I was in the process of buying one but I have backed out and went with a different brand. I WILL NOT BUY A BERNARDO after seeing how customer service treated you.
I agree, the way they handled it is the worst part of this deal, we all know things are not perfect and mistakes happens from time to time, it is how the supplier deals with problems that shows their true color. Congrats on your new lathe.
Been in one of their stores once for my company. Sales guy parked his SUV in (front of) the entrance, because the parking spots were 5m farther away. Walked through their exhibition floor unnoticed. Went to another floor directly into their office, where we were completely ignored for minutes. Only after directly asking a person for help we were directed to the person in sales, drinking coffee in front of us. When asked about available machines we were shown their web shop, no additional information. "Just order the machine, we don't know its specs and can't show you anything upfront" Needless to say, left and never came back...
I can only imagine how disappointed you must have been to unbox a shiny new (and quite expensive) lathe only to find out that it was so badly designed and put together. I admire your gentlemanly restraint in the way you have related the experience, and thank you for sharing this so that others can make informed choices when buying a new tool 👍
It looks to me that they also painted over a thin layer of oil. This paint flaking is typical when oil is painted over. You can paint over oil when powder coating as well. In both cases the paint will badly flake off. It will smoke in a powder coat oven, so it’s easy to see what’s happening.
I think this is a returned unit that has been refurbished. Hence paint is not sticking as I think there is oil in the metal stopping its adhesiveness. Shoddy workmanship at the very least, probably a ripoff.
Something is definitely off. Did he purchase this from an authorized Bernardo reseller? I would love to see the Serial number so that we can get a manufacture date on this unit. My gut tells me something is wrong with this video and not Bernardo. Look at 8:15 when he pulls that off and all the rust underneath. This lathe was most likely left outside and it was rained or snowed on. Something is very 'off' here.
Ich habe vorgehabt eine solche Maschine zu kaufen ?!!! Aber so eine ALBTRAUM MASCHINE .... Nein. ! Da ist Nervenzusammenbruch und Herzattacke vorprogrammiert ! Das ist der Beste nicht weiter Empfehlungs Video den ich je gesehen habe. Danke für die gute Dokumentation . Der Einzigste der jetzt noch helfen könnte wäre die Firma Bernardo selber . SIE müsste den Schrotthaufen abholen und dir eine neue hinstellen . Dann würde ich vielleicht auch eine von dieser Firma (Bernardo) kaufen. Aber so ?? Ich brauch jetzt erstmal einen SCHNAPS 🤯
I bought a Warco WM250 at the beginning of the year, it’s a very similar size to yours minus a powered cross slide. Out of the box it worked flawlessly, no gib adjustment necessary. A couple of weeks ago the speed control PCB blew. I emailed Warco and within 1 hour they had emailed back. One more email to them and they promised a new circuit board was in the post. Two days later it turned up and I fitted it in ten minutes later. Customer service like that is hard to beat. Mine only has one, 7mm belt too, although mine has a belt tensioner. It is adequate believe it or not as it is a gates belt. Sorry you’ve had so much trouble, I would have demanded a replacement. I don’t know what they offered you to keep it but it wasn’t worth it. P.s, your parting too is above centre.
I commend you for truing up the chuck. I think my anger would have over come me at that point and would have pushed the lathe into a lake. Best of luck with the modifications.
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql Let's face it you would have fished it out afterwards and fixed it anyway. One can tell you are that kind of person from just this one video.
I bought an Optimum lathe, I can see the similarities. Mine was a demo and slightly less than yours. I have found mine to be good so far. I opted for fully manual so all adjustments are via belt changes. I don't make that many things but they have to be accurate. Your video was very good in highlighting what to look for.
Thanks, happy to hear you have you had better luck with the Optimum. I bought a couple of extra Optimum chucks, the action is very good compared to the hard to turn clunky Bernardo chuck, so even that these things looks the same, there can be a big difference I have learned.
I have an Optimum VFD lathe as well, and visually some of these Bernardo componernts look similar. I use it a lot but not for anything particualrly precise so I havent bothered to really dial it in. Its not built like a Maximat, Boxford or Myford but it meets my needs and overall I'm quite satisfied, although I would like a quick change chuck as mine uses three bolts which is a bit fiddly.
I would expect that Bernardo, as an importer of Chinese machines, provides added value by ensuring that their suppliers follow quality standards. This does not seem to be the case. Obviously, Bernardo is just a box mover. I already have my share of experiences with Chinese products purchased from online traders. My first lathe was a Chinese product, pretty similar dimensions and features compared to your model from Bernardo. The only difference is that it has a gearbox instead instead of a variable electronic price. 1800 USD was a fair price and the initial build quality and accuracy was ok. However, the cast iron parts were of bad quality. Over the first year, several gears broke. The cross slide most likely had a crack in the casting. One day, pushing a bit harder when parting off, it broke into two pieces. However, I was able to get replacements for all broken parts. Nevertheless, I then replaced it by a EMCO Maximat Super 11 from 1995. This machine is truely made in Austria. It was two third of the price of your Bernardo and it only required a bit of cleaning, fresh oil and a new belt. The hardened beds are as new, the machine is accurate and works flawlessly. I later added a second Maximat with a bigger bore at a similar price. Both machines have been in daily use and never failed. There are still many European built second hand lathes available, EMCO, Weiler, Colchester, Schaublin, etc. With a bit patience, you can get it at very attractive price and even with many years of use, they will be in far better condition than such a Bernardo lathe
I agree, but the used marked here in Denmark are kind of limited, that pushed up prices a lot, and I didn´t feel like buying a used lathe from abroad - even that I know now I would have had a better change of getting something better used. I would have loved such an Emco, but they are hard to find around here.
Funny enough whenever I dealt with chinese sellers directly they always had good customer service and made sure to make me whole if something wasn't quite right. You really have to question what benefit importers like Bernado are providing when they act like in this case.
Recently i have obtained new addition to my workshop, Saimp lathe built in Padova in 1958. It is completly silent, precise, has all thread pitches, universe apart from Bernardo.
Yes, I should have bought a used better lathe, you are right. I bought a new lathe, because I didn´t wat to spend my time with repairs, that did not go as planned.
@@danneumann3274 Where i live we lean more towards German/Swiss machines, but Saimp for me is pleasent discovery. People who builded my lathe are now long dead, Saimp does not exist any more and i was very lucky to stumble on great lightly used machine. It is quite well built machine, only drawbacks are small spindle bore (38mm) and for its size it could have few hundred kilos more, in those times machines where usually anchored to concrete floor so it mattered less.
I am a former mechanic who completed an 8,500 hour apprenticeship nearly 40 years ago. You do not sound like most engineers who have received such a scheissen lathe at that price. You sir are a true gentleman. Wait until you see how much the Chinese have devalued the Bosch brand. Good review.
@@Rich77UK I only bought Bosch once, a variable speed angle grinder, blue series - the first and last Bosch tool I bought. And it was 1993, still made in Germany.
Welcome to China. Most Chinese lathes are built to a general design and then "branded" by paint color, sheet metal covers and decals. There are a lot of foundries in China, some good and some very bad. The normal way they work is to buy the castings and do the machining, then the small parts like sheet metal and bracketry are farmed out to small home shops where equipment and skill are minimum. That's why you often find multiple holes , crooked holes and stripped threads because these outsourced brackets are not made correctly. Castings are seldom aged, and a casting will begin to rust almost immediately after it comes out of the mold. Under that bondo you will usually find inclusions and often holes. The sheet metal parts are made from steel that has often been sitting in the open and rusted, and they will apply a coat of primer, but then the primed parts often sit around collecting dust and oil film before the final coat is applied. The only way to ever get any long term satisfaction from one of these machines is to totally strip it down to it's bare components, clean it repair all the problems and re-assemble it yourself. You may have to spend a month doing it, but in the end you will know the machine inside out and will be confident that everything is right.
Stationary drills are very similar here. There is one standard casting and you get machines with this base design from several Chinese and even from Taiwanese companies. Unfortunately this base design is significantly lighter than a real professional machine and it has always issues with running true
@@blacklisted4885 If they don't have any method of stress relieving, the casting is simply put outside to side for weeks or even months depending on the size. This process allows the internal stresses to slowly relieve themselves.
Thanks a lot for this honest review. Quite frankly, an an european educated mechanic, having worked on european machines, buying something chep from China will inevitably result in disapointment. I went throug the ordeals of buiing a chinese mini mill in order to do some hobby projects. Now my first project is to improve that shitty piece of cast iron to a certain base level, that makes the process of "hitting dimensions" something "skill based" instead of "oriental bazar".
That sucks to see. All these brands: Bernardo,Holzmann, HBM and many, many more are made in the same factory and quality control is pretty sketcy. I have a Holzmann ED1000DIG (13x40) and it's not as messed up as your lathe, but it should still never have left the factory. I got no real follow up from the dealer and Holzmann didn't do much better. I will never buy any of these brands again and I'm seriously considering making a facebook group where everyone who's bought a sub standard or faulty product from one of these manufacturers can discuss and maybe we together can get some accountability.
Write me in that group request too! I do own an HBM though. Works okayish but well... on some places... At least they just kept the castings raw and just sprayed paint over it without fillers for as far as I can see. And I bought it 2nd hand without backplate
@@elvinhaak I'll see what I can do. Should we extend a group like this to anything these brands make or just machine tools? I know several people who has bought things like bandsaws and jointers and they are equally frustrated with the fit & finish and the lack of service and support.
@@kimbye1 I guess, don't make it too broad. Otherwise people will complain about almost every kind of tool including drills they bought at the supermarket. But, other machine-tools like bandsaws and such will certainly be helping to get the max. out of the bigger machine-tools we ordered and probably help each-other with ways to make them (more) usefull. Many will be having a homeshop and finally turn to buying a machine like these after years of wicking and waging to find out that they might have been better off to buy a second-hand antique machine if that would fit in the workspace. My HBM-lathe by the way: th-cam.com/video/kt_wlySQacA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ncmkX1cq5bB0dI1t
@@elvinhaak Thanks. I'll try to come up with a title and group description and let you know. The goal as I see it isn't to air every little grievance, but showing where corners are cut and the QC is lacking and how it's dealt with after the sale is done. Even if these machines might be cheaper than say a new Colchester lathe or a new Laguna bandsaw, it's still a substantial investement and we should expect it to work right out of the box and it should work flawlessly for year and replacement parts should be available long after the purchase.
