3520b damaged on the way home. Please help.

[Charles Henderson]

Well, I loaded up my shiny new lathe into my rented, and enclosed U-haul trailer. A trailer that the U-Haul guy assured me was waterproof.

The trailer leaked.

I don't know the extent of the damage. I can only see surface rust on the bottom of the headstock (see attached). I need to know how to fix it and remove the rust without damaging the surface.

Hopefully I won't have to ship my headstock to PM for new electronics.

Oh, U-Haul is going to hear about this! They'll be paying for it too. :mad:

 

[john lucas]

if it's on the bed and underside of the headstock a light rubdown with WD-40 and 4/0 steel wool will make it like new. I have to do that on a regular basis when turning woods with lots of tannic acid. Unless water got into the headstock and bearings or into the VFD I think everything will be just fine.

 

[Charles Henderson]

Thanks John

I feel a little better now. I'll have to wait a few days until the 220 is hooked up before I know whether the electronics and bearings are ok.

How can I check to see if the bearings have been damaged?

 

[Bruce616]

A little water shouldn't hurt anything I have an PM model "A" that got wet once when I left the window above it open and it rained. I use product called, Rust Free by Boeshield to remove rust and stains on all my machinery. Just spray it on and scrub the rusty metal with a Scotchbrite Pad or steel wool. Finally I spray on a coat of Boeshield T-9, or Top-Cote for protection.

 

[Charles Henderson]

Everything seems to be Okay

Well, the lathe is in place. The WD40 and steel wool did the trick on the rust. I went ahead and just had my electrician fit up a 30 ft. extension cord so I could run it inside to the plug for the dryer. I couldn't wait a week for the 220 install to find out if the lathe was ok. It's running and everything seems to be fine.

Thanks for your help, folks.

 

[Vaughn]

Glad to see you got it fixed. You're gonna enjoy that lathe. Probably won't be the only rust your PM sees. I think we all get a little lathe rust from time to time if we're turning real wet wood (or some other accident like a leaky trailer), but as you saw, a but of steel wool and elbow grease handles it (WD-40 helps, too). I keep mine waxed with Johnson Paste Wax, too. It helps prevent some of the surface rust and tannic acid stains.

 

[JRutten]

U-haul horror story

I had just bought a new riding lawn mower with a 54" deck so I went to uhaul to rent one of their 5' X 10' trailers. I brought it to the store and the lawn mower didn't fit. We got a tape measure out and their 5' trailer was actually only 4' 3" (9" short of their advertised 5'). We brought it back and asked for our money back. The guy flipped over the contract and pointed to a clause that said trailer measurements were only estimates. NEVER again will we grace U-Haul's doorstep. They might have kept my 20 some dollars but they lost a customer for life.

 

[n7bsn]

I had just bought a new riding lawn mower with a 54" deck so I went to uhaul to rent one of their 5' X 10' trailers. I brought it to the store and the lawn mower didn't fit. We got a tape measure out and their 5' trailer was actually only 4' 3" (9" short of their advertised 5'). We brought it back and asked for our money back. The guy flipped over the contract and pointed to a clause that said trailer measurements were only estimates. NEVER again will we grace U-Haul's doorstep. They might have kept my 20 some dollars but they lost a customer for life.

There are many, many, similar stories. Most (all?) U-Haul location's are independant and as a result, YMMV. You can get great service, or sucky. Like the local area one that tryed to "bill" a customer for a stolen unit. Desite their own video that showed it being dropped off, then stolen from their lot.

 

[Rob Wallace]

Charles:

I'm glad to hear your new lathe is OK and now rust free...

Remember what you did to get it to "back to new" condition - you'll need to do this again when your friends come over and drool all over your 3520B...!!

I tend to use Top Cote liberally on the ways (and don't wipe it off) before I turn wet or acidic woods (e.g. cherry); this repels water and it keeps the ways smooth and not pitted. Be sure to check the "capillary space" between the ways and the headstock after such sessions to be sure things are OK there with no water remaining.

Happy to know that another Symposium participant was able to capitalize on the machinery there... hopefully you got a good deal!

Rob

PS - Keep those aliens away from your new toy!

 

[Robert Groover]

The big UHaul locations - those that aren't at gas stations or such - are all company-owned, and very tightly controlled. We had a very decent manager at our local big UH center, and they fired him suddenly - seems he had cut some customers too much slack, even though he was

You're likely to find that the UHaul contract prevents you from claiming for damages, but it can't hurt to try.

The stuff about estimate size is total BS, of course. I drove out of town to pick up a tool once, and found that the 5' UHaul wouldn't hold a 4'6" width. My fault, I didn't realize they had washed their trailer in hot water!

Seriously, that's the sort of minor fraud that happens all the time. The FTC, and similar state agencies, try to cure that sort of stuff, but it's like trying to exterminate a pacth of bamboo with a spoon. It isn't very practical to sue them, because there isn't enough money in it, and they would probably fight hard.