the quality and just how important it is. Rigidity, Rigidity, Rigidity, Isn t machining supposed to be precise? Why add in a factor of possible error. To me it s like putting a cheap set of tires on a nice car. I ll use my four post with shims until I Can afford quality that enables me to use the lathe to its potentioal that will be with the lathe to the end. It isn t just the quality but take a look at some of the options available from Dorian or Aloris for toolholding and such. Buying things online with no way to check the product is no good for me with the imports. It s a compromise. Why purchase something that won t enable the machine to work to it s full potential. How long did it take for you to decide what lathe to buy? and your going to put an inferior toolpost on that decision you made. It s a hard battle financially for quality. It s long term so do it right. Just my opinion and we have all our own reasons why. I want to purchase things once. I ll suffer until I can afford it!
Hey Bob, my Glacern Vise is from Taiwan and ground in the states. High quality for sure!

 

[ddickey]

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 had that same question some time ago.

1340GT & 1440GT

What justifies a $3000 higher price for the 1440?

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[Tozguy]

I have a PM1022 lathe with the "standard" chinese QCTP. I felt it had a lot of slop in the mechanism, including the round part that the handle attaches to

My piston BXA Phase II was purchased to replace a 4 way OEM tool post and I am very happy with it. It is just as rigid as the 4 way.
However I would not expect a Phase II of comparable size to be much better 'quality' than an OEM QCTP on a hobby lathe.
From what I gather 7miles, your Phase II is a wedge style AXA QCTP so maybe that makes a difference when comparing to piston style BXA.

 

[chips&more]

I only have Aloris and Dorian tool posts and have used them extensively and find no major issues with them. They are expensive but they require no mods or cleaning or anything to make them work as they should. My Aloris is a current model but the Dorian is an older one, made in the day when Dorian cared about quality control. @ddickey can tell you a different story, though. Seems like Dorian is letting things slide recently.

I only jumped in here to express the opinion that tool posts are like milling vices. Both are foundational tools that make a difference in how the machine performs. Hobby guys like cheap and given how much machine tools cost, I can't fault anyone for that. However, some tools need to perform well and typically the cheap versions do not do that as well as we would like. On a lathe, I think your lathe chucks, drill chuck and tool post should be the best quality you can find. On the mill, you need a good milling vise, drill chuck and collet tool holder. These are foundational tools that impact on all the work these machines do.

Going cheap seems to be the norm in the hobby machining world but for some tools, maybe not the best idea.

Mickey, you are right on! Junk is junk and will probably always be junk! The finesse of the operator is very important for quality workmanship. But the tools that person uses is also important for quality workmanship…Dave

 

[7milesup]

I had that same question some time ago.

1340GT & 1440GT

What justifies a $3000 higher price for the 1440?

www.hobby-machinist.com

Hey! Thanks for that. Glad to see Matt come on here and answer your (and mine) question.

 

[7milesup]

I never understood the purchase of an import qctp. with the uncertainty of the quality and just how important it is. Rigidity, Rigidity, Rigidity, Isn t machining supposed to be precise? Why add in a factor of possible error. To me it s like putting a cheap set of tires on a nice car. I ll use my four post with shims until I Can afford quality that enables me to use the lathe to its potentioal that will be with the lathe to the end. It isn t just the quality but take a look at some of the options available from Dorian or Aloris for toolholding and such. Buying things online with no way to check the product is no good for me with the imports. It s a compromise. Why purchase something that won t enable the machine to work to it s full potential. How long did it take for you to decide what lathe to buy? and your going to put an inferior toolpost on that decision you made. It s a hard battle financially for quality. It s long term so do it right. Just my opinion and we have all our own reasons why. I want to purchase things once. I ll suffer until I can afford it!
Hey Bob, my Glacern Vise is from Taiwan and ground in the states. High quality for sure!

I understand you get what you pay for. As I mentioned in one of my first posts I purchased the Phase II because of my experience on a larger lathe. As mentioned by Tozguy though, I might be comparing apples to oranges because of the BXA vs AXA wedge toolposts. Mos of us hobbyist are trying to find a balance between cost, quality and keeping the other half happy. I certainly enjoy my PM833T mill, which wasn't cheap.

This hobby, which a am just getting into really, also shares shop space with my extensive woodworking hobby and radio control aircraft and helicopters. My radio control system for my RC stuff is Jeti, which is probably the most expensive system you can buy. My routers for woodworking (I think I have 4 or 5 of them) are all Bosch. No Black and Decker, Craptsman, Ryobi or other junk in my shop.

 

[Janderso]

My South Bend 13 had a Phase II BXA. The first thing I did was to break it down, clean and oil. I also changed the screws out. I thought it was decent.
Recently I purchased a newer Clausing Colchester 15. I bought the 7 piece Aloris CXA kit.
Wow, what a beautiful combination.
I used the parting tool yesterday. I didn't know parting could be so simple, quiet, clean!!
Quality is everything but you have to justify the expense for what you are going to use it for.
For me, I just like owning the best. I deserve it. IMHO anyway

 

[7milesup]

"For me, I just like owning the best. I deserve it. IMHO anyway "

Oh I agree with you there!!!
One day the wife said "what don't we budget 10% of respective incomes for discretionary spending on ourselves". I immediately jumped on that because I knew that she hadn't thought about it before she said it. At that time I made about 10 times what she did. LOL.

 

[Dabbler]

I never understood the purchase of an import qctp. with the uncertainty of the quality and just how important it is. Rigidity, Rigidity, Rigidity, Isn t machining supposed to be precise?

MarkM, I agree in principle with your statements. I do strive for the best I can afford in all my machines,

--Most guys assume you use shims with a 4 way tool post. It is simply not a very rigid way to hold your tool at the right height. Most of my carbide tooling for my 4 way was milled and ground to be 5 tenths below the centre line of the lathe. All of the tool is in contact with the toolpost, etc. My very good friend has been using a 4 way exclusively for 40+ years this way,

So I get your comments on this. I am negotiating an upgrade to an Aloris BXA right now to replace my offshore BXA. That being said, with the depth of cuts I take, on the jobs I do, the offshore one has performed well. My tool holders are always offshore, because theyu work as well as Aloris ones - at least one ones I have, and I've compared them only to an Aloris AXA. I may soon get to compare a real Aloris BXA toolpost and holder to my offshore one.