I have pretty much the same lathe only in the Precision Matthews brand (1130). The paint does the same thing and just peels off. The sound will dampen down over time once you use a white lithium grease on the gears and run in the bearings. As far as the belt goes it WILL hold up, these are not regular belts they are a type that they use in transmissions and they can take whatever that motor can throw at it, once there is proper tension. The thing I worry about the most is the tension affecting the bearings. Trust me yours could be worse, under the gear box the mounting plate on mine is welded on with a slant front to back so I have to shim it for right now. Another thing to check is to place a dial indicator on your saddle and have it touch the tail stock with it fully extended and you will see the quill is probably going to be crooked, and they didn't build in a way to square the tail stock, Heck even my Altas 6" lathe has that ability. The center rest is pathetic at best with it's limited size. My motor, depending on temperature, makes different noises. Also on the feed lever, if you get this lathe in a descent to heavy cut and coming up on a stop or towards the chuck there are times it wont disengage no matter how hard to try to force it out and you have to hit the panic button to stop it from crashing. These are made in China and I understand for the money we aren't going to get a perfect lathe, but for the amount I paid above what looks the same but isn't supposed to be built as well as the Precision Matthews I feel it wasn't worth the extra money. I'm looking forward to getting a better lathe when I retire.
Watched till the end, now I’m depressed. I have an old jet 12x40 belt drive and always been a little jealous of the cam locks on more modern lathe chucks over my threaded chuck. But after I trued it 20 years ago my three jaw repeatably will do +-0.0015”. I think I will keep it.
I'm not sure, but I think it should be greased with anti corrosion oil and wrapped in plastic if its new, so probably its not new. In EU you can return your purchase in 14 days for any reason or no reason at all, and if they didn't inform you about that it automatically extends to one year. I think that's the best way to go.
Thanks, I agree, this lathe did not come straight from factory like this, but in any case, the quality should be better, and the paint should not be coming off like that, paint still comes off week by week. I bought the lathe through my company, and the protection and right to return it that we have as private persons, do not apply when dealing business to business. So yes, the dealer dumped this on me, and Bernardo in Austria is not willing to help it seems like. I am totally rebuilding the lathe now.
TH-cam likes to show us videos of lathe beds being cast in the ground in Pakistan by men in sandals and then I see this. A new nearly 5000$ lathe that looks like this.
You did a great job making this video, I feel sorry for you, this lathe is badly built as you've pointed out. I have a similar lathe built by Optimum, the machine isn't perfect but I'm extremely happy with it, for the price I paid. I was impressed with the repair job you did on the spindle, I have no doubt you'll get your lathe running really well, I'll keep a look out for any updated videos you may do.
You are a man of great patience both with the machine and the suppliers. I hope your modifications eventually work out to your satisfaction. I wonder if there are any more customers with similar problems that do not have your skill, I imagine they may suffer yet I hope that is not the case. Thank you for showing all of this.
If you can get to the settings of the VFD, it can help to reduce the high pitch noise by changing the switch frequency (if it has such setting). You can loose a bit of power but you probably don't need full power most of the time.
I am really sorry for you. It is evident that this lathe machine you bought is defective and the supplier should have changed it with a new one without questions. You should have the warranty and under EU laws the supplier is obliged to give you a non defective product. Wish you good luck.
This is very similar to the 1000x320mm lathe I had. And the almost the very same defficiencies as well. About the oil leakage, I'd consider it to be "normal". Those seals from the spindle/gearbox/apron box are always a little sloppy. However, after a few months, it should stop leaking (but the lathe will be already dirty). About the noise, these larger chinese lathes are always too noisy. Mine's at 2000 rpm with the auto-feed on was really very loud, I used ear protections or would feel just like after a night of disco-partying or rock concert. The M8 allen bolts that lock the compound slide into the top slide are really a weak point, I replaced them with 13mm open end wrench head M8 screws and a thick washer under them. Much better. I also replaced the tiny grub screw (headless allen screws) that locks each carriage/slide to a lever with a spring lock, so that I could re-orientate them without further tightening. Locking each possible carriage improves the finish an absurd amount on these lathes. Worklight lamp is really stupid. Replace it with a two segment dentist type lamp or with a dial indicator stand type. Paint/filler is beyond the point of worth mentioning. Pure crap. Motor belts are clearly under-rated for this lathe, probably because of the not well designed two speed gear changes. My spindle nose readed 0.00 on both axial and radial. Maybe you could try adjusting the headstock bearing preload to check if it gets better. Your spindle nose is not ground correctly on the chuck interface. To check the problem, use prussian blue (scraping marking paint) on each chuck backing (their interface to the spindle), then try them to the spindle nose and see the printing of the blue. You should have a nice contact on both the taper and the face when you tighten the camlock pins (yours are D1-4 or D1-3). You could try a more rigid proper toolpost mounted grinder (try to get a Dumore or similar) to correct the spindle interface taper; I'd recommend you to check Mr. Crispim's youtube channel - all his lathe grinding videos - they are the best I've ever seen. He also shows the bluing process for marking the spindle-chuck interface and checking what needs to be corrected. My ER collet holder did run perfectly true radially and axially - expect for the collet socket itself! Very poor 0.05mm run-out. Piece of crap. I should have used the internal grinder stone on the toolpost mounted grinder. That 0.01mm of run-out so close to the chuck will be an intolerable (in most cases) error when farther away from the chuck. Nice base you did! Just remember that you have to level your lathe as much as possible. If I may recommend, try fitting an levelling mechanism to your base/cart, that also lifts the wheels and solidly rest the lathe into your floor. Levelling is the single most important operation for ensuring your lathe turns cylindrical parts, not tapered. Also, align your tailstock. My lathe had a very bad machine ways in every way. Z-axis (long bedway) wobbled up and down to the point that I could not level the bed in all points at the same time. I had to live with it levelled in the first quarter of it's travel, that's closer to the chuck where it sees the most usage. Cross slide was off by 0.03mm towards machine tailstock over 180mm travel. That means no matter how, I could not face parts square, always left me a convex surface. Compound slide I scraped to perfection, was the only good slide, after hours of machine rebuild. Is such a pity that those lathes are shipped in "half manufactured" state. However, for my second lathe, after the mini-lathe, mine's served me very well in the 9+ years period I had it. Until I had access to industrial quality similar sized (triple the weight) lathe I used to think this lathe was good enough. Don't be shy to contact me if you find any of this helpful or have any doubts. You could find my user "miannini" at the practical machinist forum.
Pffffff really admire you for staying so cool! Sorry to see the state this lathe is in. Strangely enough, my first lathe was a very small Bernardo 180 which was a nice machine, non of the issues you had. Hope you’ll turn it into the machine of your liking!
I also have a Bernardo lathe (Profi 400 V) and noticed some issues with the build quality, although it isn't as bad as yours. Since it doesn't have any gearboxes (only two belts in series from motor to spindle and a geartrain to the lead spindle) it can't leak oil, so I didn't have that issue. But on mine the paint is coming off in a lot of places too. The chuck and top slide had a bunch of surface rust, looks like they saved on protective coating. I checked the spindle bearings too, at least they used tapered roller bearings, so that's already better than the cheap mini lathes, although there seem to be no seals in front of them. The angle adjustment of the top slide is also made in a way that you have to crank it almost all the way back before you're able to get to the mounting bolts, which is really annoying. Also what looks kinda weird is that the numbers on the quill of the tailstock have been engraved twice, slightly offset to another. The most issues I'm having is a lack of rigidity in some cases. Wish it also had proper tapered gibs, all I have are straight gibs with some worm screws to adjust the fit. Usually they either limit rigidity or are kinda stiff, hard to adjust properly. I also think that the sliding surfaces aren't the greatest, but I really don't want to get into scraping those. I also noticed that the cross slide isn't quite square to the bed ways. When I face a 100 mm diameter part and then sand it on some sandpaper on a flat surface, the sanding marks are only on the edges. There's a roughly 0.1 mm dish towards the center. Since I got it I already made some improvements and modifications to the machine, although there's a lot that can be improved still.
I really thought Bernardo was one of the better brands. The Profi900 have no seals at the bearings either, there is coming grease out behind the chuck when running. I have since bought a 8" mini lathe with els straight from China, build quality is much better, I have made a video about it, you can compare it to your Bernardo if you like.
I'm glad you were finally able to get some better performance out of that lathe. However, many customers are not going to have your skill, patience, or experience to do that, unfortunately. Great that you posted this video to give some factual information.
If this makes you feel any better weve had to correct issues with our Haas machines too. The one cnc bed was not true to the spindle and we had to mill it. Ive seen machinist have to do that to knee mills such as bridgeport. And ive seen and worked with a lot of old lathes like leblond that the chuck would woble like yours. You have to venter your part in the jaws with a dial indicator but they always cut true.
When parting off, use a grooved insert. That will roll the chips, making them narrower than the grove and stop them snagging. Also set the tool tip very slightly lower than centre. That way, if it grabs it reduces the cut depth when it pushes down. I suppose the lathe gives you a good starting point for a project but at that price, it should be much much better than it is.
A long time ago I have purchased a small lathe made in Russia in early 1990s or even perhaps during the last days of Soviet Union. It had some rough edges, but it wasn't nearly as bad as your machine.
The Russian made machines from back then, that I have seen, have been very rigid, but I have only seen bigger models from Russia. I guess you can´t expect too much from relative cheap machines, but I must say I expected more.
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql у нас есть очень хорошие большие станки 1И611П, 1К62, 16Б16, ФТ11. но у нас нет хороших настольных небольших станков. в категории настольных станков и станков для хобби китайские станки очень хороши.
Well welcome to the club. It's so sad that any one can get scammed so easily this days. You just buy and hope you get lucky and receive what you paid for.
How disappointing. At least you had the wherewithal to sort it, not that you should have to. Got an old Myford 280 down in the barn, your video has given me new motivation to get it out and clean it up.
