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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    68
    Posts
    1,410

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nearnexus View Post
    Sieg have always marketed their machines as a cut above the average Chinese lathe, and asked a higher price, but in reality they are no better and may even be worse than many no name brands. You are not the first to buy the red machine and have problems.
    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

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    68
    Posts
    1,410

    Default

    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.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    4

    Default 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

  4. #19
    Dave J Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by deppy View Post
    Dear Metalwork Forum
    The ebay seller sent my query to their Chinese supplier who responded suggesting I grind or scrape the top of the dovetail 0.3mm, which is pretty much what Chris suggested. Fine, if you have access to a surface grinder (which I don't)...but the jib strip also needs to be re-machined as the dimples are far off from the screws enough that they cannot engage with eachother. (The machinist who made this part must have had a bad day). The screw's thrust bearing may also need be modified as the adjustment will change its height. Given that I don't yet have the expertise or the equipment to make the modifications, I have asked the seller for a replacement compound assembly. For now they have forwarded my request to their supplier. I will let you know of the response. If negative, I will reveal the seller so that others may be aware of the potential pitfalls of purchasing such a machine online. So far they have been responsive, but reluctant to provide a resolution themselves.
    Cheers
    Dennis
    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

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Norwood-ish, Adelaide
    Age
    59
    Posts
    6,541

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    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

  6. #21
    Dave J Guest

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    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

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Australia east coast
    Age
    71
    Posts
    2,713

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    Quote Originally Posted by deppy View Post
    Had the brushless DC model been available from Hare and Forbes I would gladly have paid a little extra for the local support.

    Dennis
    You would have paid extra but judging by a number of peoples' experience, you would have gotten the same level of support from H&F. Only saving grace would be, they're easier to threaten with Consumer Affairs and the ACCC than an Ebay seller.

    PDW

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