China strikes again… I kept getting massive chatter on the lathe, turns out the compound nuts were not gripping with enough force onto the cross slide, well… a bit of force with a combined wrench and they stripped. To the hardware store!

Not even grade 2… I’m willing to bet they turn these out of rebar they’ve found on the streets in China.

Comparing with the grade 8.8 I got as replacements for now, decided to go with a bigger size (next up) Since it fits, and bigger is always better.

However, milling of the sides was required… Since I don’t currently own a milling machine, I improvised with a drill press a small endmill and a vise, sliding the work back and forth until the sides were faced down enough to slide through the T slots.

Now I’ve got less chatter and I’m not afraid to crank on those bolts. I’m going to make a spare set just in case though. You never know! — It turns out these two little bolts will cripple your lathe should something happen to them…

My suggestion for other import lathe owners: Replace as many nuts and bolts as you can, it will improve your machine.

It’s time to turn some metal, cheers!