I have a few grizzly lathes and a couple of lablonde And this was painful to Watch. €6000.Is not a small number.You can literally buy 2 old iron machines for that and have the beds re surface ground.It's a shame what people are being charged for these things.
Years ago I bought a big stationary drill from Optimum (made in Taiwan) at my local machine dealer. It wasn't as bad in such details as the Bernardo but it was not running really true and even after I sent it to the repair it was still not running true everywhere. These Chinese machines also had the problem of bending in the motor mount if you tightened the belt sufficiently. At the end I gave it back and bought a (much more expensive) Unimax 3 from Germany. This one is running perfectly. After that experience I didn't consider a lathe from China or Taiwan, and bought an old Weiler 260 which was unfortunately a little bit worn, but costed much less than this Bernardo (and it has no lead screw). I had to replace some components due to wear, but they were produced in high numbers and you still get used stuff for these machines.
I worked in a school that had a similar Optimum lathe, It had numerous faults including pins missing from gear selector forks. At a previous job we had a warco that was s bad we sent it back, the replacement still needed work to get it running. Two years later it was already showing heavy wear. Save your money & by a decent secondhand British or German lathe.
I bought almost the same lathe at HBM here in the Netherlands. This one also had a lot of oil leakage. Even through a pop rivet that held a type plate. Those holes were drilled too far into the oil bath. I exchanged the lathe and the second one also had oil leakage. They are cheap lathes but you have to do a lot yourself to make it work properly.
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql Yes, I think that the base is made in one factory.then its going to other factory's to make the final product. But You're machine was realy bad,is you'r machine ok now?
After watching your video I straight went to my shop to clean and oil my old Chester MF-41B. It's tolerances are a little bit higher but at least it's not losing paint.
I think. The breaking period should the head stock needs to be run in The manual may say. I'd say its paint job shouldn't have passed inspection.. I'd ask for for several hundred dollars back or make the replacement demand.
Thanks for such an honest review - i watched with equal interest and horror, and sorry, sometimes the occasional laugh out loud at your expense. Some bits were truly awful. However I appreciated your level headed analysis. I'm sure a lot of other people would be taking a baseball bat to that thing. But was very impressed with the accuracy of the chuck once you gave it a smooth out. Almost world class how it ran after that. Good job.
I was obliged to buy the Profi 700 Pro some years ago for a workshop I set up. Not mine, I have to add quickly. I've used the lathe very regularly for five years now... and I confirm it is utterly trash. Your compound slide mount is much better than mine and the gibb adjusters are significantly better than the grub-screw adjusters that I have, and you have a leadscrew gearbox, which is great, but the rest seems roughly the same. I have all the faults you have. I tried three different chucks before it was even close to acceptable and then only after grinding the headstock taper, just like you. The slides are ok and seem robust enough, but the tailstock is a disaster. It slips along the bed if a lot of load is applied and always needs truing if you want it to drill accurately... then you are limited to 70mm of travel! The first 20mm is used to eject the chuck or drill and the last 10mm is unuseable without the quill falling out. The compound slide mount clamp screws snapped off one day, the inverter crapped out and needed to be replaced, the change-wheels are horribly noisy, the belt drive slips and there's not enough rigidity for parting-off anything other than brass and aluminium. The DRO scales have broken twice and ultimately were replaced with a much better system. In conclusion, the same as you: DO NOT BUY!
I'm a CNC tech by day so I've worked on a lot of machines. Every single one of them, Chinese, American, German, Japanese, UK, etc. have had filler on the cast iron. I'm in the middle of restoring my Monarch 10EE lathe that was in a fire. Every square inch of that machine had filler on it and it's taking me forever to remove what was left of the old filler. Even worse is putting the new filler on. Bodywork isn't my thing so it's been a nightmare. To make it 1000x harder, just about every surface on the Monarch is curved so it's just about all hand sanding. FWIW, the Monarch castings were surprisingly rough, some areas should have had a lot more ground off, some deep grinder marks here and there, some bits of porosity, overall a relatively poor job on cleaning up the casting. Filler hides all of that. My Bridgeport mill was the same. I have a Swedish made 24" Solberga drill press that was also in the fire and it too had filler on it too despite the fact the head on it is square and machined flat. The carriage is very narrow on this machine, I think you're going to have a lot of rigidity issues with this machine, and the reduced surface area increases the rate of wear at the same time. Speaking of which, I would pay particular attention to the way wipers, the stock ones are usually junk and should be replaced with high quality materials.
You mention the whine on your vfd. If you have the manual, you could try increasing the carrier frequency, I recently installed several different Chinese vfd’s. And changing this had a very noticeable effect. Some motors whine more than others too.
Very thorough and very fair evaluation of the lathe and of the companies that you dealt with. Hope all works out for you and you don't have to spend too much more money and time to make the lathe work and look as it should have when you received it.
Sorry you had to deal with all these problems. If it’s any help, I purchased a mill that had the same high motor pitch. I had to change the driver settings to stop the sound. Some machines lock you out of the factory settings. Dig around on the internet to see if anyone else has modified their settings.
A friend had a "professional" dough mixer obviously from China. Also severe construction issues, especially with the welding. But the whole thin "barely worked." Machine basically tore its own spot welds. Also had a misaligned motor and as a result of that a breaking transmission chain. Oh, the chain tensioner was cut or with an angle griner, the tensioner nut was a standard m10 tack welded on the angle grinded plate...
Is it a racecar? No! Is it a fighterjet? No! It's a Bernardo lathe! 😊 I have a minilathe, which is 20-30 years old. It is relatively fine. I bought a bigger lathe last year, it is much simplier than your one. As I looked for one, I red everywhere that Bernardo is a really good one. So, thanks for telling the thruth!
I bought a Vevor lathe and I thought it was bad .It is but nothing I cant fix. but you should try and get your money back.What a rip. Thanks for the warning
I agree, I have bought lots of Vevor products, they are cheap and not always perfect, but never as bad as this Bernardo, that was not cheap either. Your welcome, thanks.
The seller offered me paint and maybe something else without saying what, the owner of the Brand did nothing at first, after the video got some traction they offered me Bernardo goods of a value of 400 EUR, but I rejected, I would rather leave the video up for others to see.
I;m sorry about your bad experience, I'm going to watch more of your videos to see if it gets better. I hope you made new pulleys to add more belts. Personally, I would've returned it.
Thanks, I have started a big project on the Bernardo, but it have been collecting dust for a while, I will use the minilathe to make the parts I need. It was a business to business deal, I accepted no returns.
I thank God, i was locky to find good old German lathe. Never needed to mess around with Bernado, HMB and the others. Once up on time I used to work ship made in China had of course chinese lathe. Fitter came to complain to me that lathe is throwing pieces around the workshop. I went to see lathe and found out there was lot of cap in all the slides. So I show to fitter that we need to tighten the keyes. So we tighten the screws(old style) when moving the cross slide back and fort. And I tought it is fine now. Then I was turning the cross slide out to get it in the area where you usually work with it, and it stuck. Then I turned to inwards all the way and ti stuck again before end. Was we had to leave 0.2mm tolerance otherwise it woudn´t go all hte way. Few days later I had check of lathe in service program... So I wrote there: This lathe is good for sharpening pencils or woden plugs. accuracy is not enought for machining mechanical parts of the ship. I´m very sad about how much shit is sold to people. And we are not talking about small money.
I have a VEVOR VM210, a not very sought after brand (smaller and cheaper that your Bernardo), but I must say that the build quality is at par with my particular lathe....and yes it probably varies from lathe to lathe :D It's a real shame to buy a tool in the hope that you are going to use it for great projects, then the tool itselv turns out to be a project.
Interesting video, indeed! Since most of those lathes are build in the same factories and just sold under different names, I'm wondering: what brand is trustworthy and building good quality products? I read that Taiwanese manufacturers are much better than Chinese ones, but how to tell from the brand name? Is there still any manufacturer left in the EU?
Taiwan do make better tools than mainland China I brought an al 1000 D lathe a few years ago it was pretty good straight out of the box paid 10 K for it and sold it for almost the same as I paid owing to the price increase of a new one I ended up buying a nice Colchester Bantam with all the bells and whistles not the same capacity as the al 1000 but it should out last me Chinese tools by and large are a mystery box you never know what you are getting these days I prefer to go without until I can find something that deserves my hard earned money
It turned up in that sort of condition, and you kept it? I would have put it in a trailer, and driven it back to where it came from. The guy who was in charge of sales would have wondered what hit him.
This makes me wonder a lot about the pre-sale communication and documentation. I would LOVE a lathe like this if I had gotten it very cheap--and I would expect to be making a lot of repairs. But that's my preference. I've never seen paint coming off in huge pieces like that. Clearly there has been some temperature/humidity extremes in play before you purchased it. Again, if this lathe was nearly free--it would have been a good deal. But if you paid too much--that hurts.
I have included the invoice in the start of the video, it was not that cheap, it was sold a new unit, without the crate, but other than that in new condition.
I used two chinese lathes so far and the last one was also a Bernado. They are „ok“ for the money if you get one thats straight and not damaged in the beginning. I had the bigger version with a DRO on all axis and with all its flaws I worked with it for over 6 years. Then upgraded to a used industrial machine. Thats ehat I would actually recommend. Get a used Colchester, Weiler etc. Its worth every penny you additionally have to spend
Very nice video and review of this lathe TRAB. This is a horrible experience, I would be very disappointed if I bought a new machine and it was in this condition. I know they're cheap but producing such bad quality products should be illegal. It's a waste of energy, material and time that we can't afford anymore in this planet. The nose cone grinding is ridiculous, the amount of extra holes drilled randomly is also insane. How can a european company be selling those products is just beyond my understanding. The amount of bondo and paint is just the tip of the iceberg.
Same thing happened to me and my neighbor. We both bought the same lathe as each other, and just a couple months after receiving them, the paint was peeling off and started getting some oil leaks. We bought our lathes from Harbor Freight because they were running a sale on them and were told theyre brand new. My chuck had .004 play in it and thus the bearing was shitty. My neighbor's lathe had the same sloppy chuck bearing and then some chips of the plastic gears within a few months time. MADE IN COMMI CHINA JUNK!
