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Machine PDM30 table nut stripped

Machine

Brian H

Super User
Wow Brian......

Ya, I'd send it back along with an objective assessment. As hard as it might be, I'd try to avoid getting nasty.

I'm not in the camp that says to try and repair it. In my mind, that would only happen if I was backed into a tight corner by an angry CFO.

I might try to find an equivalent elsewhere though.
I did send an email and CC'd the vice president to let him know how disappointed I was. I did carefully word the email stating my observations and that this was a 6 month old piece of machinery in a hobby shop environment. They will be sending me new pieces, I'm just not sure how long it will take...
 

Brian H

Super User
Couple of comments.

Very light nut on the mill. There is very little material there for wear.

The photo of the original lead screw shows rough outside edge but what condition is the bearing surface, smooth or rough? This is where it is important. Don't forget on this type of thread the outside doesn't (shouldn't) contact. If the outside is rough who cares.

Good luck with the repair.
The original lead screw had a few rough spots. The "new" part was a coarse as a rasp. Absolutely un-usable and the lead screw nut was piss-wobbly loose also. I stand to be corrected, but, I feel it should turn smoothly but not be able to teeter back and forth.
 

Brian H

Super User
@Brian H - Degen makes a VERY good point here. On this type of thread, and this kind of application, the part of the thread that really matters most is the bearing surface where the nut and the shaft bear against each other. If the outside diameter of the shaft bothers you, you can cut off a few thou or even sand it without seriously affecting its performance.

Could you please post a close-up photo of the thread so us back-benchers can see what you see?
I will try to get my camera to focus and get a good picture.
 
The original lead screw had a few rough spots. The "new" part was a coarse as a rasp. Absolutely un-usable and the lead screw nut was piss-wobbly loose also. I stand to be corrected, but, I feel it should turn smoothly but not be able to teeter back and forth.
Thats what the split is for expand or tighten it to remove the play, its lime having 2 loose nuts pushed apart by a spring to remove end play or act as a jamb nut (or in this case not to jamb but remove play).
 
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Proxule

Ultra Member
Thats what the split is for expand or tighten it to remove the play, its lime having 2 loose nuts pushed apart by a spring to remove end play or act as a jamb nut (or in this case not to jamb but remove play).
Probably should be tighter then piss wobbly even if its designed to be pushed or pulled into the split nut.

My lathe cross slide split nut is snug from factory in the neutral state. Prior to adjustment.

Tell king to smarten up. Send them some french fries
 

Brian H

Super User
So the replacement lead screw has finally arrived from King. Its in good order but will need some holes milled in it for the handles and such. So if all goes well, I will be back up and running in short order. Not the fastest process in the world, but, I have the proper parts now.

Any suggestions on what I should be using for lubricant on the lead screw? Grease, heavier weight oil or lighter weight oil? i don't see any recommendations in the manual. Previously I was just using left over engine oil (10w300 if I recall correctly. That's just what I have in my oil can currently
 

ttlrfrank

Member
So the replacement lead screw has finally arrived from King. Its in good order but will need some holes milled in it for the handles and such. So if all goes well, I will be back up and running in short order. Not the fastest process in the world, but, I have the proper parts now.

Any suggestions on what I should be using for lubricant on the lead screw? Grease, heavier weight oil or lighter weight oil? i don't see any recommendations in the manual. Previously I was just using left over engine oil (10w300 if I recall correctly. That's just what I have in my oil can currently
Handle holes that you have to mill; I assume these are the holes that the roll pins go in to hold the ends on? If so, weird that these aren't already drilled as I would expect that the part should be drop-in....perhaps another QC issue and this step got missed at the factory.

Not impressed with my PDM30 as well; the table nut on mine is still intact but it and the lead screw are significantly worn and King Canada list those 2 parts at $500+...I'm not doing volume work so these should have lasted much longer IMO. Not glad to hear what you've had to go through, Brian, but indeed I'm letting King Canada know that the problem does not appear to be isolated.

BTW- that leadscrew is BIZARRE: it is .0925 OD; not 1", not 7/8"...and not metric unless 23.495mm is now a size. @ 10TPI
 
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Brian H

Super User
Handle holes that you have to mill; I assume these are the holes that the roll pins go in to hold the ends on? If so, weird that these aren't already drilled as I would expect that the part should be drop-in....perhaps another QC issue and this step got missed at the factory.

Not impressed with my PDM30 as well; the table nut on mine is still intact but it and the lead screw are significantly worn and King Canada list those 2 parts at $500+...I'm not doing volume work so these should have lasted much longer IMO. Not glad to hear what you've had to go through, Brian, but indeed I'm letting King Canada know that the problem does not appear to be isolated.

BTW- that leadscrew is BIZARRE: it is .0925 OD; not 1", not 7/8"...and not metric unless 23.495mm is now a size. @ 10TPI
It was a frustrating experience and it took them a couple tries to get things made right, but my machine is back functioning as it should. I also felt that was an odd thing to not be completed, I have since heard of several others that have had the same experience so yes, King seems to have a batch of bad product.
 

ttlrfrank

Member
It was a frustrating experience and it took them a couple tries to get things made right, but my machine is back functioning as it should. I also felt that was an odd thing to not be completed, I have since heard of several others that have had the same experience so yes, King seems to have a batch of bad product.
Good to hear that you finally got it sorted; I'm trying to deal with King myself at the moment and every bit of info they've provided has been false/incomplete. In reference to your issue, here is what they are claiming:

  • We would also like to advise that the client you refer to with the lead screw was provided with one that had old grease on it and he didn’t wish to clean it . So we gladly took the part back and provided him with the part that was then cleaned by one of our technicians .

They also claimed that they don't send out leadscrews that require additional work...<ahem>

Please PM the King VP email address as so far they seem only interested in closing the matter...even though I've already indicated to them that I would pay for parts!
 
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ttlrfrank

Member
Not sure how accurate these are and if you have the capability to machine the ends as required, but perhaps this could be an option…
Good idea; I'd like to explore tapping the OEM table nut out to 1-10 acme and see how much material is left (without spending $200+ for the tap). Table nut has a flange on it so I don't think this could be turned in a lathe...is there another way to get that thread bored out from .925 to 1"?

If that was viable, then switching out everything from the .925-10 thread to 1-10 opens up more options..
 
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