I bought a 3040 a couple of months ago. Mine has the spindle lock feature. The threads on my spindle weren't cut true to the spindle, they are about 1mm off center. Anytime a piece is removed from the chuck to reverse it, it is doesn't run true. The treads have a lot of chatter and a big burr hanging of of the threads closest to the headstock. I spoke with rikon. The guy( I can't remember his name) was really helpful. He sent a spindle without the spindle lock keyway. The threads look good on that spindle. I got ahold of him about sending the wrong spindle and he said it would be a few months before they get more, but he would see if he could get something worked out. He sent a used one he pulled off of another machine. That spindle has the same issue, threads cut with chatter, big burr, threads cut off center. Does anyone else have a Rikon 3040 with the lock feature with this issue?
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Rikon 3040 issue
- Thread starter Jacob Browning
- Start date
How did you diagnose the threads being off center? I’m not sure if I’m seeing the same thing but have noticed when I vacuum chuck even when using an adapter in the tail stock for alignment it doesn’t turn true. I hadn’t tried too hard to fix that but perhaps I’m seeing what you are seeing
Ross, If I’m understanding correctly, it’s hard to imagine spindle threads being machined off center. 1mm off-center would be an almost unbelievably horrible error, causing a shift of 2mm from one side to another. The outside of the chuck body itself or a cylinder mounted in the chuck should immediately show the offset. If more than one is that far off, Rikon must have machined a batch that way.
I’d check with a dial indicator. Mount something on the spindle and check/measure the runout with the indicator mounted in a magnetic base. If you don’t have one a friend might, but some are inexpensive (I see some with base for $40 on Amazon) - I keep some for my little machine shop and one near the wood lathe - really handy, especially when remounting a piece in a chuck. (If a friend has a dial indicator, see if they would come to your shop to do the check - I’d do it if I lived nearby.) BTW, get a “dial indicator”, not a “dial test indicator”, a different and more precise tool but not needed for this type of test.
I’d mount something like a Glaser screw chuck, a spindle extender or adapter, a threaded mandrel (bottle stopper, etc), a chuck, or a piece of metal rod mounted in a chuck. Turn by hand. The dial indicator would immediately show and measure any error on the body or the rod. If in doubt, take the indicator and adaptor or chuck to another lathe and compare. (Note that it’s not uncommon for chuck bodies to be a few thousands off center or out of round but shouldn’t be anything more.
Could also mount a short block in the chuck, turn it round, then reverse and hold in the same chuck and turn the other end round.
Jacob, if the replacement spindle is running true and just missing the spindle lock keyway, even not seeing the spindle or the spindle lock configuration, unless the entire spindle is hardened tool steel I suspect you can make a keyway - a friend with a mill, a local machine shop, or even use a drill press or hand tools. A thread burr might be removed with a file or a bit in a Dremel.
JKJ
I locked the toolrest down parallel to the threads and turned the hand wheel. Its a Dway tool rest, a large steel bar, if you aren't familiar with them. It made checking the threads pretty easy. When the threads rubbed, i backed the toolrest off. I measured the gap once it would turn and only barely skim the rest at the furthest point out. It was over a half mm under 1mm. I was using a ruler, no fancy equipment, but when it's that far out none is needed to see the issue.
That's farcically bad machining and quality control. It happens sometimes, but if Rikon wants to maintain its reputation it should track down and replace the faulty run of spindles pdq.
Just took feeler guages to the threads and got a 0.002 range between the smallest and largest when turning the spindle. Even that is not meaningful as my tool rest is not perfectly parallel to the spindle so the distance on the threads will be ever so different as it rotates.
I haven't gotten back ahold of him yet to see what he says about it. I will this week. The guy seems alright from the couple of conversations I've had with him. That's why I was asking here in case someone else has the same issue.
I got back ahold of Phil St Germain at rikon (the guy whose name I couldn'tremember). I sent him some pictures and he is talking to the manufacturer to get it figured out. It's annoying getting a product with a defect but it happens from time to time. Rikons customer service is top notch.
Please keep us posted. I'm considering buying one of these.
I will. Other than the spindle issue, I'm happy with it. I don't see that being an issue that won't be resolved. It's a powerful machine.