Wow that lathe is bad in so many ways and you are right, that belt is an absolute shocker. I bought a used 10" Logan lathe (from 1946) instead of taking chances with any Chinese model and I am glad I did. Sorry that it went like that for you, what a disappointment. I know exactly what that feels like.
Same if not worse with D4000 lathe from Wabeco, after 6 years or so still not working. Manufacturer was replacing faulty parts with another faulty parts, they then stole 80eur not refunding me for new parts returned at my cost that also were damaged.
I would look for a looked after Colchester Student Lathe in the UK. Well made and accurate for many years. Ex-school Atlas Lathes can be a good buy. Keep away from cheap machinery, as they are thrown together. Swiss machine tools can be a good buy.
Hi I bought a used student twenty years ago. Its got a bit of wear on the cross slide, but I dont use it for real precision stuff so it suits me fine. Never had any problems with it. Workshop here was trying to sell a older student in beautifull condition, for pennies. No one wanted it, I think it might have gone to the scrap in the end. I was thinking of buying a Chinese outboard, not after seeing this post.
@@Graham19951 Thanks, I have an old Cardiff Lathe, later Elliot. The gear train is not complete, but its very heavy at one ton, and reasonably accurate, due to hardened slide ways. I have worked big old Lathes where one tapped a hammer on the tool post to adjust for slide wear, those were the days.
My first lathe is a Sherline. It's small, expensive but accurate. Due to it's size limit, I will eventually buy a Chinese latte, but my goodness, I hope I'll pick a trustworthy reseller. I'll likely opt for HBM.
My first concern would be the dent and the oil. Bc it indicates a accident while shipping. And this would be a case for insurance... Also, best buy is to save every foto on screen you got, before send out money. Same with any conversations with the seller.
Bernardo doesn't manufacture anything. These are mass produced Chinese machines that they just import and warehouse. Yours was probably missing the crate because it was a customer return. If I were in your position, and the dealer wouldn't agree to cover the return shipping costs, I would contact my credit card company and dispute the charge. There is no excuse for these kinds of problems with a brand new machine and no support from the selling dealer. Bernardo claims that every one of their machines undergoes a quality control checklist upon receipt at their warehouse, including several machining operations. It's obvious that this was not the case here.
I bought 750 profi Lz with mill head and digital readouts. 95% Ok, some broken start/stop switch, some minor panel dents (probably in transit) Intermittent running etc. I had to fixed myself. Most of these machines are "manufatured" in Sieg China or Taiwan (doesn’t mean its bad) They are simply "assembled" and "branded" in the respective country. People on TH-cam saying "just return it" also dont understand the costs and logistics involved. Mine was shipped to Cyprus. Having said this, your machine has definatly been abused/dropped and i would expect Bernardo to be more accomodating. Maybe send them the video?
I might send them the video, but I don´t want it to look like blackmail either, I just think they should have treated me more fair than this. I am happy that you had better luck with your lathe, the mill I bought from Bernardo are not bad either.
Machines made in Taiwan are very well made. These days machines made there are pretty much equal to machines made anywhere. Just don’t buy a machine from a vendor of cheap machines. High quality Taiwan made machines aren’t cheap! Chinese made machines can vary considerably. The old adage; “You get what you pay for.” Is still true.
You should look for that same model in your contry that someone else has purchased ( bring your magnet) to see if the seller just supplied you with a faulty unit that they fixed up , seeing a new model will eleimate this question.
Hint. None of the overseas lathes work right away. I did some research and bought a Grizzly. Could not be happier. After several mods it is an excellent machine. If you bought the cheapest machine you could find then you got what you paid for. An expensive paper weight. All of them need complete disassembly, cleaning and lube/re-assembly. The sooner you start the sooner you finish. Make chips that dont need dips!
Five years ago I ve bought an used 45 Years old Myford 254plus for 3500€. May be a little bit expensive. But 4/1000 mm runout on the collet chuck and 3/100mm runout on 300mm longitutional. I 'm very happy not bought a new "modern" one!!!!
so disappointing....makes the small faults on my Warco Chinese lathe seem minor. and the chinese lathes are not low cost. what make of lathe should you buy?
I don´t know really, I have since heard good things about the Italian damatomacchine.com that are also Chinese parts, but have been put together at an Italian factory.
Well...Thank you. Now you just helped me to make a right decision. I will stay a way from this brand. I know at the end they are all chinese lathes but for 5K+ is not exceptable. I will buy an older used bigger lathe
The dented way was a deal breaker! I would have sent it back. Every part you make that uses that travel will now have a defect. Plus the machining was not very good and i saw pitting in the ways and slides too. Im sorry to tell you this , but you were taken advantage of. Ps here in Usa I went with Grizzly 3204 mill and an old Clausing tool room lathe, they are so accurate as to be mind boggling. I then built a 4 axis motion control system for the mill and added ballscrews. I can now hold .00025 on the mill, repeatable.
Mate, I feel so disappointed for you, I bought a new Harrison M250 long bed in 1980, it wasn't cheep at the time but I was so pleased with it at that time and am still very happy with how accurate it is. I bought a new Warco Super Major milling machine about 10 years ago, and was disappointed with it right from the start, so I know how you feel, oil dripping out terrible discrepancy's in the bearings etc.
I just came across you'r Video. Yes, I can understand you'r frustrations, after I watched the Video. But what you maybe did not know, is, that they are build in China, and sold as a product which you can find under more different Brand names. We often connect Austrian build machinery, with high quality, and do not expect that some of these Austrian brands, actually have machiney, build in China. Some producers in China, can do an excellent product, and others are like the one you just have purchased. If I have been you, I have returned the machine, from the very first moment.
The paint flaking off the machine would have been grounds for immediately returning it to the seller and demanding a repair. In Germany there is a mandatory warranty by law, so that should apply if you bought the lathe in Germany. The duration depends on circumstances. Ideally you would complain within the first six months.
I feel like this is a much used Lathe that someone cleaned and put some new paint on to sell it as new. Which had not time enough to dry properly before packed up and sealed in plastic wrap. (therefore the paint foldet).
Many poorly designed features, everyone knows to not paint over rust.I plan to buy a new lathe, now I know what not to buy. Thanks for the video, good luck. 😢😮😮😊😊.
Servus Ich habe beim gleichen Händler meine drehmaschine gekauft ( lz 700 vario) und war bis auf eine delle am unterschrank ( die vor dem auspacken nicht sichtbar war) sehr zufrieden Habe das ganze bei latu angegeben und habe sofort einen tausch oder eine gutschrift angeboten bekommen
I think the paint is coming off because the metal was to new when painted. I once talked to a guy who worked in a sheet metal roofing plant and he said that they bought metal sheets just to let it sit for a while to season.. if not the paint would flake off just like on your lathe...
This is completely unacceptable and I will not buy anything from Bernado ever again, thank you for making this video. Filler on rough castings in uncritical areas is OK and common, even my 100 year old lathe had this, but properly done and it still sticks after all this time. Everything else you have shown is not acceptable, especially the reaction of the dealer and Bernado. I do have a Bernado bandsaw I bought at a local Austrian dealer some years ago, which I understood when buying was a chinese import, it works OK but can't be compared to a real machine tool. Quality obviously has gone down a lot since then. 36k people saw this video in one year, great marketing Bernardo, but hey, at least you saved a buck by not making this man whole.
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![Bernardo Profi 600 G bench lathe + 2-axis DRO + QCTP [unbox / review / first test]](/img/n.gif)
I was in the process of buying one but I have backed out and went with a different brand. I WILL NOT BUY A BERNARDO after seeing how customer service treated you.
I agree, the way they handled it is the worst part of this deal, we all know things are not perfect and mistakes happens from time to time, it is how the supplier deals with problems that shows their true color.
Congrats on your new lathe.
Which one did you get instead?
Been in one of their stores once for my company.
Sales guy parked his SUV in (front of) the entrance, because the parking spots were 5m farther away.
Walked through their exhibition floor unnoticed.
Went to another floor directly into their office, where we were completely ignored for minutes. Only after directly asking a person for help we were directed to the person in sales, drinking coffee in front of us.
When asked about available machines we were shown their web shop, no additional information.
"Just order the machine, we don't know its specs and can't show you anything upfront"
Needless to say, left and never came back...
I can only imagine how disappointed you must have been to unbox a shiny new (and quite expensive) lathe only to find out that it was so badly designed and put together.
I admire your gentlemanly restraint in the way you have related the experience, and thank you for sharing this so that others can make informed choices when buying a new tool 👍
Thanks.
It looks to me that they also painted over a thin layer of oil. This paint flaking is typical when oil is painted over. You can paint over oil when powder coating as well. In both cases the paint will badly flake off. It will smoke in a powder coat oven, so it’s easy to see what’s happening.
I think you are right, they have not prepared for the paint at all, and a few places the paint stick very well, probably where it have been clean.
I think this is a returned unit that has been refurbished. Hence paint is not sticking as I think there is oil in the metal stopping its adhesiveness. Shoddy workmanship at the very least, probably a ripoff.
It's certainly a refurb, but a lot of easy fixes though.
Something is definitely off. Did he purchase this from an authorized Bernardo reseller? I would love to see the Serial number so that we can get a manufacture date on this unit. My gut tells me something is wrong with this video and not Bernardo.
Look at 8:15 when he pulls that off and all the rust underneath. This lathe was most likely left outside and it was rained or snowed on. Something is very 'off' here.
@@gags730 Somebody called oldschool1993 explains it below
Ich habe vorgehabt eine solche Maschine zu kaufen ?!!! Aber so eine ALBTRAUM MASCHINE
.... Nein. ! Da ist Nervenzusammenbruch und Herzattacke vorprogrammiert ! Das ist der Beste nicht weiter Empfehlungs Video den ich je gesehen habe.
Danke für die gute Dokumentation . Der Einzigste der jetzt noch helfen könnte wäre die Firma Bernardo selber . SIE müsste den Schrotthaufen abholen und dir eine neue hinstellen . Dann würde ich vielleicht auch eine von dieser Firma (Bernardo) kaufen. Aber so ?? Ich brauch jetzt erstmal einen SCHNAPS 🤯
Ich stimme zu, danke.
