Guys and Gals,
I am of the firm opinon that service should be discussed here.
That said, I want to tell you about some excellent service I just received.
I bought a used ~2 yr old Rikon mini lathe from a buddy at work. The machine was real clean and knowing the guy that owned it made me buy it site un-seen. He upgraded to a larger Jet and wanted some $$$ to help with that purchase. I was in the market for a small portable lathe to conduct demos with.
I get the machine home and spin it up. The drive center has some wobble. I say to myself......lets see what a chuck will do to the wobble. Well all I can say is thank god I kept the speed low. That thing was shaking like the tail on a desert rattlesnake.
I figured the bearings were shot. I ordered 2 new ones (size 6005-2RS) from an online retailer. I put them in and started the machine up last weekend. The wobble was worse. Seems the bearings I bought from the cheap online retailer wern't up to par. Also the spindle shaft seemed to be bent. A dial indicator showed me it was about .012" out.
I called RIKON service on Monday this past week and explained my problem. All I wanted to do was to buy a new spindle shaft from them if possible. They informed me that even though I had a used machine my happiness with their product was more important to them than a few bucks on a part......they sent me out a new shaft no charge.
I put it in today along with the original bearings. No wobble. I did have to shim the bearing seats about .005" using feeler gauges. But now the headstock spindle runs true and no shake.
Rikon service really came thru for me. No questions asked and no cost.
If you are looking for a small lathe, I can recommend one of the RIKON mini's.
I also built a portable stand for the mini today. I'll take some pictures when the wife brings the camera back tomorrow. She is whelping our new puppy tonight at my mothers place in NH. Guess we get a new member of the family about Christmas time.
Thanks for listening,
---Nailer---
I am of the firm opinon that service should be discussed here.
That said, I want to tell you about some excellent service I just received.
I bought a used ~2 yr old Rikon mini lathe from a buddy at work. The machine was real clean and knowing the guy that owned it made me buy it site un-seen. He upgraded to a larger Jet and wanted some $$$ to help with that purchase. I was in the market for a small portable lathe to conduct demos with.
I get the machine home and spin it up. The drive center has some wobble. I say to myself......lets see what a chuck will do to the wobble. Well all I can say is thank god I kept the speed low. That thing was shaking like the tail on a desert rattlesnake.
I figured the bearings were shot. I ordered 2 new ones (size 6005-2RS) from an online retailer. I put them in and started the machine up last weekend. The wobble was worse. Seems the bearings I bought from the cheap online retailer wern't up to par. Also the spindle shaft seemed to be bent. A dial indicator showed me it was about .012" out.
I called RIKON service on Monday this past week and explained my problem. All I wanted to do was to buy a new spindle shaft from them if possible. They informed me that even though I had a used machine my happiness with their product was more important to them than a few bucks on a part......they sent me out a new shaft no charge.
I put it in today along with the original bearings. No wobble. I did have to shim the bearing seats about .005" using feeler gauges. But now the headstock spindle runs true and no shake.
Rikon service really came thru for me. No questions asked and no cost.
If you are looking for a small lathe, I can recommend one of the RIKON mini's.
I also built a portable stand for the mini today. I'll take some pictures when the wife brings the camera back tomorrow. She is whelping our new puppy tonight at my mothers place in NH. Guess we get a new member of the family about Christmas time.
Thanks for listening,
---Nailer---