Revo Issues

[Wes Henson]

I bought a new Revo 18/36 and have had some issues. I wanted to share and see if others had had similar issues, or at least level-set my expectations.

I love the height and stability of the lathe, it is much more comfortable to turn on than my Jet 16/42. But...

When I unpacked it I found that all the holes that were drilled had little metal disks still attached to the back side of the holes. So I had to make sure and remove them all before wiping off the packing grease or I would have cut my hand. The last part of the threads on the head stock also had debris and I had to remove it and straight out the thin part of the threads - near the head stock, where they start. None of this is major but from a "fit and finish" standpoint I thought they could have done better.

The significant issues were that
1) the revolving center taper was wrong. There was so much slop I could grab it by hand and I could move it and it would make clanging noises. All of my other drive and revolving centers fit fine. In fact they fit great. The alignment was dead-on. I let their customer service know and they sent me a replacement revolving center. This one was better, but was still lose. It does not clang, but when you engage it into the the work it has noticeable wobble. The bearings seem tight and it appears to be on the MT side, not in the guts.
I let them know the second one wasn't great today and I'll see what they say. Maybe I'll be using my Oneway more until I can purchase a good one with threads on it so I can use my various accessories that go with it.

2) When I tried to use the locking levels to hold things down (head stock, banjo, tail stock) the levers would spring back up. If I pushed them down hard enough that I could get them to stay, they were locked down so hard I had to hit them with a mallet to get them to un-stick. Customer service told me the coating on the bar inside can be too slick, so I needed to lightly scruff it with sand paper.
The banjo wasn't too bad to pull apart, lightly sand and then reassemble. I don't think I got it all consistently so I may need to do it again.
The tail stock was not much fun to pull apart, there is grease and key and all kinds of stuff. I managed to do it and it is better.
I have not been brave enough to do the head stock yet. I think I need to clamp it to the lathe and then try and pull the bar out. I don't feel comfortable slinging that large weight around on a work bench and not breaking anything. Of course I'll need to clean up the entire area before I don this because there is probably a greasy key stock like there was in the tail stock.
Also because the locking levers wouldn't work from the factory I assumed they hadn't been set properly so I fiddled with that before I contacted tech support. So I need to go back and readjust the nut on the banjo so it locks and slides better. The "sweet spot" seems to be really small.

I really like the lathe, but the process has been disappointing. Based on the price and marketing I expected a higher quality experience right out of the box. My Jet was always a little off, but come on, it's a mid-range Jet! Now I wish I'd kept the revolving center when I sold it.
I'm wondering if people have had similar experiences with this brand, or others. Am I expecting too much?

Thanks
Wes

[Richard Coers]

You are extending the tail stock quill a little when you insert the live center aren't you? They are self ejecting and if the quill is retracted too far, the morse taper will not seat properly. I have to remind you Wes, you didn't buy a high end lathe. You spent less than half of what a high quality lathe costs. And these days that means it's up to the customer to do the final quality control and deburring. It can also mean you have to become the machine repairman to make it right. Now if you bought a Robust, Oneway, or VB36 and had all these issues, there would be something wrong.

[Steve Eure]

Wes, I have the 18-36 and noticed on your issue #1 that if you turn the tail stock quill out just a tap, it will stop the slop. Your M2 taper is not seating all the way in unless it is extended a small bit.
As far as the fit and finish, mine was perfect out of the box. No issues with burrs or debris in the holes, etc.
On issue #2, I too have experienced the same problem. CS basically told me the same thing. I ended up loosening the bottom nut just a small fraction and it helped some.
I really wish the part of the banjo that holds the tool rest was inset a little more. I feel when turning spindles that the lock lever is too close to the bed and that does contribute to the locking issue. If it was out further, it locks perfectly, but the tool rest is too far from the work piece.

[Wes Henson]

Thanks Richard,
Good feedback on what to expect on the quality. I guess I always wondered what you would get when you buy in that $7K range. Now I have a better idea.
Yes, the tail stock is all the way out, it wobbles at any position. None of my other centers have an issue across the tail stock range of travel.