Lieber eine Wabeco
Welche Maschine hast du jetzt gekauft?
@@DudelPaul Wabeco gibt es nicht als DLZ.
@@asusy2772 dlz?
I bought a Warco WM250 at the beginning of the year, it’s a very similar size to yours minus a powered cross slide. Out of the box it worked flawlessly, no gib adjustment necessary. A couple of weeks ago the speed control PCB blew. I emailed Warco and within 1 hour they had emailed back. One more email to them and they promised a new circuit board was in the post. Two days later it turned up and I fitted it in ten minutes later. Customer service like that is hard to beat. Mine only has one, 7mm belt too, although mine has a belt tensioner. It is adequate believe it or not as it is a gates belt. Sorry you’ve had so much trouble, I would have demanded a replacement. I don’t know what they offered you to keep it but it wasn’t worth it. P.s, your parting too is above centre.
All PCB controls are junk, should not be used on machinery. Belts and Gears that's the ticket.
I commend you for truing up the chuck. I think my anger would have over come me at that point and would have pushed the lathe into a lake. Best of luck with the modifications.
Thanks, if I have had lake nearby, I would probably have pushed it in too.
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql Let's face it you would have fished it out afterwards and fixed it anyway. One can tell you are that kind of person from just this one video.
I bought an Optimum lathe, I can see the similarities. Mine was a demo and slightly less than yours. I have found mine to be good so far. I opted for fully manual so all adjustments are via belt changes. I don't make that many things but they have to be accurate. Your video was very good in highlighting what to look for.
Thanks, happy to hear you have you had better luck with the Optimum.
I bought a couple of extra Optimum chucks, the action is very good compared to the hard to turn clunky Bernardo chuck, so even that these things looks the same, there can be a big difference I have learned.
I think I'll keep my beat up Myford ML7 instead of taking my chances on Chinese stuff.
I have an Optimum VFD lathe as well, and visually some of these Bernardo componernts look similar. I use it a lot but not for anything particualrly precise so I havent bothered to really dial it in. Its not built like a Maximat, Boxford or Myford but it meets my needs and overall I'm quite satisfied, although I would like a quick change chuck as mine uses three bolts which is a bit fiddly.
I would expect that Bernardo, as an importer of Chinese machines, provides added value by ensuring that their suppliers follow quality standards. This does not seem to be the case. Obviously, Bernardo is just a box mover. I already have my share of experiences with Chinese products purchased from online traders. My first lathe was a Chinese product, pretty similar dimensions and features compared to your model from Bernardo. The only difference is that it has a gearbox instead instead of a variable electronic price. 1800 USD was a fair price and the initial build quality and accuracy was ok. However, the cast iron parts were of bad quality. Over the first year, several gears broke. The cross slide most likely had a crack in the casting. One day, pushing a bit harder when parting off, it broke into two pieces. However, I was able to get replacements for all broken parts. Nevertheless, I then replaced it by a EMCO Maximat Super 11 from 1995. This machine is truely made in Austria. It was two third of the price of your Bernardo and it only required a bit of cleaning, fresh oil and a new belt. The hardened beds are as new, the machine is accurate and works flawlessly. I later added a second Maximat with a bigger bore at a similar price. Both machines have been in daily use and never failed. There are still many European built second hand lathes available, EMCO, Weiler, Colchester, Schaublin, etc. With a bit patience, you can get it at very attractive price and even with many years of use, they will be in far better condition than such a Bernardo lathe
I agree, but the used marked here in Denmark are kind of limited, that pushed up prices a lot, and I didn´t feel like buying a used lathe from abroad - even that I know now I would have had a better change of getting something better used.
I would have loved such an Emco, but they are hard to find around here.
Funny enough whenever I dealt with chinese sellers directly they always had good customer service and made sure to make me whole if something wasn't quite right. You really have to question what benefit importers like Bernado are providing when they act like in this case.
Recently i have obtained new addition to my workshop, Saimp lathe built in Padova in 1958.
It is completly silent, precise, has all thread pitches, universe apart from Bernardo.
Yes, I should have bought a used better lathe, you are right.
I bought a new lathe, because I didn´t wat to spend my time with repairs, that did not go as planned.
I had a siamp lathe. It was a good machine
@@danneumann3274 Where i live we lean more towards German/Swiss machines, but Saimp for me is pleasent discovery.
People who builded my lathe are now long dead, Saimp does not exist any more and i was very lucky to stumble on great lightly used machine.
It is quite well built machine, only drawbacks are small spindle bore (38mm) and for its size it could have few hundred kilos more, in those times machines where usually anchored to concrete floor so it mattered less.
I am a former mechanic who completed an 8,500 hour apprenticeship nearly 40 years ago. You do not sound like most engineers who have received such a scheissen lathe at that price. You sir are a true gentleman. Wait until you see how much the Chinese have devalued the Bosch brand. Good review.
Thanks.
Send that turd back
Blue Bosch used to be the pinnacle of power tools. Now they are an absolute joke.
i would have demanded my money back.
@@Rich77UK I only bought Bosch once, a variable speed angle grinder, blue series - the first and last Bosch tool I bought. And it was 1993, still made in Germany.
This is so disappointingly sick. How could anyone buy this at any price. Sorry for your loss. Thanks for your video.
Welcome to China. Most Chinese lathes are built to a general design and then "branded" by paint color, sheet metal covers and decals. There are a lot of foundries in China, some good and some very bad. The normal way they work is to buy the castings and do the machining, then the small parts like sheet metal and bracketry are farmed out to small home shops where equipment and skill are minimum. That's why you often find multiple holes , crooked holes and stripped threads because these outsourced brackets are not made correctly. Castings are seldom aged, and a casting will begin to rust almost immediately after it comes out of the mold. Under that bondo you will usually find inclusions and often holes. The sheet metal parts are made from steel that has often been sitting in the open and rusted, and they will apply a coat of primer, but then the primed parts often sit around collecting dust and oil film before the final coat is applied. The only way to ever get any long term satisfaction from one of these machines is to totally strip it down to it's bare components, clean it repair all the problems and re-assemble it yourself. You may have to spend a month doing it, but in the end you will know the machine inside out and will be confident that everything is right.
I agree, but some are better than others to start with, I have since bought a minilathe, that are very well put together.
Stationary drills are very similar here. There is one standard casting and you get machines with this base design from several Chinese and even from Taiwanese companies.
Unfortunately this base design is significantly lighter than a real professional machine and it has always issues with running true
What does 'ageing' a casting mean please? What is this process?
@@blacklisted4885 If they don't have any method of stress relieving, the casting is simply put outside to side for weeks or even months depending on the size. This process allows the internal stresses to slowly relieve themselves.
@@oldschool1993 I see thanks
Thanks a lot for this honest review. Quite frankly, an an european educated mechanic, having worked on european machines, buying something chep from China will inevitably result in disapointment. I went throug the ordeals of buiing a chinese mini mill in order to do some hobby projects. Now my first project is to improve that shitty piece of cast iron to a certain base level, that makes the process of "hitting dimensions" something "skill based" instead of "oriental bazar".
Yes agree, you will have to lower your expectations, but still, some chinese made machines are better than other.
That sucks to see. All these brands: Bernardo,Holzmann, HBM and many, many more are made in the same factory and quality control is pretty sketcy. I have a Holzmann ED1000DIG (13x40) and it's not as messed up as your lathe, but it should still never have left the factory. I got no real follow up from the dealer and Holzmann didn't do much better.
I will never buy any of these brands again and I'm seriously considering making a facebook group where everyone who's bought a sub standard or faulty product from one of these manufacturers can discuss and maybe we together can get some accountability.
A facebook group is a great idea, even that a lot would join, just to laugh at the people that bought Chinese stuff - but I would join that group.
Write me in that group request too!
I do own an HBM though. Works okayish but well... on some places...
At least they just kept the castings raw and just sprayed paint over it without fillers for as far as I can see. And I bought it 2nd hand without backplate
@@elvinhaak I'll see what I can do.
Should we extend a group like this to anything these brands make or just machine tools?
I know several people who has bought things like bandsaws and jointers and they are equally frustrated with the fit & finish and the lack of service and support.
@@kimbye1 I guess, don't make it too broad. Otherwise people will complain about almost every kind of tool including drills they bought at the supermarket.
But, other machine-tools like bandsaws and such will certainly be helping to get the max. out of the bigger machine-tools we ordered and probably help each-other with ways to make them (more) usefull.
Many will be having a homeshop and finally turn to buying a machine like these after years of wicking and waging to find out that they might have been better off to buy a second-hand antique machine if that would fit in the workspace.
My HBM-lathe by the way: th-cam.com/video/kt_wlySQacA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ncmkX1cq5bB0dI1t
@@elvinhaak Thanks. I'll try to come up with a title and group description and let you know. The goal as I see it isn't to air every little grievance, but showing where corners are cut and the QC is lacking and how it's dealt with after the sale is done.
Even if these machines might be cheaper than say a new Colchester lathe or a new Laguna bandsaw, it's still a substantial investement and we should expect it to work right out of the box and it should work flawlessly for year and replacement parts should be available long after the purchase.
Thank you sir! I was just about to buy either Bernardo Proficenter 880G or 900. Now I know I should stay away from this crappy brand.
Thanks, i am happy you found the video useful.
If I was buying today, I would take a close look at Damatomacchine.
I have pretty much the same lathe only in the Precision Matthews brand (1130). The paint does the same thing and just peels off. The sound will dampen down over time once you use a white lithium grease on the gears and run in the bearings.
As far as the belt goes it WILL hold up, these are not regular belts they are a type that they use in transmissions and they can take whatever that motor can throw at it, once there is proper tension. The thing I worry about the most is the tension affecting the bearings.
Trust me yours could be worse, under the gear box the mounting plate on mine is welded on with a slant front to back so I have to shim it for right now. Another thing to check is to place a dial indicator on your saddle and have it touch the tail stock with it fully extended and you will see the quill is probably going to be crooked, and they didn't build in a way to square the tail stock, Heck even my Altas 6" lathe has that ability.
The center rest is pathetic at best with it's limited size.
My motor, depending on temperature, makes different noises.
