Posted by JasonB on 22/11/2020 07:02:54:
..Thinking back a while there was a thread where the various changes in sources of the Vertex R/Ts was discussed at length so all those with good ones how long have you had them?..
Mine is a very recent one – the 'Test Report' gives the date July 28 2020 – had it long enough to have used it in both H and V for making small IC parts, flats/angles on tooling, and odd-jobbing where I've wanted to swap jobs still in-the-chuck from lathe-to-mill etc., but not long enough to have done any hard radial milling….
FWIW – the worm adjustment is sufficient to completely remove any backlash if required (though I prefer to back it off a bit) and the rotation is as acceptably smooth and even all the way round as one coud wish for in a cheap table. It doesn't feel as if there is any gross binding, burring, poor mating of worm & wheel, or foundry debris inside.
'Flatness', 'Parallelism' & 'Concentricity' all seem good – I had to dress-back one small bruise on the corner of the base when I first took it out of the box, since when it's been fine – by that I mean that I haven't noticed any errors/inconsistencies even making very small parts on a mill with DRO.. ..as a general rule, I rely on any faults revealing themselves to me through use, rather than go seeking them..
I wouldn't feel any apprehension in side- or slot-milling steel on it, within the normal expectations of "hobby" work..
I'd be genuinely interested to hear the circumstances under which other tables have failed.
I'd buy another..
For the record / in a nutshell.. the mechanism feels very good (for the money). The exterior finish isn't markedly better than other far-eastern equipment I have, but all the graduations are consistent, crisp and clear.. I'd guess that the money goes into the mechanism and grinding, and that the economies are made in the paint and fastenings / minor ancillaries.
I have a Soba dividing set for it – the quality of that acceptably good, the plates (thick CI) very crisply finished, with properly formed & chamfered, consistent & even holes. The brass sector arms are well-fitted and neatly made, likewise the plunger assembly and it's bracket. The fits with the mating parts of the Vertex table are comfortably snug & in perfect alignment.
I have a fair bit of Far-Eastern tooling from various (deliberately) UK suppliers – it's consistently of useable quality – there seems to be at least some healthy competition at any given price-point – I'd have thought a £250 Soba table to be more-or-less comparable to a £250 Vertex one? ..