[Wes Henson]

Steve,
I've seen the same thing with the locking lever position when I try and move the banjo in very close. If you back the nut off the lever locks at such a low angle it is a problem when in close. But if you tighten it up to move the locking position it is hard to slide the banjo.
Maybe we need to thin the locking plate/washer a little? I wonder if that would widen the "sweet spot" As Richard mentioned, above, maybe we've got to mechanic it a little.

[Barry McFadden]

The only issue I had with mine is the "bounce back " of the locking levers.... the one on the tool rest has stopped doing it and locks fine now. On the tail stock I noticed if I had the tail stock pushed to the end of the bed because I wasn't using it and had the locking lever off...when I positioned the tail stock to use it , the lever would bounce. I would move it a few times then it would stick. What I do now is...when I'm not using the tail stock I lock it in place and it takes very little pressure to lock it and then when I'm going to move it I unlatch it and move it into position and again just very little pressure on the locking lever and it's locked well. Seems to me that the trick is to leave it latched when not using it and then it unlatches and latches with ease.... about 1/4" movement of the lever.

[William C Rogers]

Guess I'm lucky, I didn't have any of those issues. I did have to replace the start stop switch. Laguna CS has treated me fine. I wonder if they changed mfgs, mine says made in Tiawan.

[Steve Estabrooks]

Ditto, no problems with my machine either. I did have a slight problem with the "bounce back" but loosing the locking nut about 1/8 of a turn fixed that.

[Jack Lilley]

I have had the bounce back issue when I remove the tailstock and then put it back on when coring. It doesn't happen every time but when it does happen that's when. I have had no problems or complaints with the lathe, have had it about 2 years and really like it. I recently purchased the 20" extension kit, the tool rest extension broke off on the first bowl I was turning, the steel looked honey combed. I called Laguna and they sent me a new one right away and it works fine. The banjo could be a little longer turning off the 20" extension. When turning a large 25" bowl you have to get out to the end of the tool rest, it puts allot of strain on the banjo, if the banjo was longer you could work closer to the center of the tool rest.

[Steve Engelschall]

I bought the same lathe a few months ago and had the bounce back issue as well on the banjo. At first I tried to clean the grease off the internals from underneath, but it only partially solved the issue. I solved it permanently by taking the banjo apart (by removing the nut from underneath) and completely cleaning ALL of the grease off of the internals. They slobber grease all over the guts and it causes the issue. I cleaned every speck of grease off and now it works perfectly...

[Stan Smith]

I have the Revo 12-16. I had trouble with the quill freezing up and CS sent me a replacement tail stock. Very nice folks, IMO. My problem is the tool post. I can hardly move the tool rest up and down when the lock lever is loose. I did not look at the post size prior to purchase and it is 1". All of my tool rests are 5/8ths. That is my bad. I was able to find a split adapter sleeve, but is is very loose in the post hole--even with the lock lever really torqued down. OTH the 1" stock tool rest can hardly be moved in the post hole. I did receive a 1" with a 4" bar today to try. I still want to use the stock 9" though. I guess that I can try and sand down the post with emery cloth? I think that would be easier than trying to sand the inside of the post hole which may already be too large for the adapter sleeve. I realize that I didn't buy the expensive lathe, but except for the tool post problem, I really like this lathe compared to the Jet 1221vs that was damaged in fire.

UPDATE: This is getting weird. I just tried my new Rikon 1" x 4" bar tool rest and it fit perfectly!

[John K Jordan]

I have the Revo 12-16. I had trouble with the quill freezing up and CS sent me a replacement tail stock. Very nice folks, IMO. My problem is the tool post. I can hardly move the tool rest up and down when the lock lever is loose. I did not look at the post size prior to purchase and it is 1". All of my tool rests are 5/8ths. That is my bad. I was able to find a split adapter sleeve, but is is very loose in the post hole--even with the lock lever really torqued down. OTH the 1" stock tool rest can hardly be moved in the post hole. I did receive a 1" with a 4" bar today to try. I still want to use the stock 9" though. I guess that I can try and sand down the post with emery cloth? I think that would be easier than trying to sand the inside of the post hole which may already be too large for the adapter sleeve. I realize that I didn't buy the expensive lathe, but except for the tool post problem, I really like this lathe compared to the Jet 1221vs that was damaged in fire.

