Lathe out of commission... Devastated!!!

[Gilliandrea]

Went out to the shed this weekend, managed to be quite productive even though our Grandson stayed over on Saturday night so we made a skittle board and painted a clock face too. Good lot of blanks made and wood cut in preparation for turning, while he was painting.

Onto the lathe after he went home and BOOM... thought it was the on/off switch, as it has went before.. Nope

Out with the multimeter and it was the switch control box PCB, phone Charnwood and they only offer the full box at £65!!!!
BTW it is a 18 month old W821 midi lathe....

Is there somewhere that offer the PCB only or anyone know of a similar one that can be fitted?:pray:

 

[Bigblackdog]

i would play hell with charnwood, and say that the item should be of reasonable quality. 18 months of hobby usage is not reasonable in my opinion.

 

[Indie Shed]

18 months? Is that all Charnwood are saying their lathes are good for? I will make a point of never buying one.

I would go back to them and state that in your view the lathe is faulty and I would put the onus on them to repair the problem.

Mind you I can be be a moody git but I would be giving them a bit of grief this morning.

 

[ZuluTiming]

That looks very much like my old Axminster variable speed, which did BOOM as well, and a little bit of a stink. In my case it was the bridge rectifier, I think it was a 8A/600V, can't remember exactly. Fuse was gone as well, of course. I changed both and it worked. I have a little bit of experience with electronics and would not recommend to anyone opening it unless they know what they are doing.:nonono:

 

[Gilliandrea]

i would play hell with charnwood, and say that the item should be of reasonable quality. 18 months of hobby usage is not reasonable in my opinion.

18 months? Is that all Charnwood are saying their lathes are good for? I will make a point of never buying one.

I would go back to them and state that in your view the lathe is faulty and I would put the onus on them to repair the problem.

Mind you I can be be a moody git but I would be giving them a bit of grief this morning.

Grief given, reasonable arguments made, but talk about banging your head against a wall!!! Never buying Charnwood again....

I hope to upgrade this time next year, so lots of research and advice to be sought before then

That looks very much like my old Axminster variable speed, which did BOOM as well, and a little bit of a stink. In my case it was the bridge rectifier, I think it was a 8A/600V, can't remember exactly. Fuse was gone as well, of course. I changed both and it worked. I have a little bit of experience with electronics and would not recommend to anyone opening it unless they know what they are doing.:nonono:

Completely agree with some-one having little experience with electronics going that route

Not a novice when it comes to electronics so I am confident in that respect.... I would make a new one myself but I was looking for an easier option

 

[Grump]

I ain't no expert but on the telly the so called experts are always banging about your contract is with the dealer not the manufacturer.
Go back to the dealer and claim your statutory rights and go off on one with them about fit for use etc.
Local radio consumer program will soon have that one sorted for you if the dealer don't.
Take notes of quotes for future reference, I put my phone on record and leave it front of them for a bit of intimidation, that usually prompts a favourable response.
Good luck init?

 

[Indie Shed]

I would play it like this;

Ask do they feel that 18 months is a reasonable amount of time for the product to last (taking into account the price and usage)

If they say no, happy days, if they say yes, explain that you would never have spent such an amount on their lathes if they didn't expect it to last at least that long.

Take names and quote the 'Sale of Goods Act', namely that a product can be expected to last a reasonable amount of time, 18 months is not reasonable.

If they still palm you off inform them that you will record a complaint with the Local Trading Standards office as they are currently in breach of contract.

 

[Kardav]

Sorry to hear about your problem Gill, 18 months does seem a rediculously short time to have an issue such as this. I'm no expert but I would be kicking off at each and every angle, manufacturer and dealer both. As has been mentioned, local radio is often a good bet but the local rag could do a lot of damage too. Good luck whatever happens anyway.

 

[paulm]

What a pain in the arse Gill. I have heard that Charnwood aren't that good by others. I have a bandsaw from them and have had to change the bearings several times now and its only 18months old. I love the saw but it is a pain.