Also on the feed lever, if you get this lathe in a descent to heavy cut and coming up on a stop or towards the chuck there are times it wont disengage no matter how hard to try to force it out and you have to hit the panic button to stop it from crashing.
These are made in China and I understand for the money we aren't going to get a perfect lathe, but for the amount I paid above what looks the same but isn't supposed to be built as well as the Precision Matthews I feel it wasn't worth the extra money. I'm looking forward to getting a better lathe when I retire.
Watched till the end, now I’m depressed. I have an old jet 12x40 belt drive and always been a little jealous of the cam locks on more modern lathe chucks over my threaded chuck. But after I trued it 20 years ago my three jaw repeatably will do +-0.0015”. I think I will keep it.
I'm not sure, but I think it should be greased with anti corrosion oil and wrapped in plastic if its new, so probably its not new. In EU you can return your purchase in 14 days for any reason or no reason at all, and if they didn't inform you about that it automatically extends to one year. I think that's the best way to go.
Thanks, I agree, this lathe did not come straight from factory like this, but in any case, the quality should be better, and the paint should not be coming off like that, paint still comes off week by week.
I bought the lathe through my company, and the protection and right to return it that we have as private persons, do not apply when dealing business to business.
So yes, the dealer dumped this on me, and Bernardo in Austria is not willing to help it seems like.
I am totally rebuilding the lathe now.
TH-cam likes to show us videos of lathe beds being cast in the ground in Pakistan by men in sandals and then I see this. A new nearly 5000$ lathe that looks like this.
Yes, those guys in sandals casting stuff have a tough job.
2770 € is $3000 USD.
But still, it should have been in much better condition. .
You did a great job making this video, I feel sorry for you, this lathe is badly built as you've pointed out. I have a similar lathe built by Optimum, the machine isn't perfect but I'm extremely happy with it, for the price I paid. I was impressed with the repair job you did on the spindle, I have no doubt you'll get your lathe running really well, I'll keep a look out for any updated videos you may do.
Thanks, and yes, I will make it work, I have moved my workshop recently and still trying to get in place, but I will make an update at some point.
You are a man of great patience both with the machine and the suppliers. I hope your modifications eventually work out to your satisfaction. I wonder if there are any more customers with similar problems that do not have your skill, I imagine they may suffer yet I hope that is not the case. Thank you for showing all of this.
If you can get to the settings of the VFD, it can help to reduce the high pitch noise by changing the switch frequency (if it has such setting). You can loose a bit of power but you probably don't need full power most of the time.
Yes, it can get better, but something is up with that motor.
I am really sorry for you. It is evident that this lathe machine you bought is defective and the supplier should have changed it with a new one without questions. You should have the warranty and under EU laws the supplier is obliged to give you a non defective product. Wish you good luck.
Thanks.
CEE Engineering is my lathe guy and I’m sure your vid popped into my feed so good job at fixing it and here’s a like. 🎉
This is very similar to the 1000x320mm lathe I had. And the almost the very same defficiencies as well.
About the oil leakage, I'd consider it to be "normal". Those seals from the spindle/gearbox/apron box are always a little sloppy. However, after a few months, it should stop leaking (but the lathe will be already dirty).
About the noise, these larger chinese lathes are always too noisy. Mine's at 2000 rpm with the auto-feed on was really very loud, I used ear protections or would feel just like after a night of disco-partying or rock concert.
The M8 allen bolts that lock the compound slide into the top slide are really a weak point, I replaced them with 13mm open end wrench head M8 screws and a thick washer under them. Much better. I also replaced the tiny grub screw (headless allen screws) that locks each carriage/slide to a lever with a spring lock, so that I could re-orientate them without further tightening. Locking each possible carriage improves the finish an absurd amount on these lathes.
Worklight lamp is really stupid. Replace it with a two segment dentist type lamp or with a dial indicator stand type.
Paint/filler is beyond the point of worth mentioning. Pure crap.
Motor belts are clearly under-rated for this lathe, probably because of the not well designed two speed gear changes.
My spindle nose readed 0.00 on both axial and radial. Maybe you could try adjusting the headstock bearing preload to check if it gets better.
Your spindle nose is not ground correctly on the chuck interface. To check the problem, use prussian blue (scraping marking paint) on each chuck backing (their interface to the spindle), then try them to the spindle nose and see the printing of the blue. You should have a nice contact on both the taper and the face when you tighten the camlock pins (yours are D1-4 or D1-3).
You could try a more rigid proper toolpost mounted grinder (try to get a Dumore or similar) to correct the spindle interface taper; I'd recommend you to check Mr. Crispim's youtube channel - all his lathe grinding videos - they are the best I've ever seen. He also shows the bluing process for marking the spindle-chuck interface and checking what needs to be corrected.
My ER collet holder did run perfectly true radially and axially - expect for the collet socket itself! Very poor 0.05mm run-out. Piece of crap. I should have used the internal grinder stone on the toolpost mounted grinder.
That 0.01mm of run-out so close to the chuck will be an intolerable (in most cases) error when farther away from the chuck.
Nice base you did! Just remember that you have to level your lathe as much as possible. If I may recommend, try fitting an levelling mechanism to your base/cart, that also lifts the wheels and solidly rest the lathe into your floor. Levelling is the single most important operation for ensuring your lathe turns cylindrical parts, not tapered.
Also, align your tailstock.
My lathe had a very bad machine ways in every way. Z-axis (long bedway) wobbled up and down to the point that I could not level the bed in all points at the same time. I had to live with it levelled in the first quarter of it's travel, that's closer to the chuck where it sees the most usage.
Cross slide was off by 0.03mm towards machine tailstock over 180mm travel. That means no matter how, I could not face parts square, always left me a convex surface.
Compound slide I scraped to perfection, was the only good slide, after hours of machine rebuild.
Is such a pity that those lathes are shipped in "half manufactured" state.
However, for my second lathe, after the mini-lathe, mine's served me very well in the 9+ years period I had it. Until I had access to industrial quality similar sized (triple the weight) lathe I used to think this lathe was good enough.
Don't be shy to contact me if you find any of this helpful or have any doubts. You could find my user "miannini" at the practical machinist forum.
Pffffff really admire you for staying so cool! Sorry to see the state this lathe is in. Strangely enough, my first lathe was a very small Bernardo 180 which was a nice machine, non of the issues you had. Hope you’ll turn it into the machine of your liking!
Thanks, it seems like hit and miss with these.
I also have a Bernardo lathe (Profi 400 V) and noticed some issues with the build quality, although it isn't as bad as yours. Since it doesn't have any gearboxes (only two belts in series from motor to spindle and a geartrain to the lead spindle) it can't leak oil, so I didn't have that issue. But on mine the paint is coming off in a lot of places too. The chuck and top slide had a bunch of surface rust, looks like they saved on protective coating. I checked the spindle bearings too, at least they used tapered roller bearings, so that's already better than the cheap mini lathes, although there seem to be no seals in front of them. The angle adjustment of the top slide is also made in a way that you have to crank it almost all the way back before you're able to get to the mounting bolts, which is really annoying. Also what looks kinda weird is that the numbers on the quill of the tailstock have been engraved twice, slightly offset to another.
The most issues I'm having is a lack of rigidity in some cases. Wish it also had proper tapered gibs, all I have are straight gibs with some worm screws to adjust the fit. Usually they either limit rigidity or are kinda stiff, hard to adjust properly. I also think that the sliding surfaces aren't the greatest, but I really don't want to get into scraping those. I also noticed that the cross slide isn't quite square to the bed ways. When I face a 100 mm diameter part and then sand it on some sandpaper on a flat surface, the sanding marks are only on the edges. There's a roughly 0.1 mm dish towards the center.
Since I got it I already made some improvements and modifications to the machine, although there's a lot that can be improved still.
I really thought Bernardo was one of the better brands.
The Profi900 have no seals at the bearings either, there is coming grease out behind the chuck when running.
I have since bought a 8" mini lathe with els straight from China, build quality is much better, I have made a video about it, you can compare it to your Bernardo if you like.
I'm glad you were finally able to get some better performance out of that lathe. However, many customers are not going to have your skill, patience, or experience to do that, unfortunately. Great that you posted this video to give some factual information.
If this makes you feel any better weve had to correct issues with our Haas machines too. The one cnc bed was not true to the spindle and we had to mill it. Ive seen machinist have to do that to knee mills such as bridgeport. And ive seen and worked with a lot of old lathes like leblond that the chuck would woble like yours. You have to venter your part in the jaws with a dial indicator but they always cut true.
You need to make longer chuck keys, the standard one isn't really useable and you could easily stick the end of it into the on switch.
You are absolutely right, I did hit the start button once, that is actually how I found out I could easily hold the chuck back with one hand :-)
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql wow, I guess in that case you are lucky that the drive belt is so under-rated 😬
When parting off, use a grooved insert. That will roll the chips, making them narrower than the grove and stop them snagging. Also set the tool tip very slightly lower than centre. That way, if it grabs it reduces the cut depth when it pushes down. I suppose the lathe gives you a good starting point for a project but at that price, it should be much much better than it is.
A long time ago I have purchased a small lathe made in Russia in early 1990s or even perhaps during the last days of Soviet Union. It had some rough edges, but it wasn't nearly as bad as your machine.
The Russian made machines from back then, that I have seen, have been very rigid, but I have only seen bigger models from Russia.
I guess you can´t expect too much from relative cheap machines, but I must say I expected more.
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql у нас есть очень хорошие большие станки 1И611П, 1К62, 16Б16, ФТ11. но у нас нет хороших настольных небольших станков. в категории настольных станков и станков для хобби китайские станки очень хороши.
Well welcome to the club. It's so sad that any one can get scammed so easily this days. You just buy and hope you get lucky and receive what you paid for.
I agree, it is the last time I have bought something at this price, without seeing it first.
How disappointing. At least you had the wherewithal to sort it, not that you should have to. Got an old Myford 280 down in the barn, your video has given me new motivation to get it out and clean it up.
I have a few grizzly lathes and a couple of lablonde And this was painful to Watch. €6000.Is not a small number.You can literally buy 2 old iron machines for that and have the beds re surface ground.It's a shame what people are being charged for these things.
@@sgtbrown4273 @ 0:37 €6000 was for two machines I think.