UPDATE: This is getting weird. I just tried my new Rikon 1" x 4" bar tool rest and it fit perfectly!

Seems like you could carefully measure the tool rest posts and hole so you'll know which is the problem.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

Wes, you can measure the #2 morse taper on the revolving center and other accessories and see if they are made properly. I once bought some mandrels from Rubber Chucky that were machined incorrectly - someone must have set up the CNC wrong for a batch. It was easy to tell the taper was off with a good digital caliper, a steel rule, and a calculator. The specs are published.

JKJ

I bought a new Revo 18/36 and have had some issues. I wanted to share and see if others had had similar issues, or at least level-set my expectations.

I love the height and stability of the lathe, it is much more comfortable to turn on than my Jet 16/42. But...

When I unpacked it I found that all the holes that were drilled had little metal disks still attached to the back side of the holes. So I had to make sure and remove them all before wiping off the packing grease or I would have cut my hand. The last part of the threads on the head stock also had debris and I had to remove it and straight out the thin part of the threads - near the head stock, where they start. None of this is major but from a "fit and finish" standpoint I thought they could have done better.

The significant issues were that
1) the revolving center taper was wrong. There was so much slop I could grab it by hand and I could move it and it would make clanging noises. All of my other drive and revolving centers fit fine. In fact they fit great. The alignment was dead-on. I let their customer service know and they sent me a replacement revolving center. This one was better, but was still lose. It does not clang, but when you engage it into the the work it has noticeable wobble. The bearings seem tight and it appears to be on the MT side, not in the guts.
I let them know the second one wasn't great today and I'll see what they say. Maybe I'll be using my Oneway more until I can purchase a good one with threads on it so I can use my various accessories that go with it.

2) When I tried to use the locking levels to hold things down (head stock, banjo, tail stock) the levers would spring back up. If I pushed them down hard enough that I could get them to stay, they were locked down so hard I had to hit them with a mallet to get them to un-stick. Customer service told me the coating on the bar inside can be too slick, so I needed to lightly scruff it with sand paper.
The banjo wasn't too bad to pull apart, lightly sand and then reassemble. I don't think I got it all consistently so I may need to do it again.
The tail stock was not much fun to pull apart, there is grease and key and all kinds of stuff. I managed to do it and it is better.
I have not been brave enough to do the head stock yet. I think I need to clamp it to the lathe and then try and pull the bar out. I don't feel comfortable slinging that large weight around on a work bench and not breaking anything. Of course I'll need to clean up the entire area before I don this because there is probably a greasy key stock like there was in the tail stock.
Also because the locking levers wouldn't work from the factory I assumed they hadn't been set properly so I fiddled with that before I contacted tech support. So I need to go back and readjust the nut on the banjo so it locks and slides better. The "sweet spot" seems to be really small.

I really like the lathe, but the process has been disappointing. Based on the price and marketing I expected a higher quality experience right out of the box. My Jet was always a little off, but come on, it's a mid-range Jet! Now I wish I'd kept the revolving center when I sold it.
I'm wondering if people have had similar experiences with this brand, or others. Am I expecting too much?

Thanks
Wes

[Edward Weingarden]

I had a Revo 24/36 and had many problems with the headstock, but that's a long story. With respect to problem #2 (lock down bounce back), I found that if I pushed the locking lever down slowly, the head stock/tail stock/banjo would lock down properly.

[Stan Smith]

Hi John. I'm planning to try and sand down the 9" laguna tool rest post. I'm waiting for my new robust 6" to get here. I guess I'll just use some of the 5/8th post rests with the adapter sleeve. I'm a little leary of using the plastic knob to torque down on the tightening though. I may have to remove it and just use a wrench instead. I'm hoping that the Robust post will fit ok. Since I mostly do small turnings, the bulk of my work will be done using the 4" and 6" rests.