Originally Posted by
Hornetb
Good luck with that.
I've got an near copy of this mill, an Optimum BF20L. Bought from Ausino Engineering Supplies in Melbourne - shipped to me in Tassie - that there is the biggest issue, if I could walk through the door I might have got a better/different outcome.
My Z column dovetail sides aren't parallel (ie. it is narrower in the middle like it has a waist-this happens because the middle of the dovetail on these machines is open - so the nut that moves the head can move up and down. Mine has simply warped after machining and closed into this vacant area-a major design flaw) so if you try to adjust the gib strip properly the head binds at the top and bottom of the travel and is loose in the middle. It is impossible to tram the head. You can tram the head in one position but if you move the head up or down its out of tram. I noticed this within 2 weeks of receiving the mill. Numerous emails, phone calls, emailing pictures of measurements etc over months has simply left me with claims of denials of any problem from this bloke. He sells on eBay and Gumtree too.
So short of small claims court I'm screwed and I've been advised that my success in a court would be iffy due to the fact that this parameter is not specifically identified as meeting a standard in the "inspection" certificate that accompanies the mill. Even though this is not fit for purpose, they don't specifically state a level of accuracy for this part of the mill. So if I was to win the case and I had to in anyway pay return shipping I would probably be better off just trying to roll the dice on buying another column directly from Weiss and just hope I might get lucky on the second one. I have no idea what it would cost for a replacement.