lathe died

**Not enough!!** · 10th September 2014, 10:42 AM

Hello members.

Not sure if this the right forum but since pen turning is all l do - l'll start here (mods move it if your not happy).

Brought my "Oltre" VSD lathe in July from "beyond tools" in W.A.

last week l used it in the morning, it worked fine, turned it on in the arvo - it jerked a bit then stooped.

Now with the VSD, l was told to turn the speed down when switching it off, so as when you start it again there isn't as much "load" on the VSD etc, l did this every time, don't know if that B.S or not. (turning it down)

So l tried several things to get it going like:

1.checking the overload button hadn't been triggered (popped out/proud) - no, that wasn't it.

2.Checked the belt hadn't jumped off or over-tensioned - no, that wasn't it.

3.checked the motor shaft wasn't seized (removed the belt) - no, it moved freely.

Then l rang Beyond tools service dept, the guy said to get it checked out and they will send whatever parts are needed, but didn't mention labour costs? he was pretty sure it was the VSD board, l also mentioned that the tail stock had about 5mm lateral "slop" (sideways movement) due ti insufficient / lop sided cast iron between the bed rails underneath the tail stock, when they cast the tail stock it must have been at the end of the pour and there was SFA on the base, so he said they don't stock tail stocks but he would see what he could do, the lateral slop makes it difficult when drilling the blanks.

l will also order a new belt as the existing keeps jumping a groove, this creates a load ticking noise from the pulleys - the belt is slightly twisted/kinked.

So l saw Carbatec had 10% off the other day, thought stuff it and brought the woodfast 305, l have a gut feeling the VSD controller is going to be a "problem child", after the warranty runs out and if it sh-ts itself again l will get the VSD disconnected/bypassed.

Having 2 lathes, l will use one for drilling the blanks and the other for turning.

In some ways this is a learning curve - you get what you pay for but l hope this helps others if they buy the said lathe.

Regards
Stevo

**Evanism** · 10th September 2014, 12:55 PM

Sounds like you are getting a rough deal. If you still have the box, you could ship it back for them to inspect. Discount couriers E-GO will do it very cheaply.

As for the tail stock, you could always get a local welder/machinist to run a few beads along the underside of the tailstock to build it up and then machine it to a perfect fit. A few of the lads on the forum in your area would be able to do this quite easily.

If there are some issues though, my first port of call would be to send it back for a warranty repair/replace.

**Not enough!!** · 11th September 2014, 09:37 AM

i think I just a bad egg/lemon but "thems the breaks", l won't send it back (box has long gone) but thank you for courier's name.

Electrical guru is having a look tomorrow, so I hope its nothing too major, I'II ask him about by passing the VSD if it goes awol again.

Cheers
Stevo

**plantagenon** · 12th September 2014, 11:22 AM

You have bought a good lathe in the woodfast. They are very reliable. I think I'd be asking for a refund or a new lathe from the other crowd as it seems to be a real lemon.

**Not enough!!** · 13th September 2014, 10:47 AM

plantagenon, l sent them photo's of the Tailstock base (lack of material and lateral slop) they rang and said that was suffienct material and no lathe has zero play/slop, plus its built to a price.

Well they will not be getting any more of my hard earned cash.

Back onto the Oltre troubles,

Here are some comparision photo's from the Bottom of the tail stock Oltre (LH) and Woodfast, Beyond tools said all of their Oltre lathes will have tha same amount or lack of material.

DSC00417.jpg DSC00427.jpg

Sparky had a look, he checked the motor to see if the bushes/brushes were jammed - no their fine.

Conclustion the board is shot but there is a small fuse on the board - but it hadn't blown.

Asked about by passing the VSD he said its DC motor, you would need a DC to AC convertor and l missed the other bits he said, cheaper to get another AC motor.

The woodfast is really well built, the bed is milled, belt and pulleys sh-t all over the Oltre, plus the woodfast has a guard/tray over the top of the motor

So my advice, spend the extra $$$ and get a well known brand you can trust, lesson learned

Stevo

.

**plantagenon** · 13th September 2014, 09:32 PM

Totally a matter for you but I would be contacting the relevant Fair Trading department in WA. Certainly is true that you get what you pay for.

**ssgt** · 27th September 2014, 06:18 PM

had one of these lathes for some time now and never a problem.

**Pearo** · 27th September 2014, 07:56 PM

Can you open up the VSD and post some pics. If you can take pics, there should be some large capacitors that look like this:

Those are typically a culprit, and will often fail on switch on. If you post a pic, I might be able to guide you in the right direction.

**Not enough!!** · 28th September 2014, 11:02 AM

Pearo, Thanks for the heads up, they have sent a VSD box (very prompt on delivery) and l'm just waiting for the sparky to come back from his holidays so it can be fixed, l'll get him to double check the CAP.

If it is shot I'II post some photo's.

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