Halifax 524 Headstock

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Hello again David,

I was laid low yesterday recovering from a brief attack of food poisoning so I had plenty of time to contemplate your situation.

As Phil has said, you now have little to lose.

Michael G got there there ahead of me by suggesting filling the underspace with resin mix; the granite version would add very useful weight and damping as if the space was occupied by cast iron.

I would recommend first fitting the front guide block as well as you can, leaving the adhesive to harden fully and drill through into the headstock to increase the depth of the tapping, finishing by opening out the existing tapped hole to a little more than clearance size to prevent any further disturbance of the piece in later bolting down.

A strongback across the underside of the bed at the far end, into which you can fit the two headstock bolts will hold that end down but again I would recommend drilling out the threaded holes in the broken sections of the bed so that they become precision clamping spacers instead and prevent bolting strain on the headstock at that point.

I am so sorry you have had this truly unpleasant experience; was there no sign at all of headstock movement or vibration when the lathe was run up? They could of course have fiddled that with slack belts to hide it.

Best of luck Brian.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

You could put a lot of work into this and still not have a decent lathe. By the look of the bed the previous owner hasn't used it for a long time. I very much doubt you could machine anything with the headstock not bolted down, and if the damage occurred when he moved it he'd have noticed the bang if nothing else. I'd stick to getting your money back if at all possible. Get advice from Citizen's Advice and make yourself so much a nuisance that he gives you our money back to get rid of you.

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

David D I may be able to help , see your messages

John

Edited By JohnF on 24/06/2020 19:21:32

[RedsetterParticipant @redsetter]

In the real world, if the seller is dishonest he will carry on being dishonest, even if the matter gets to court.

If there are no witnesses or records of what took place, it is not worth pursuing.

The repair needs a bit of skill and ingenuity, but it is not so difficult and need not be expensive. Best to get on with it.

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

I find it very difficult to believe that the seller was not aware of that level of damage , but I am surprised that you did nod notice it yourself. These are not just minor cracks, looks like that machine got some rough treatment along the way. I fear you may have bought "A PIG IN A POKE". The time and trouble involved in repairing it would make it a very expensive buy. As Brian Wood said, I think it,s a non-starter.

Having seen some of the crap being offered for sale [with a straight face ], I believe nothing I,m told, and little I see.

I think you may have a battle on your hands.

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