Lathe Carriage problems

[KBs Pensnmore]

I was given a Chinese Brand 7X12 metal lathe (by my Brother who bought it new and it has done about 4 hrs work) but has a few problems with the carriage assy.
1) Carriage assy has play in it (a twisting motion) even though it has an inverted V. I cannot see/find any sort of adjustment or gibs on it.
2) The slide assy on top of the carriage (the one that is at right angles to the ways) has nearly 2 turns of the handle before it moves from either direction. I don't think this is normal!!!!!!!
Has anyone got any ideas how to fix these problems PLEASE.
Thanks in advance.
Kryn

 

[azamiryou]

Most 7x12 lathes are the same basic lathe made by Sieg. If this is the lathe you have, it should have adjustments. Here's a user manual for it:

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/Info/MiniLatheUsersGuide.pdf

The "adjustments" section starts on p. 12, and it sounds like the adjustments you need are the carriage retainers and the cross slide nut.

Hope this helps!

 

[KBs Pensnmore]

Thank you Mathew, will print this out and give it a try.
Regards
Kryn

 

[randyrls]

One further bit of information. There is an active user group on YAHOO groups dedicated to the 7x lathes. The name of the group is 7x12minilathe. You need to have an account on YAHOO, but this group is one of the better ones.