- Joined
- Mar 7, 2018
- Messages
- 42
Purchased this Bolton 1337g just over a year ago. As you can see in photos it’s used everyday. I’ve worn out the factory lead nuts and screws and half nut, and so on. Pretty much can tell you anything to expect with it and not to buy one for daily use unless you plan to beef it up and convert it with less problematic screws, nuts, linear ways on the Y, etc.. anyways so far I’ve epoxy filled the bed. Bed is level to 2 tenths end to end. Impressive for Chinese but I also spent a week getting it there. Just finished installing hydraulic disc brake and caliper, dual Vfd’s and second spindle however the second spindle is temporarily set on my tool post. I can’t afford the lathe to be down more than a day or two so I have to do what I can, work, go back to upgrades, work some more, then Upgrade again. It has been an enjoyable project. I have a 3kw spindle and vfd for sub and a 2.2kw automation direct and Techtop for main motor. Lathe will soon to 6500rpm and sounds like a loud vacuum cleaner. Brake works excellent however I still need to install the air solenoid and 12v switch. For testing I just reached down and pushed on the fulcrum point. The brake is off eBay for a gokart 150cc ($58 set plus $20 rotor). I made the spindle adapter that will house my timing gear for sub servo direct drive and also has a spider integrated into the back. I also made the 10 rib pulley set we make them in the shop. It all fits under the factory cover nicely. I have some walk around videos on YouTube. Not sure what I will use for motion control but I have centroid, Mach, and Mesa Linux boards all here in a box so I have a few choices on hand besides some ardiuno and other off brand stuff so no lack of options here. I’m just not sure yet which will serve me best for what I’m doing. Almost considering a 3D printer board since they can run near unlimited controls nowadays and perform code. The plan is to replace the saddle top with hiwins I have in the drawer and a large block of duracast to support my turret, z axis spindle over the back, and give me 4 axis of motion within the saddle assemble between spindle and turret. With sub c servo direct drive I suspect I need at least 5 axis controller. I have thoughts about other functions so with two spindles Linux keeps looking like the one but without any personal experience I’m concerned about the steep learning curve only ever uses windows. Here are some photos of where I’m at. I expect this will take me the remainder of this year despite parts on the shelf.
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