Advice on tool posts for a small lathe

[Tony Griffiths]

So little play! The Chinese quality-control department (staffed by an 85-year-old who turns on on Wednesday mornings for fag and a chat with his old mates) must have really been on the job that day..... Happily, it's not a problem and, given occasional amateur use, will probably last several lifetimes.

[Nick Lettington]

So little play! The Chinese quality-control department (staffed by an 85-year-old who turns on on Wednesday mornings for fag and a chat with his old mates) must have really been on the job that day..... Happily, it's not a problem and, given occasional amateur use, will probably last several lifetimes.

Thanks Tony. That's reassuring to know. I figured after a few tightenings, I would be stripping threads.

[Duncan Grimmond]

"So little play! The Chinese quality-control department (staffed by an 85-year-old who turns on on Wednesday mornings for fag and a chat with his old mates)"

As with all manufacturing, you get what you pay for. As grannie used to say " Buy cheap, buy twice" .
Chinese (and most other nations' manufacturers) quality control is determined by the commissioner of the work to be done. The old notice hanging in the office is universal :

"You can have a good job, a cheap job or a quick job. Only two of these options are applicable to any job"

[Nick Lettington]

"So little play! The Chinese quality-control department (staffed by an 85-year-old who turns on on Wednesday mornings for fag and a chat with his old mates)"

As with all manufacturing, you get what you pay for. As grannie used to say " Buy cheap, buy twice" .
Chinese (and most other nations' manufacturers) quality control is determined by the commissioner of the work to be done. The old notice hanging in the office is universal :

"You can have a good job, a cheap job or a quick job.  Only two of these options are applicable to any job"

If you commission a one off, that may be true, but a mass produced item can be produced cheaply. I would expect the quality of the materials may be lesser (and therefore the longevity), but something basic like threading a hole and a corresponding machine screw is surely not down to price... 

I once worked for a major player in the defence industry where we worked on microwave circuitry for aircraft radar and weapons guidance systems. We used to seal components into the circuit boards with a rubber solution. One wag made a mould from an aluminium enclosure for a guidance unit and cast a replica in rubber, sprayed it green, added the red plastic end caps to protect the screw threads and an aluminium sticker on the lid. it looked convincingly like the real thing. It should have hit the QA chaps desk and bounced back (pun intended). Unfortunately, he didn't do his job properly either and it was duly dispatched to the MoD... 

But if Tony says its ok, I'll give it a go!

[Reckless Rat]

There's an easy way to determine where the problem is. Hopefully it's in the set screws rather than the top block. A replacement cap screw or similar should quickly identify if it's the screws or the top block threads that are a bit off... (or both)

[Tony Griffiths]

So little play! The Chinese quality-control department (staffed by an 85-year-old who turns on on Wednesday mornings for fag and a chat with his old mates) must have really been on the job that day..... Happily, it's not a problem and, given occasional amateur use, will probably last several lifetimes.

Thanks Tony. That's reassuring to know. I figured after a few tightenings, I would be stripping threads.

The screws do not need to be super tight. I've seen lots of UK and German-made tool holders damaged because various screws were over-tightened; and a couple of Chinese-made ones where the holder had broken into two parts - though I suspect that the latter was caused by machining a disc with a slot in it.