New MX-210V 8x16 lathe - a beginner's first lathe experience

[Tomzo]

I had posted some questions earlier about what lathe to get for my first lathe and I pulled the trigger on an 8x16 lathe that is equivalent to the eBay variety. I bought it off Amazon with the hopes that should things go really poorly I would have a better shot at some level of recourse, but who knows. Someone on that other thread asked that I post about my experience with this lathe so this thread is that effort. I expect it to take a few weeks to get this lathe up and working in some sort.

Well a big crate arrived today and it was in pretty pristine shape! This was surprising to me seeing as it came across the ocean, went across the US, and then came back to California. There were no signs of damage on the crate apart from a slight misalignment of one of the skids on the bottom.

When the top was removed it revealed everything inside was apparently in good shape. Styrofoam blocks at each end were intact with no apparent damage. So far so good!

However, when the plastic was removed it was clear that a bunch of stuff was missing. This was supposed to come with two chucks (3 and 4 jaw), the ubiquitous useless toolbox, some tooling, etc, but none was to be found. There is no chuck at all on the machine - having never bought a lathe I was not sure if they shipped with them on there or not. I have inquired with the seller via Amazon as to the whereabouts of these items and hope to hear back soon. Perhaps those items are in a separate shipment.

This has all the cheap lousy features that many complain about but for $1K what more can I ask for.

This model was supposed to include a 1.5HP brushless DC motor. This larger motor was the main reason I chose this model so it had better be in there! I have to wait until I can get some help to lift it up onto my bench to see if that is actually the case. I have access to an engine hoist from a friend if I can't get my college age son to give me a hand. Everything is covered in the usual oil and needs a thorough cleaning. The compound and cross slide are poorly adjusted and probably full of gunk too, so they will get torn down and cleaned up.

With any luck this will work out OK. As I mentioned in the previous thread the one thing I know for sure is that I will learn something useful in the process.

More to follow....

Tom

 

[matthewsx]

Well....

Typically these sellers don't know anything about the products they sell. If there are no chucks it may well be that they don't have any to ship you either.

Document everything carefully and DO NOT AGREE to any compromise that makes you the looser. There is a reason why these things are cheap, go get an indicator and stand and check it out now....

BTW, I was just in your town a few days ago. Beautiful place.

John

 

[Tomzo]

Agreed - most of the accessories were going to be junk anyway so I was not going to use most of it. I have a Clough42 ELS already built so I don't need all the change wheels. I also have a QCTP in hand that will go on there, but I do need the chuck. I had presumed that the 4 Jaw was a scroll type rather than an independent chuck which is what I want. I was already prepared to buy one of those.

I also have an indicator and once I get it on the bench that will be one of the first things that will be checked. Fingers crossed.

My biggest concern was that the crate would have a bunch of damage along with the lathe itself, so at least that part is OK.

 

[Tomzo]

I just checked the fedex tracking number and they don't show the package as having been delivered yet - it is in Oceanside about 15 miles away. Perhaps that is the missing package I am waiting for. Fingers crossed!

 

[Tomzo]

Well I could not wait to get it on the bench so I took off the back panel to get a look at the motor and controller. The motor definitely looks like a BLDC motor to me and the control panel looks decent enough in how it was made. I am not sure where the orange-ish tint came from in these images - the sun is getting lower on the horizon here so perhaps that is it. We are not where the fires are in CA so it is not that - thankfully.

I also just got confirmation from the seller that the other package will be here tomorrow! Wow!

 

[wachuko]

Congratulations!!!!!

 

[Aaron_W]

Odd that it shipped as two packages, but if everything arrives that is the important part. The fact it doesn't look like King Kong was playing with the crate is another good sign.


If you are not already familiar with them Little Machine Shop is a good vendor for small lathe accessories, and in Pasadena so not too far from you.

https://littlemachineshop.com/

 

[Tomzo]

I have already bought a couple of items from them - such a great resource! I considered one of their larger lathes but for the first one it was just out of the budget. Maybe for the next one....

 

[markba633csi]

If there are three wires to the motor then it's a brushless. Two wires means brushed.
One thing I didn't notice were any adjustments on the controller- might be good or bad
Good that you bought it on Amazon since you can return the whole mess if it's a mess
Interested to see how it works out- 8 x 16 is a decent size for hobby use
-Mark

 

[Tomzo]

I opened it up to take another look and the cable from the motor has what I presume to be three power wires and five other wires that I presume are monitoring position. These are circled in this image of the control board.