Martin Shaw
Western Thunderer
Jim
I've had that picture for some years, when I first came to Glasgow I had a strong interest in trams so acquired this, I think it may have been a present, anyway it's not tolerated in the living quarters hence it's in the workshop.
Ian/Neill
I've long passed the point where I want to pursue a hobby in discomfort, which for a good part of the year discounts the garage even if choosing the attic placed a limit on machine size. It's not as if they are going to be in daily use so I think traipsing by products through the house can be reasonably contained. Like you I have a tolerant and encouraging wife so as long as I don't upset the neighbours, machining things at late hours etc, I think we'll be fine. It does tend to isolate you from the rest of the world but I'm not freezing my butt off making bits for toy trains.
I have discovered a significant problem with the lathe. I was trying to turn the thread off a bolt and I noticed that every time the tool came under load the cross slide rocked on the saddle. I was certain I had adjusted the gib correctly and double checking it showed the slide moved properly. I could tighten the gib up to stop the rock but it locked the slide solid so a close examination of the gib strip suggested that it wasn't sitting in the dovetail squarely. I had quite a long phone call with the supplier who admitted that this was a known problem and is caused by the drilling and tapping in the cross slide casting being too high and the resultant pressure on the gib strip displaces it. Despite entreaties to Sieg to modify the manufacturing process, which they seem unwilling to do, the situation will apply to any Sieg made lathe, whichever UK supplier you would purchase it from.
They offered two solutions, they would willingly take the machine back and fully refund me, which isn't what I want, or new tapped holes in the casting would solve the problem, they seemingly having done this on occassions in the past. In with both feet I set it up in the mill which certainly made it easier and without trauma drilled and tapped holes. You can see in the pic the new holes are 0.5mm lower and right on the edge of comfortable meat left, didn't really want to break through the bottom edge of the casting.
Despite the fact that this is the most adjustment to the position I could sensibly make you might think that it would make little difference, but surprisingly it's just enough, the gib now sits snugly into the dovetail, slides smoothly and doesn't rock about. I will plug the redundant holes with a screw loctited in and filed off flush. The supplier to be fair was wholly decent about the situation and are sending me some goodies by way of compensation, which they didn't have to do, so full marks to Arc. Worth checking if you get one of these. I'd really like to get back to some sort of modelling activity soon.
Regards
Martin
I've had that picture for some years, when I first came to Glasgow I had a strong interest in trams so acquired this, I think it may have been a present, anyway it's not tolerated in the living quarters hence it's in the workshop.
Ian/Neill
I've long passed the point where I want to pursue a hobby in discomfort, which for a good part of the year discounts the garage even if choosing the attic placed a limit on machine size. It's not as if they are going to be in daily use so I think traipsing by products through the house can be reasonably contained. Like you I have a tolerant and encouraging wife so as long as I don't upset the neighbours, machining things at late hours etc, I think we'll be fine. It does tend to isolate you from the rest of the world but I'm not freezing my butt off making bits for toy trains.
I have discovered a significant problem with the lathe. I was trying to turn the thread off a bolt and I noticed that every time the tool came under load the cross slide rocked on the saddle. I was certain I had adjusted the gib correctly and double checking it showed the slide moved properly. I could tighten the gib up to stop the rock but it locked the slide solid so a close examination of the gib strip suggested that it wasn't sitting in the dovetail squarely. I had quite a long phone call with the supplier who admitted that this was a known problem and is caused by the drilling and tapping in the cross slide casting being too high and the resultant pressure on the gib strip displaces it. Despite entreaties to Sieg to modify the manufacturing process, which they seem unwilling to do, the situation will apply to any Sieg made lathe, whichever UK supplier you would purchase it from.
They offered two solutions, they would willingly take the machine back and fully refund me, which isn't what I want, or new tapped holes in the casting would solve the problem, they seemingly having done this on occassions in the past. In with both feet I set it up in the mill which certainly made it easier and without trauma drilled and tapped holes. You can see in the pic the new holes are 0.5mm lower and right on the edge of comfortable meat left, didn't really want to break through the bottom edge of the casting.
Despite the fact that this is the most adjustment to the position I could sensibly make you might think that it would make little difference, but surprisingly it's just enough, the gib now sits snugly into the dovetail, slides smoothly and doesn't rock about. I will plug the redundant holes with a screw loctited in and filed off flush. The supplier to be fair was wholly decent about the situation and are sending me some goodies by way of compensation, which they didn't have to do, so full marks to Arc. Worth checking if you get one of these. I'd really like to get back to some sort of modelling activity soon.
Regards
Martin