Paramount FI-550 Lathe Review
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- This lathe sold in less than a week.
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Great review and background, thanks. I just bought one today.
Excellent review. I nearly bought the slightly bigger brother of this machine sold by Paramount Browns. The 610MM BC. it also seemed good value for money.
With the $500 you save you can add a quick change toolpost or 160mm taiwan chuck to the FI-550 as I did. I preferred the slightly smaller tailstock on the 550, as many times I made 300+ small cylinders that required flicking the tailstock back and forth, very hard to do on bigger lathes. Didn't like the supposed "cam lock" on the 610 either. Never once did I need an extra 60mm of distance between centres . You either need 1m BC or you don't. The FI-550 and FI-1000 seem to come out of a different factory to the others in my opinion. Other models seem clunky in comparison. FYI, try the procedure I mention for centering the 3-jaw chuck. Wish I knew this from day one. Make a new backplate for it if necessary. I've found the SANOU chucks are actually very accurate for the $ if mounted correctly.
@@mccgakloi Thanks for the detailed explanation of the machine and the difference. I appreciate it. I ended up buying a Taiwanese 1340 from Hare and Forbes. Still haven't got it running yet but I am expecting good things from it.
@@ozyrob1 1440? AL1000C? Great machine, Liang Dei. If funds permitted at the time I would have gone for that instead of the FI-1000. Though the FI1000 did have a few larger specs of interest such as spindle bore diameter. Tailstock on the AL1000 is within 0.02 (I've measured a couple times), and very nice ground ways on cross slide.
@@mccgakloi Hey mate, the 960B. I believe it's made by Liang Dei.
@@ozyrob1 Yes correct that's a Liang Dei also.
For those thinking of buying a second hand lathe. For reference this Sold @ $1800 which included the stand and the quick change toolpost. So you'd be looking at $2500 in 2023 prices. It also sold during covid when there were serious problems getting your hands on stock due to shortages. Plenty of guys seem to advertise 2nd hand rusted machines in "excellent condition" that are supposedly only 12 months old yet look very beaten up. Honestly, I'd pay half price at best for anything like that because they are either much older or have been abused. FYI this well looked after FI-500 was 3-4 years old in this video prior to sale.
Thanks very much for generating this overview is a good introduction for a novice like me. I actually stumbled across the video after trying to work out which Lathe @HM-Projects was using and noticed he's been here too!
Im in Perth and moving into retirement I want to set myself up with a lathe only once so currently looking at the best option to buy once. Looking at the FI550, TU-2506, AL-250G or the larger AL320G or TU3008G. Just being a hobbyist am I better sting with the smaller lather and play with customisation instead? Any advice or suggestions would be valued.
I've got the same lathe, more banged up though it's newer than yours with lot of paint peeling off. It's an Optimum TU2506 clone and spare parts are interchageable afaik.
Yours looks to have the cream paint job, so I'd say its older than mine. The Optimum TU2506 is just another OEM version of this lathe. A lot of companies have it rebadged, and I'm sure who ever makes them doesn't sell them directly. As for the leadscrew, I haven't noticed any issues with mine. I would recommend pulling it out and installing a ballscrew, and then CNC it, however looks like that's what you've already done, and may be the reason why you noticed the leadscrew runout in the first place? I was going to CNC this lathe, however it is a good one and seemed a shame to tear it apart. Made more sense in my situation to buy a CNC and let someone else enjoy this one. If it was a dud, I would have CNC'd it.
Thanks for the overview. Is the lathe sold? I'm looking to pick one of these up in the near future.
it's a steal for the price point and accessories, a very nice lathe. good luck.
@@HM-Projects where is it listed?
@@andrewmarch234 Gumtree
@@HM-Projects I can't seem to track it down.
@@andrewmarch234 neither can I, probably sold. Sorry :/
One thing I did notice in my lathe is a 0.05-0.1mm wobble in the leadscrew along the whole stretch in the middle. I got a replacement from paramount and it had the same issue, I've given up on it since it's apparently within specs.
You won't get much better than 0.05 out of a Chinese leadscrew, nor a Chinese ball screw for that matter, not over that length. You would be considering a Taiwanese or Japanese ball screw, and of 20mm+ diameter too if you want better. Any 600mmx16mm ballscrew, even from Germany, with measurably NIL runout will sag in the middle as soon as you suspend it horizontally. Manual lathes with not so great tolerances benefit from a cheap small OD leadscrew that will flex in the middle slightly, to allow it to bend onto center as the carriage moves along. As long as it's not way out, the slight flex won't cause any lifting of the carriage if its snug on the ways. On that note, check the "slop" in your carriage. Adjustment screws on the rear of the carriage should be checked, especially after a bit of initial use.
@@mccgakloi thanks for your detailed response. I've kept the leadscrew on both axes as I like to keep this mixed use not planning to add full CNC support yet. I've added DRO on both axes and wired it up to my electronic leadscrew to support a closed loop mode that can turn reasonably precision parts. I had to make a new brass gib for the rear of the carriage and snug it up.
I purchased my lathe around mid 2019 from Gepps Cross, could be older stock.
@@HM-Projects okay, I purchased mine before that, and I always thought the blue was a newer look to the cream version on display. What CNC controller are you using? Not much allows for feedback of any kind. You seem to have a DRO and controller in one?
@@mccgakloi Custom built, not full CNC but can turn a few stock operations. Similar to conversational CNC wizards in Mach3 or Acorn. It can do closed loop linear movements based on feedback from DRO, non linear movements like curves are best effort. It's good enough for my needs.
@@mccgakloi I've got a few examples in my channel like ua-cam.com/video/_v4O1gaXzbw/v-deo.html. It is a work in progress though :)
Thanks for the video, I'm slowly learning to use one of these and I earned a lot from this. Could I ask, looking at your change gears I can see a gap between the top 2 gears on the banjo. Is there meant to be a spacer between them? I put mine back on after threading but the inner top gear is rubbing the middle one and I think I missed putting the spacer back.
The biggest problem I'm finding so far is the apron moving while I'm cutting so I end up with domed rather than flat faces etc. Is this just a matter of tightening the gibs or is my technique bad (or both)?
The gears are a pain. You need to use your intuition most times to get the spacing right using the available parts supplied. You can move the gear assembly slightly in xy directions before tightening.
Tbe carriage gibs can be checked on the back. I would sometimes hold the Z axis handle while facing so the carriage didn't get pushed away from the part. The is a carriage lock that can also be snugged, but not locked. pic is in the manual
@@mccgakloi much appreciated!
Hi, just wondering what modifications you need to do to fit the quick tool change post
Hi Paul. I didn't modify any parts. I added an adapter sleeve to the threaded post. One end a female thread, the other end a male thread needed for the new toolpost.
Hi how do I fit a thread chaser
I'll be honest and say I personally wouldn't bother. If you want to cut threads just get a bigger more rigid lathe with thread chasing dial already attached. A work around I did is to put masking tape with a flag sticking out on the end of the carriage lead screw on the RHS end. I'd remember the orientation of the chuck, when the tape was pointing up and the position of the carriage/number on the carriage dial. I'd orientate the chuck and flag by hand, position the carriage in the same spot, engage the lever, then turn the lathe on.
Otherwise don't disengage the carriage, turn the machine off if possible, and wind back the carriage by turning the chuck by hand. I never ran many good threads on this lathe for this reason.