Rikon 70-100 Lathe

[Bill Ragland]

I just received this lathe and set it up on the work bench. When I turned it on I hear some noise coming from the headstock area. This lathe is new and I am a novice at this turning thing.

Does anyone have the Rikon? If so, what level of noise do your hear (I know this is somewhat subjective) when you run the lathe unloaded? I spoke with Rikon Tech support and while they were helpful they suggested that I check to be sure that all the pulleys and bolts were tight on the lathe. I did remove the belt and the noise is not present when just the motor is running. I tensioned the belt per the manual.

I am just trying to find out if I have a real problem or just normal mechanical noise. My only point of reference is my drill press and the lathe is louder than that. Thanks for reading.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Did you check the indexer pin on the top of the head to make sure it is pulled out and turned so it will stay up? I did that the first time I turned mine on. Just a thought. Mine is pretty quiet per se.

[Bill Ragland]

Did you check the indexer pin on the top of the head to make sure it is pulled out and turned so it will stay up? I did that the first time I turned mine on. Just a thought. Mine is pretty quiet per se.

I had not yet installed the pin so that's not it. If yours is pretty quiet then I think I may have a problem although I would think if there is a bearing problem then there would be some runout which there isn't. Noise disappears when just the motor is running. I hate to think I have to return it, YUK! Thanks for the response.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Yep thats all I can think of besides bearings. Sorry about the problems. I haven't had a lick of problems with mine and I have worked it hard.

[Bill Ragland]

Yep thats all I can think of besides bearings. Sorry about the problems. I haven't had a lick of problems with mine and I have worked it hard.

Well I think I'm just gonna use it and if its bearings then they'll go bad and let the warranty take care of it. For sure I am not trying to give the lathe a bad rep as I am truly impressed with the fit and finish as well as nearly no runout, pretty amazing. It is a solidly built machine. I'm a newbie at turning so time will tell. Thanks.

[byron constantine]

Check the allen screws on the belt pulleys and also the allen screw on
the arbor shaft where the arbor lock pin goes. Mine came loose and the
collar slied on the shaft. The set screw tightens into a recess in the shaft.
If it is loose tighten it and put some loctite on it and it won't come loose.
It is someone hard to get to but i can be done. Good luck.

Byron

[Jon Lanier]

Bill,

I don't know, I don't have one yet. But if all goes well, I may have one next week. I'm picking mine up from the Woodcraft Store. I know the guys in there real well, so I think I'm just going to open it up right there and have them 'help' me put it together to make sure it is operating correctly. Thanks for your thread, I would not have thought of that if you didn't mention it.

:)

[Larry McCumber]

I had the same problem with an "unidentifiable' noise. Like Byron, the setscrew in the collar on the shaft had come loose and the collar was sliding. Fixed that and haven't had a problem since. "somewhat hard to get to" is a bit of an understatement though. :p

Larry

[Bill Ragland]

Check the allen screws on the belt pulleys and also the allen screw on
the arbor shaft where the arbor lock pin goes. Mine came loose and the
collar slied on the shaft. The set screw tightens into a recess in the shaft.
If it is loose tighten it and put some loctite on it and it won't come loose.
It is someone hard to get to but i can be done. Good luck.

Byron

Arbor shaft? I'm not sure what that is? Is that the motor shaft or is it in the headstock? Thanks for the reply.

Bill

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bill I had forgot about that. I had heard they come loose so decided before I got to turning I would check and take care of it now. Mine wasn't loose but took the four screws out that hold the headstock to the bed. When you turn the headstock to where you can see inside. You will see the gear up where the index pin is. I took my set screw out put locktite on it and tightened it down. That was over a year ago and no problem. A long T-Allen wrench works pretty good.

[Bill Ragland]

My stepson who is an auto mechanic came over to check out the noise in the lathe. His opinion is that the headstock bearings are bad. It also appears that the noise is getting louder the longer I run the lathe.

It is hard to believe that a new machine would be shipped with this problem. I dread returning the lathe but wonder if thats not the best idea rather than replacing the bearings and then having alignment problems. What to do?

[Jon Lanier]

Sadly, think the best thing to do is return it. To many people have received good lathes and really like them not to make sure you don't have a perfect running machine.

[Fred Conte]

My lathe is a month old...shortly after setting it up I noticed that the threads in the base for the belt tensioner were stripped. Rikon had a new base casting to me in a week. When I changed out the bases I noticed the old base also had a crack clean through it. Everything is great now!

This doesn't apply to you but know that Rikon is a reputable manufacturer that stands behind their product and they'll make it right!

Good luck!

Fred

[Bill Ragland]

My lathe is a month old...shortly after setting it up I noticed that the threads in the base for the belt tensioner were stripped. Rikon had a new base casting to me in a week. When I changed out the bases I noticed the old base also had a crack clean through it. Everything is great now!

This doesn't apply to you but know that Rikon is a reputable manufacturer that stands behind their product and they'll make it right!

Good luck!

Fred

That was my experience this morning. I called Rikon and a new set of bearings is on the way. It irks me a little that I have to repair the machine right out of the box but sending it back irks me worse. All else is OK so I don't mind too much. 1 year and 361 days left on the warranty. Made my first round thing out of a square thing this morning. Lathe worked great even with the noise.