 

[Indie Shed]

I have spoken to them and the guy is a cock, I would be having a word with the trading standards as these guys are mixing up warranty and quality.

He also said the lathe could reasonably be expected to give 10 years service, but he doesn't expect the motor to last that long.

At the end of the day he is in the wrong and as I have just told him I will never buy Charnwood.



01530516926 if anyone like to know.

 

[Grump]

Give him the opportunity to voice his policies here let us rip him to shreds if he dares.
It certainly sounds as though he needs lesson in customer care and current UK laws.

 

[Gilliandrea]

I ain't no expert but on the telly the so called experts are always banging about your contract is with the dealer not the manufacturer.
Go back to the dealer and claim your statutory rights and go off on one with them about fit for use etc.
Local radio consumer program will soon have that one sorted for you if the dealer don't.
Take notes of quotes for future reference, I put my phone on record and leave it front of them for a bit of intimidation, that usually prompts a favourable response.
Good luck init?

Bought direct online by my OH as my birthday, so have dealt with 'tech help' a few times because of the switch!!!

Hopefully another call will give some recourse, Great advice everyone
Lets see how a call to trading standards pans out....

 

[Penpal]

Something tells me a band aid while you wait thing you could do is have the speed control bypassed and use it on belt speed but then it may not be possible it seems like the sales bloke must have a service person who fixes the electronics by replacement my experience is its often cheaper if you figure in the cost of repairing over here its very high plus components. Theres a lot of hellfire and damnation going on how to denigrate threaten and demean. What was the new cost of the lathe 18mths ago amortised now value there is away to go to make a valued decision.

Trust me I wish you well good fortune and all that but calm reasoning with the full facts a little help from friends Gill. One thing I have observed is the location of the speed controllers can be meaningful.

Sorry from so far away I do feel your pain. Take care mate.

Peter.

 

[Indie Shed]

Peter, the laws are in place to protect the consumer here in the UK, retailers are bound by the Sale of Goods act 1979, I don't know if Oz has similar law in place. The firm is clearly is breach and the line that I got, which was "they all do that" is not a defence.

I wouldn't be happy to bodge it together so soon after buying it. It's not right.

 

[donwatson]

Sorry to hear of your troubles Gill, my first stop would be Citizens Advice as it is free and they can act in an official capacity in court etc.
Next step would be Trading Standards if you don't want to involve the Citizens Advice

 

[AndyC65]

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

I for one would not hold out any hope on the trading standards front. I have two occasions to use their services in the past year or so, and they have achieved the square root of bugger all.

Their reason was that not enough people had complained about this one gentleman who was selling fake goods.

They very helpfully though, did "open a file".

I would think you'd have more joy by showing Charnwood this thread showing that a large % of their UK customer base would not buy their products based upon your experience.

Perhaps try finding out the UK sales directors contact details and contact him - am sure he'd want to know.

You might also try a letter to Woodturning magazine for publishing. Stating the original situation & questioning if this is OK rather than slag Charnwood off.

Whatever happens, good luck.

Andy C

 

[Themackay]

Under the sale of goods act goods are expected to last a reasonable amount of time realative what you pay for them irrespective of the 1 year guarantee so Charnwood are in the wrong here,I would say most retailers just fob people off and hope they will just go away which is what most people do so stand your ground Gill you are in the right here.

 

[Themackay]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charnwood-Woodworking/1419459115017586
Mabye a lot of suitable posts on this page would do the trick Gill

 

[AndyC65]

Something good to come out of Europe - all goods are actually covered by a two year warranty thanks to European law.

Two-year warranty loophole (EU law) | This is Money

Good luck!

Andy C

 

[Shaver]

Sorry to hear about your predicament, but IMO anyone who buys from Charnwood are asking for problems. Been bitten, would never dream of placing my custom their way ever again.

I hope you can get something sorted wit