Optimum TU2907 Lathe

[kiwi2]

Hi,
Has anyone had experience with an Optimum TU2907 Lathe?
Also, how do you get quoted text to appear shaded in these posts?
Regards,
Alan C.

 

[Hopper]

No experience with that particular model Optimum but I did overhaul a brand new Optimum micro-lathe (6" x12" or so) for a local bloke here and was pretty unimpressed with the build quality.
Problems on a brand new machine included a bed with a .005"+ sag in it, ways and gibs as rough as guts and not sliding smoothly at all, leadscrew mountings so far out of alignment the leadscrew was jamming the carriage up solid in mid-travel, headstock bearings loose as a goose, crappy carriage "lift plate" assembly that was either allowing carriage movement all over the place or jamming up, and tailstock that seemed to be made of rubber thrown together very sloppily.

Once I spent a week or so and sorted it out for him, he has used it for more than a year and built several nice engines on it.

But the build quality on that particular lathe was total rubbish, enough to put me off ever buying an Optimum in case it was the same.

 

[hanermo3]

Optimum/Quantum are nicer-packaged low priced chinese stuff.
I bought some, says made in china on box, quality was poor.
One 1000€ drill press, one alu xy table.

 

[Cogsy]

Also, how do you get quoted text to appear shaded in these posts?
Regards,
Alan C.

Hi Alan - take a look at the bottom right corner of each post and you'll see a button that says 'quote'. Click on that for the post you want to quote and your reply post will have the entire post between start and end quote tags (they're square brackets [] - you'll see what I mean when you try it out). Just delete the bits of text you don't want to quote but leave the stuff inside the square brackets themselves.

If you want to quote multiple posts simply click on the button (again bottom right) with the marks "+ for each post you want to quote, then hit the 'quote' button on one post and it will grab each post you marked.

 

[kiwi2]

Hi Alan - take a look at the bottom right corner of each post and you'll see a button that says 'quote'. Click on that for the post you want to quote and your reply post will have the entire post between start and end quote tags (they're square brackets [] - you'll see what I mean when you try it out). Just delete the bits of text you don't want to quote but leave the stuff inside the square brackets themselves.

Thanks Cogsy.

 

[kiwi2]

Thanks Hopper. Just what I wanted to know.
I've been looking for a quality 10" lathe and I'm getting nowhere. There doesn't seem to be any European or American suppliers (unless you spend Megabucks on a Hardinge toolroom lathe) and the smallest that the better Taiwanese suppliers make seems to be 12"-13" which is bigger than I really want.
The Chinese mainland suppliers seem to have the small end of the market sewn up.
Mind you, if you want to have your jaw drop in disbelief, check out this site.

Regards,
Alan C.

 

[kiwi2]

Sorry, the site is
http://www.ofrei.com/page_205.html

 

[Hopper]

If you are going to buy a small Chinese lathe, you can buy them direct from China pretty cheap. I have a mate bought one of these direct from Dongguan Co in China for about $500 plus shipping and is quite happy with it. Happily turning circlip grooves in the outer races of hardened steel ball bearing races with a carbide parting tool blade. Not bad.

http://www.gdgrinder.com/html/ProductShowDetail_449.html

It's a far far superior machine to the Optimum I had experience with.

Of course its a long way away if warranty problems, but the bloke who bought the Optimum got no warranty help from the Aussie supplier anyway. All too hard when you are 1700km away.

 

[Brookesy]

That lathe looks suspiciously like an Optimum in a plain brown wrapper. I bought an Optimum TU2506 lathe with BF20 mill and so far it seems pretty good. Early days though