Years ago I bought a big stationary drill from Optimum (made in Taiwan) at my local machine dealer. It wasn't as bad in such details as the Bernardo but it was not running really true and even after I sent it to the repair it was still not running true everywhere. These Chinese machines also had the problem of bending in the motor mount if you tightened the belt sufficiently. At the end I gave it back and bought a (much more expensive) Unimax 3 from Germany. This one is running perfectly.
After that experience I didn't consider a lathe from China or Taiwan, and bought an old Weiler 260 which was unfortunately a little bit worn, but costed much less than this Bernardo (and it has no lead screw). I had to replace some components due to wear, but they were produced in high numbers and you still get used stuff for these machines.
I worked in a school that had a similar Optimum lathe, It had numerous faults including pins missing from gear selector forks. At a previous job we had a warco that was s bad we sent it back, the replacement still needed work to get it running. Two years later it was already showing heavy wear. Save your money & by a decent secondhand British or German lathe.
My heart goes out to you! Absolutely shocking quality! Many thanks for this review, I think I'll wait and try and find myself an older lathe.
I bought almost the same lathe at HBM here in the Netherlands.
This one also had a lot of oil leakage. Even through a pop rivet that held a type plate. Those holes were drilled too far into the oil bath.
I exchanged the lathe and the second one also had oil leakage. They are cheap lathes but you have to do a lot yourself to make it work properly.
I was wondering about HBM, they do look very identical, I guess it is hard to find one in this price range, that does not need work.
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql Yes, I think that the base is made in one factory.then its going to other factory's to make the final product.
But You're machine was realy bad,is you'r machine ok now?
HBM is also Chinese import. You will find that all machines in the same price range are basically the same machine except for some bells and whistles.
After watching your video I straight went to my shop to clean and oil my old Chester MF-41B. It's tolerances are a little bit higher but at least it's not losing paint.
I think. The breaking period should the head stock needs to be run in The manual may say. I'd say its paint job shouldn't have passed inspection.. I'd ask for for several hundred dollars back or make the replacement demand.
Truly amazing, I thought Bernardo were better than this. I hope this turns out well for you, Trab.
Thanks, it kind of surpriced me to.
Thanks for such an honest review - i watched with equal interest and horror, and sorry, sometimes the occasional laugh out loud at your expense. Some bits were truly awful. However I appreciated your level headed analysis. I'm sure a lot of other people would be taking a baseball bat to that thing. But was very impressed with the accuracy of the chuck once you gave it a smooth out. Almost world class how it ran after that. Good job.
I was obliged to buy the Profi 700 Pro some years ago for a workshop I set up. Not mine, I have to add quickly. I've used the lathe very regularly for five years now... and I confirm it is utterly trash. Your compound slide mount is much better than mine and the gibb adjusters are significantly better than the grub-screw adjusters that I have, and you have a leadscrew gearbox, which is great, but the rest seems roughly the same. I have all the faults you have. I tried three different chucks before it was even close to acceptable and then only after grinding the headstock taper, just like you. The slides are ok and seem robust enough, but the tailstock is a disaster. It slips along the bed if a lot of load is applied and always needs truing if you want it to drill accurately... then you are limited to 70mm of travel! The first 20mm is used to eject the chuck or drill and the last 10mm is unuseable without the quill falling out. The compound slide mount clamp screws snapped off one day, the inverter crapped out and needed to be replaced, the change-wheels are horribly noisy, the belt drive slips and there's not enough rigidity for parting-off anything other than brass and aluminium. The DRO scales have broken twice and ultimately were replaced with a much better system. In conclusion, the same as you: DO NOT BUY!
I'm a CNC tech by day so I've worked on a lot of machines. Every single one of them, Chinese, American, German, Japanese, UK, etc. have had filler on the cast iron. I'm in the middle of restoring my Monarch 10EE lathe that was in a fire. Every square inch of that machine had filler on it and it's taking me forever to remove what was left of the old filler. Even worse is putting the new filler on. Bodywork isn't my thing so it's been a nightmare. To make it 1000x harder, just about every surface on the Monarch is curved so it's just about all hand sanding. FWIW, the Monarch castings were surprisingly rough, some areas should have had a lot more ground off, some deep grinder marks here and there, some bits of porosity, overall a relatively poor job on cleaning up the casting. Filler hides all of that. My Bridgeport mill was the same. I have a Swedish made 24" Solberga drill press that was also in the fire and it too had filler on it too despite the fact the head on it is square and machined flat. The carriage is very narrow on this machine, I think you're going to have a lot of rigidity issues with this machine, and the reduced surface area increases the rate of wear at the same time. Speaking of which, I would pay particular attention to the way wipers, the stock ones are usually junk and should be replaced with high quality materials.
I suggest you remake the key to bring the handle further from the chuck and away from the switch panel
You mention the whine on your vfd. If you have the manual, you could try increasing the carrier frequency, I recently installed several different Chinese vfd’s. And changing this had a very noticeable effect. Some motors whine more than others too.
Very thorough and very fair evaluation of the lathe and of the companies that you dealt with. Hope all works out for you and you don't have to spend too much more money and time to make the lathe work and look as it should have when you received it.
Thanks.
Omg. Thanks so much for the video. I was considering which lathe to buy. You’ve helped me enormously.
I am happy you found it useful, thanks.
Sorry you had to deal with all these problems. If it’s any help, I purchased a mill that had the same high motor pitch. I had to change the driver settings to stop the sound. Some machines lock you out of the factory settings. Dig around on the internet to see if anyone else has modified their settings.
Thanks.
Thank you very much for your video. I am in the process of spec-inig out a lathe for my shop. I do believe I will give Bernardo a miss. Cheers!
A friend had a "professional" dough mixer obviously from China. Also severe construction issues, especially with the welding. But the whole thin "barely worked." Machine basically tore its own spot welds.
Also had a misaligned motor and as a result of that a breaking transmission chain.
Oh, the chain tensioner was cut or with an angle griner, the tensioner nut was a standard m10 tack welded on the angle grinded plate...
It is crazy what they send out of the door sometimes
Is it a racecar? No! Is it a fighterjet? No! It's a Bernardo lathe! 😊 I have a minilathe, which is 20-30 years old. It is relatively fine. I bought a bigger lathe last year, it is much simplier than your one. As I looked for one, I red everywhere that Bernardo is a really good one. So, thanks for telling the thruth!
Thanks.
Thanks a lot man! I was thinking about buying one. do not anymore. you just saved me few thousand EUR. And a lot of nerves!
Thanks, yes it was pretty bad.
I bought a Vevor lathe and I thought it was bad .It is but nothing I cant fix. but you should try and get your money back.What a rip. Thanks for the warning
I agree, I have bought lots of Vevor products, they are cheap and not always perfect, but never as bad as this Bernardo, that was not cheap either.
Your welcome, thanks.
Thank You for posting this video, any update as to what Bernardo or the seller in Germany did to rectify any of the issues? Please let us know
The seller offered me paint and maybe something else without saying what, the owner of the Brand did nothing at first, after the video got some traction they offered me Bernardo goods of a value of 400 EUR, but I rejected, I would rather leave the video up for others to see.
It appears the back plate was not cleaned prior to being painted. The paint never had a chance to adhere to the metal due to contamination.
I;m sorry about your bad experience, I'm going to watch more of your videos to see if it gets better. I hope you made new pulleys to add more belts. Personally, I would've returned it.
Thanks, I have started a big project on the Bernardo, but it have been collecting dust for a while, I will use the minilathe to make the parts I need.
It was a business to business deal, I accepted no returns.
I thank God, i was locky to find good old German lathe. Never needed to mess around with Bernado, HMB and the others. Once up on time I used to work ship made in China had of course chinese lathe. Fitter came to complain to me that lathe is throwing pieces around the workshop. I went to see lathe and found out there was lot of cap in all the slides. So I show to fitter that we need to tighten the keyes. So we tighten the screws(old style) when moving the cross slide back and fort. And I tought it is fine now. Then I was turning the cross slide out to get it in the area where you usually work with it, and it stuck. Then I turned to inwards all the way and ti stuck again before end. Was we had to leave 0.2mm tolerance otherwise it woudn´t go all hte way. Few days later I had check of lathe in service program... So I wrote there: This lathe is good for sharpening pencils or woden plugs. accuracy is not enought for machining mechanical parts of the ship. I´m very sad about how much shit is sold to people. And we are not talking about small money.
I was contemplating buying one of these but not anymore
I would not buy it again either, if I was to buy now, I would take a close look at Damatomacchine
I have a VEVOR VM210, a not very sought after brand (smaller and cheaper that your Bernardo), but I must say that the build quality is at par with my particular lathe....and yes it probably varies from lathe to lathe :D
It's a real shame to buy a tool in the hope that you are going to use it for great projects, then the tool itselv turns out to be a project.
Interesting video, indeed! Since most of those lathes are build in the same factories and just sold under different names, I'm wondering: what brand is trustworthy and building good quality products? I read that Taiwanese manufacturers are much better than Chinese ones, but how to tell from the brand name? Is there still any manufacturer left in the EU?
Taiwan do make better tools than mainland China I brought an al 1000 D lathe a few years ago it was pretty good straight out of the box paid 10 K for it and sold it for almost the same as I paid owing to the price increase of a new one I ended up buying a nice Colchester Bantam with all the bells and whistles not the same capacity as the al 1000 but it should out last me
Chinese tools by and large are a mystery box you never know what you are getting these days I prefer to go without until I can find something that deserves my hard earned money
It turned up in that sort of condition, and you kept it? I would have put it in a trailer, and driven it back to where it came from. The guy who was in charge of sales would have wondered what hit him.
It was a business to business deal and I accepted no returns when the deal was made - but it did cross my mind.
This makes me wonder a lot about the pre-sale communication and documentation. I would LOVE a lathe like this if I had gotten it very cheap--and I would expect to be making a lot of repairs. But that's my preference. I've never seen paint coming off in huge pieces like that. Clearly there has been some temperature/humidity extremes in play before you purchased it. Again, if this lathe was nearly free--it would have been a good deal. But if you paid too much--that hurts.
I have included the invoice in the start of the video, it was not that cheap, it was sold a new unit, without the crate, but other than that in new condition.
