Vevor 8x16 Craptackular lathe

[thisoldmurphy]

Hi, I received an import lathe about a month ago that seems to have seen some rough times on the way to me. So rather than send it back in the whats left of the crate I got a discount from the seller.
So the lead screw is looks like a wet noodle and there is some damage to the ways right in the sweet spot, about 10 inches from the head stock.
So as I had planned to use it as a manual mill for a bit and then was going to convert it to cnc, I am just going to do it sooner than later.
I'm going to put ballscrews on it and add an encoder to the spindle.

So my question is I was going to buy a new bed and I found a replacement kit at little machine shop part number 4270
as far as I can tell its the same bed, does anyone know anything about this?
I cant post links yet.
As far as I can tell they are all the same casting.

 

[jmkasunich]

Usually (at least on non-craptacular machines) the saddle, tailstock, and headstock are scraped in to match that particular bed. Changing the bed (even if it is a nominal "perfect match") means re-scraping everything.

How bad is the ding on the ways? If you can carefully stone down any raised portion, the depressed portion will just be another oil pocket. If you are concerned about the depressed portion letting swarf get past the way wipers it can be filled with JB weld or similar and then scraped down till flush or just below flush.

 

[addertooth]

Dimensions and way type (prism/flat) will be your strongest indicator of a match. Depending upon your location, having a shop re-grind your old ways may be a viable option as well.

If the Vevor is the equivalent (SC4) of the LMS 7500, consider getting the 20 inch ways to gain another 4 inches of length (LMS item 5104). It is essentially the same price as the 16 inch ways. The only increase might be shipping costs. You will also need the lead screw for the 20 inch ways, which is item number 5097 at LMS.

 

[cjtoombs]

Usually (at least on non-craptacular machines) the saddle, tailstock, and headstock are scraped in to match that particular bed. Changing the bed (even if it is a nominal "perfect match") means re-scraping everything.

How bad is the ding on the ways? If you can carefully stone down any raised portion, the depressed portion will just be another oil pocket. If you are concerned about the depressed portion letting swarf get past the way wipers it can be filled with JB weld or similar and then scraped down till flush or just below flush.

There are no scraped ways on cheap chinese hobby lathes. The worry for the is that production processes have changed from when yours was built.