Thread: Damn disapointed

Dear Cookie, I can sympathies I have had my moments with Asian machine tools and unfortunately there is not an easy solution. You could check the be with a straight edge or a sizeabl rule. It might be the under side of the bed is at fault. All the best 4-6-4

Your best option is to do what you are doing. Spread the word and let everyone in the hobby know about that company and thier way of treating customers

When they wake up and realise they are only shooting themsleves in the foot by not helping you out , then they might change their attitude and give you a replacement lathe, which is what they should have done. Is there a warranty ?

Bad publicity for them .. Asset have a branch here in Dandenong . I wont go near them

MIKE

Mike.
That is where I was recommended to go and went. Being interstate does not make it easy for me to put the heap of s78t in the trailer and take it back.
4-6-4 It is the underside of the bed, but they will not listen.

and let everyone in the hobby know about that company and thier way of treating customers

This will only result in a different importer of the same "quality" at best.

Measure the bed's thickness over the tailstock's flat guide at different points.


Nick

Over the years I have had bad service from Assett and from Hare and Forbes.
The only place I deal with for new machinery now is Applied Machinery in Dandenong.
Their service and after sales service is second to none.
No other interest than a satisfied customer..

Hi cookie, what a pain! I think Nick's suggestion of measuring the thickness of the bed along its' length is a good one. The tailstock on these lathes, I have had the EVS version for a few years now, is a camlock and can be adjusted by tightening/loosening the nut underneath.

After you have measured the thickness of the bed and it isn't possible to adjust the tailstock camlock to compensate for any variations, I would send a registered letter to Asset with your findings. Always better to have these disputes in writing, much harder to ignore a registered letter than a phone call or email.

As for bad customer service from Asset, I have never experienced this but it is always possible to find an unhelpful person in any company.

Here are a couple of threads that illustrate that this company is indeed capable of good customer service

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/oh-crap-130657/

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/any-ideas-111631/

Try setting TodayTonight or A Current Affair on them

On my Hercus 260, the bottom machined surfaces of the bedway are not perfectly parallel to the tops - it's slightly tapered along its length. I found this out when I modified the tailstock so it could slide along without tipping over - long story. Anyway, that didn't work too well because when I fitted it to be a nice sliding fit at the end, by the time it moved a few inches it had play.
I can't blame Hercus, because the only reason they machined bottom was to provide a smooth clamping surface for the tailstock, which it does fine.
I just mention it because it seems in the case of the Chinese lathe here, that it is surprising if the clamping action cannot cope with some irregularity. Can it be seen what is actually happening to prevent that?

Jordan

I sent an email off to Asset an hour or so ago, via their website, to make them aware of this problem being discussed here.

I have no connection with Asset, other than as a satisfied customer.

I received this reply almost straight away:

Hi Fred,
Many thanks for bringing this to our attention.
As with all purchases we make in life there is always the possibility of something being not the way it was intended, and that is what warranty is designed for.
Unfortunately I can’t repair a problem if I am not aware of it.
I have called this customer and offered a replacement machine for which he is happy.

Regards..Michael

I had a similar problem with a recalcitrant trader that attemted to rip me off with a poor quality piece of machinery.
I ended up going to Consumer affairs/Fair Trading, and not only did I get a full refund of the items cost and freight costs to me, also the cost of filing the claim and also some ancilary costs of repairs to other components when the item failed. So it ended up costing the supplier about twice the original price I paid for the item I purchased.
Email or write to the supplier so you have a record of all correspondance you have with them, do not reply on telephones for records and also email them a link to this thread. That should get some positive action of your behalf, as they won't want the public to learn how they deal with problems.
Many unscrupulous traders will try in on you, but you just have to stick it back to them and Fair Trading is the way to go when you get stonewalled.
Good luck, and keep us posted here.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

I sent an email off to Asset an hour or so ago, via their website, to make them aware of this problem being discussed here.

I have no connection with Asset, other than as a satisfied customer.
I received this reply almost straight away:

Hi Fred,
Many thanks for bringing this to our attention.
As with all purchases we make in life there is always the possibility of something being not the way it was intended, and that is what warranty is designed for.
Unfortunately I can’t repair a problem if I am not aware of it.
I have called this customer and offered a replacement machine for which he is happy.

Regards..Michael

Well done Fred and the Forum. Thumbs up to Asset for doing the right thing.

Well done Fred and the Forum. Thumbs up to Asset for doing the right thing.

Let's wait until it is confirmed that it has actually happened, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves here.

Over the years I have had bad service from Assett and from Hare and Forbes.
The only place I deal with for new machinery now is Applied Machinery in Dandenong.
Their service and after sales service is second to none.
No other interest than a satisfied customer..

Good experiences with Kris Namburi who I think is with Applied now, and
Nag as well. (He is a neighbour though)

Originally Posted by robbo37

Good experiences with Kris Namburi who I think is with Applied now, and
Nag as well. (He is a neighbour though)

+1 for Nag, when my tailstock was to wide to fit into the carriage he machined it on the spot. When the cap let go in the motor after a few weeks I was given a new larger motor(same rating). Ok I had to fit myself* but far far better than other people have done with other companies when caps have let go. (my personal favorite was the "consumable item" defence .

BTW my tailstock would need adjustment if used at the extremes of the bed, though its 1100mm so that almost never happens. Also I can reach up through the bed, I doubt cookie48 can do that. (which reminds me a new clamp block is on the list of things to make)

Stuart

*They would have fitted it if I had taken the lathe back to them.