I used two chinese lathes so far and the last one was also a Bernado. They are „ok“ for the money if you get one thats straight and not damaged in the beginning.
I had the bigger version with a DRO on all axis and with all its flaws I worked with it for over 6 years. Then upgraded to a used industrial machine.
Thats ehat I would actually recommend. Get a used Colchester, Weiler etc. Its worth every penny you additionally have to spend
I agree, I sould have bought a used better lathe
Very nice video and review of this lathe TRAB. This is a horrible experience, I would be very disappointed if I bought a new machine and it was in this condition. I know they're cheap but producing such bad quality products should be illegal. It's a waste of energy, material and time that we can't afford anymore in this planet. The nose cone grinding is ridiculous, the amount of extra holes drilled randomly is also insane. How can a european company be selling those products is just beyond my understanding. The amount of bondo and paint is just the tip of the iceberg.
I agree, why waste resources making bad stuff like that, does not make sense.
Excellent video! Thanks for sharing this.
Same thing happened to me and my neighbor. We both bought the same lathe as each other, and just a couple months after receiving them, the paint was peeling off and started getting some oil leaks. We bought our lathes from Harbor Freight because they were running a sale on them and were told theyre brand new. My chuck had .004 play in it and thus the bearing was shitty. My neighbor's lathe had the same sloppy chuck bearing and then some chips of the plastic gears within a few months time. MADE IN COMMI CHINA JUNK!
Wow that lathe is bad in so many ways and you are right, that belt is an absolute shocker.
I bought a used 10" Logan lathe (from 1946) instead of taking chances with any Chinese model and I am glad I did.
Sorry that it went like that for you, what a disappointment. I know exactly what that feels like.
Same if not worse with D4000 lathe from Wabeco, after 6 years or so still not working. Manufacturer was replacing faulty parts with another faulty parts, they then stole 80eur not refunding me for new parts returned at my cost that also were damaged.
I would look for a looked after Colchester Student Lathe in the UK. Well made and accurate for many years. Ex-school Atlas Lathes can be a good buy. Keep away from cheap machinery, as they are thrown together. Swiss machine tools can be a good buy.
Hi I bought a used student twenty years ago. Its got a bit of wear on the cross slide, but I dont use it for real precision stuff so it suits me fine. Never had any problems with it. Workshop here was trying to sell a older student in beautifull condition, for pennies. No one wanted it, I think it might have gone to the scrap in the end. I was thinking of buying a Chinese outboard, not after seeing this post.
@@Graham19951 Thanks, I have an old Cardiff Lathe, later Elliot. The gear train is not complete, but its very heavy at one ton, and reasonably accurate, due to hardened slide ways. I have worked big old Lathes where one tapped a hammer on the tool post to adjust for slide wear, those were the days.
My first lathe is a Sherline. It's small, expensive but accurate.
Due to it's size limit, I will eventually buy a Chinese latte, but my goodness, I hope I'll pick a trustworthy reseller. I'll likely opt for HBM.
My first concern would be the dent and the oil. Bc it indicates a accident while shipping. And this would be a case for insurance...
Also, best buy is to save every foto on screen you got, before send out money. Same with any conversations with the seller.
Bernardo doesn't manufacture anything. These are mass produced Chinese machines that they just import and warehouse. Yours was probably missing the crate because it was a customer return. If I were in your position, and the dealer wouldn't agree to cover the return shipping costs, I would contact my credit card company and dispute the charge. There is no excuse for these kinds of problems with a brand new machine and no support from the selling dealer. Bernardo claims that every one of their machines undergoes a quality control checklist upon receipt at their warehouse, including several machining operations. It's obvious that this was not the case here.
The guy who checked it must have been blind, at least.
Hi brother!
@@garyb6219 Nice channel logo!
Wow! So you're going to keep improving that hunk of scrap iron? I wouldn't have the patience.
You are right, it is the wrong platform to build on.
I bought 750 profi Lz with mill head and digital readouts. 95% Ok, some broken start/stop switch, some minor panel dents (probably in transit) Intermittent running etc. I had to fixed myself.
Most of these machines are "manufatured" in Sieg China or Taiwan (doesn’t mean its bad) They are simply "assembled" and "branded" in the respective country. People on TH-cam saying "just return it" also dont understand the costs and logistics involved. Mine was shipped to Cyprus. Having said this, your machine has definatly been abused/dropped and i would expect Bernardo to be more accomodating. Maybe send them the video?
I might send them the video, but I don´t want it to look like blackmail either, I just think they should have treated me more fair than this.
I am happy that you had better luck with your lathe, the mill I bought from Bernardo are not bad either.
Machines made in Taiwan are very well made. These days machines made there are pretty much equal to machines made anywhere. Just don’t buy a machine from a vendor of cheap machines. High quality Taiwan made machines aren’t cheap! Chinese made machines can vary considerably. The old adage; “You get what you pay for.” Is still true.
there is no cost involved for the customer in the EU in cases like this. The machine has obvious defects.
You should look for that same model in your contry that someone else has purchased ( bring your magnet) to see if the seller just supplied you with a faulty unit that they fixed up , seeing a new model will eleimate this question.
Hint. None of the overseas lathes work right away. I did some research and bought a Grizzly. Could not be happier. After several mods it is an excellent machine. If you bought the cheapest machine you could find then you got what you paid for. An expensive paper weight. All of them need complete disassembly, cleaning and lube/re-assembly. The sooner you start the sooner you finish.
Make chips that dont need dips!
Five years ago I ve bought an used 45 Years old Myford 254plus for 3500€. May be a little bit expensive. But 4/1000 mm runout on the collet chuck and 3/100mm runout on 300mm longitutional. I 'm very happy not bought a new "modern" one!!!!
Yes, if you get a used better lathe that is not worn out, it is certainly better than most chinese stuff.
so disappointing....makes the small faults on my Warco Chinese lathe seem minor. and the chinese lathes are not low cost. what make of lathe should you buy?
I don´t know really, I have since heard good things about the Italian damatomacchine.com that are also Chinese parts, but have been put together at an Italian factory.
Well...Thank you. Now you just helped me to make a right decision. I will stay a way from this brand. I know at the end they are all chinese lathes but for 5K+ is not exceptable. I will buy an older used bigger lathe
I agree, it is not worth the money, thanks.
The dented way was a deal breaker! I would have sent it back. Every part you make that uses that travel will now have a defect. Plus the machining was not very good and i saw pitting in the ways and slides too. Im sorry to tell you this , but you were taken advantage of. Ps here in Usa I went with Grizzly 3204 mill and an old Clausing tool room lathe, they are so accurate as to be mind boggling.
I then built a 4 axis motion control system for the mill and added ballscrews. I can now hold .00025 on the mill, repeatable.
Not sure why you continued with it. Would have insisted the company collect it for refund.
Mine is running now for two years without any issues
Mate, I feel so disappointed for you, I bought a new Harrison M250 long bed in 1980, it wasn't cheep at the time but I was so pleased with it at that time and am still very happy with how accurate it is. I bought a new Warco Super Major milling machine about 10 years ago, and was disappointed with it right from the start, so I know how you feel, oil dripping out terrible discrepancy's in the bearings etc.
Yes, it is so disapointing, and Warco to - seems like all these brands have problems.
The machine looks like it has already seen years of use, before it has even entered service. That is quite something
I just came across you'r Video. Yes, I can understand you'r frustrations, after I watched the Video. But what you maybe did not know, is, that they are build in China, and sold as a product which you can find under more different Brand names.
We often connect Austrian build machinery, with high quality, and do not expect that some of these Austrian brands, actually have machiney, build in China. Some producers in China, can do an excellent product, and others are like the one you just have purchased.
If I have been you, I have returned the machine, from the very first moment.
The paint flaking off the machine would have been grounds for immediately returning it to the seller and demanding a repair. In Germany there is a mandatory warranty by law, so that should apply if you bought the lathe in Germany. The duration depends on circumstances. Ideally you would complain within the first six months.
Thank you for sharing this. I won't be buying a Bernardo lathe.
"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."
Shocking quality. They sell to UK. When people see this, probably not for much longer.
I feel like this is a much used Lathe that someone cleaned and put some new paint on to sell it as new. Which had not time enough to dry properly before packed up and sealed in plastic wrap. (therefore the paint foldet).
Many poorly designed features, everyone knows to not paint over rust.I plan to buy a new lathe, now I know what not to buy. Thanks for the video, good luck. 😢😮😮😊😊.
Servus
Ich habe beim gleichen Händler meine drehmaschine gekauft ( lz 700 vario) und war bis auf eine delle am unterschrank ( die vor dem auspacken nicht sichtbar war) sehr zufrieden
Habe das ganze bei latu angegeben und habe sofort einen tausch oder eine gutschrift angeboten bekommen
I think the paint is coming off because the metal was to new when painted. I once talked to a guy who worked in a sheet metal roofing plant and he said that they bought metal sheets just to let it sit for a while to season.. if not the paint would flake off just like on your lathe...
Might be the reason, but I have really never seen anything like it.
@@TRABWorkshop-ri4ql My guess would be they did a bad job of surface prep on the metal. Probably oil still on the metal when they painted it.
Så streger vi lige Bernardo værktøj fra indkøbslisten.. tak for en fin video 👍
Selv tak, ja den kan jeg ikke anbefale :-)
Var den virkelig ny, da du købte den? Med alt det rust er det svært at forstå...
13:40 Well, I guess you could add a new inspection certificate now?
It seems the back plate was painted without any preparation work done (sanding/primer). So then the paint will easily peel off.
I agree
This is completely unacceptable and I will not buy anything from Bernado ever again, thank you for making this video. Filler on rough castings in uncritical areas is OK and common, even my 100 year old lathe had this, but properly done and it still sticks after all this time. Everything else you have shown is not acceptable, especially the reaction of the dealer and Bernado. I do have a Bernado bandsaw I bought at a local Austrian dealer some years ago, which I understood when buying was a chinese import, it works OK but can't be compared to a real machine tool. Quality obviously has gone down a lot since then.
36k people saw this video in one year, great marketing Bernardo, but hey, at least you saved a buck by not making this man whole.