Thanks: 0
Needs Pictures: 0
Picture(s) thanks: 0
Results 16 to 22 of 22
-
10th March 2013, 10:08 PM #16Cba
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
- Location
- Melbourne
- Age
- 68
- Posts
- 1,417
Sieg is one of the larger Chinese manufacturers. Probably THE largest when it comes to hobby class machine tools. And it is a very successful maker too, probably the most successful of them all. Sieg machines are far from perfect, but they have a quite reasonably good quality control that makes sure the very worst does not leave the factory. Many hobbyist could NOT afford a lathe or a mill, if it was not for Sieg's minimill and minilathe. And these are all Sieg's very genuinely own designs. They did not simply copy other western machines, like many other Chinese makers do.
The irony now is this: Sieg machines are in high demand all around the world, despite costing a tad more than other Chinese machines they are great value for the money. And that has made Sieg a target for the many small backyard shops that manufacture and sell inferior COPIES of Sieg machines. The Chinese are now cloning themselves . And of course, there is a whole network of crook dealers and export facilitators to distribute these "Sieg clones" by the containerload all around the world. For less money than a genuine Sieg of course.... otherwise the importers would order from the Sieg factory direct, and not from a shoddy "export facilitator".
I am not saying that the original poster's machine is such a fake. But if it was considerably cheaper than from the other well known importers, and if it was from a rather small dealer, and if somehow looks made rogher than others, then maybe.... You see, if a small general tools dealer imports a mixed containerload of vises and grinders and axes and wheelbarrows and water pumps etcetcetc, he may be asked by his friend "export facilitator" in China: "shall we include a couple minimills and minilathes, we can make it for half the Sieg factory dealer price, they will sell easy and make you a profit....." Chris
-
10th March 2013 10:08 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Age
- 2010
- Posts
- Many
-
10th March 2013, 10:18 PM #17Cba
- Join Date
- Aug 2007
- Location
- Melbourne
- Age
- 68
- Posts
- 1,417
Dennis, insist on a complete new assembly. If they cannot provide a spare part in a matter of a week or two, push to return the whole machine. Any serious dealer imports a large enough number of machines, that he can "cannibalize" the part from another machine in stock. But if yours is just the last that was in stock, it may be the one that was itself already cannibalized. If you have any doubts, give it back as long as it is still new and unused, you do not want a lemon. Chris
Edit: if you visit the Chinese Sieg website www.siegind.com, click on "distributor" on top. You will see under Australia there are three well known dealers listed. One of them is in your town Brisbane. Any of these three dealers I am sure, will either supply you with a new part or swap the whole machine. I would think none of them would ask you to "grind" the offending part yourself. If you bought your Sieg elsewhere, it could still be a genuine Sieg but a gray import. Or in the worst case, it could be a copy. It is hard to tell a gray import from a copy, as they may use some genuine components from a supplier that were previously rejected by Sieg.
-
19th March 2013, 05:01 PM #18New Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2013
- Location
- Brisbane
- Posts
- 4
Update 2
Thanks to Chris who gave me the Sieg website address...I contacted Sieg directly in China and received a prompt reply. They recognised my problem from communication with the Australian distributor. When I explained that I also had one of their X2 mills they suggested I mill the top surface of the dovetail 0.3mm, and if that didn't succeed then they would send me out a new assembly. I was a disappointed that they didn't offer to send the new assembly immediately, but thought that if I stuffed it up at least I had recourse to the new parts. I did as suggested. The cast iron is easier to machine than I thought. The result is that I now have a usable lathe. The gib still slides on an edge because the screws do not match with the holes properly and push too high up the gib. Also, after machining, the lead screw thrust block didn't have enough adjustment to accommodate the level change, so I had to turn down the heads of the countersunk cap screws. One day I plan to make a new bronze jib to give better rigidity. I have decided to treat this as positive learning experience. I do not want to be overcritical of SIEG and the Australian seller OZMESTORE as I think it is great to have a relatively affordable entry into this rewarding hobby. However, do be warned that if something goes wrong, the after sales service is not the best. Had the brushless DC model been available from Hare and Forbes I would gladly have paid a little extra for the local support.
Dennis
-
19th March 2013, 09:12 PM #19Dave J Guest
Hi Dennis, sorry to hear you have problems, and that is a problem.
You should send a link this thread to him.
People starting out in machining shouldn't have to put up with this, if you gave him counter fit bills to pay for it he would be winging, no different to you getting something you cant use.
Us hobby guys save up to buy this gear then find we have a machine with problems strait out of the box and it always passed onto someone else like the manufacturer. I originally got a bad mill and in the end it was the third machines before I got a half decent one, then I still had to work on it.
If you buy something in Australia just remember you have consumer affairs if you don't get anywhere.
Companies that sell machinery are just too laid back and think you get what you get and it's not there problem, if you buy something from Supercheap, Kmart etc they will refund or exchange no problem at all if there is a fault, while machinery dealers are not real interested in your problems.
I hope you get it sorted out with him so you can get going on machining.
Dave
-
19th March 2013, 09:17 PM #20Philomath in training
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- Adelaide
- Age
- 59
- Posts
- 3,149
I've bought a few things from Ozmestore and they were not bad (although some were in the 'get what you pay for' catagory). However, they should not be confused with a shop. I've personally picked up a couple of things from them and they are basically a warehouse - if something is broken then they take another one from the pile. There is little to no expertise there, so it is not surprising that no immediate fix was forth coming. Glad you were able to get a solution though.
With regards to your gib, I would suggest tuning up the one you have before paying a swag of money for a piece of bronze that may not do much to fix the problem. Using the cross slide as a jig, you should be able to take a small amount from the bottom surface of the gib. If it's not tapered (I'm not familiar with the Seig machines) you may even be able to stone down any high spots around the pre-drilled holes and then flip it around so the hole side is in contact with the dovetail. This will let you drill some more holes in the other side, hopefully in the right position. Finally, the gib could be scraped - it's a simple thing to do although describing how to do it properly is beyond me. That would hopefully take out any dips in the gib so that you have constant & even pressure on the dovetail. It is remarkable how much taking the high spots off a gib improves the feel of a machine.
Michael
-
19th March 2013, 10:41 PM #21Dave J Guest
Hi Michael,
Some how I missed that last post before mine, not sure how.
I agree about Ozmestore and have bought gear there myself, I was thinking it came from a shop front, not them.
Still you should back what you sell.
Dave
-
21st March 2013, 05:51 PM #22SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jun 2011
- Location
- Australia east coast
- Age
- 71
- Posts
- 1,469
Similar Threads
-
Advice AL-60 (SIEG C6) QCT is so needed
By WillyInBris in forum METALWORK FORUMReplies: 21Last Post: 9th June 2011, 09:39 PM -
"Shoot" to length? Re Dovetail Joints?!
By MamaMakins in forum WOODWORK - GENERALReplies: 3Last Post: 31st May 2008, 08:16 PM -
Wenzloff & Sons "Seaton" dovetail saw on ebay
By SteveMcM in forum WOODWORK - GENERALReplies: 3Last Post: 7th July 2007, 11:03 AM -
Advice needed on 12" disc sander
By Acolyte in forum HAND TOOLS - POWEREDReplies: 9Last Post: 25th April 2007, 10:08 PM -
"IT" advice needed please.
By Termite in forum NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH WOODWORKReplies: 9Last Post: 13th November 2005, 05:25 PM