johnsmachines

My first hitch occurred today.

I was very excited to receive the nut for the cross slide ball screw.  If you have been following these posts you might recall that the ground ball screw for the cross slide came from Taiwan, and arrived in 3 days.  But I had to order the nut from a seller in USA.  The nut was advertised as new old stock, but with no packaging.  That was OK, but the postage cost for such a tiny item was ferocious.

It was the last item to arrive from overseas.   However when I looked at it, it was obviously NOT new.

The cap screws holding the ball recirculating tube were different from each other, and the washers underneath were too big for the screws.  Obviously not the way that TNK made it.  Somebody has had the nut apart.  And the ball retaining tube was very scratched  and loose.  Again, not TNK standard.

But no biggie.  If it works — fine.

So I turned up a retaining tube to remove the previous nut from the ballscrew, and it came off without any drama.

But when I tried to fit the “new” nut, it just would not go on.  Tried reversing the direction.  No go.  Bugger bugger.

Somebody has altered or changed the “new” nut.  Maybe installed balls which are too big, or maybe damaged the entry thread.  I do not know.

What to do.  I have been waiting 2 weeks for this to arrive.

First, Ebay email to the seller.  See what the response is.  Ask for a refund.  The postage was almost as expensive as the nut. If unsatisfactory response, they will get the worst Ebay feedback ever.

There is one other seller of these nuts on Ebay, also in USA, and 50% more expensive, and the postage is also 50% more expensive. (how DOES ebay come up with the postage charges.  It seems more related to the cost of the item rather than the weight-size etc.)  But the nuts are in original packaging.  And I want to get going with this, so fuck it.  Pay up and get it.

I will report in a later post.  (if the bad language in this post seems to reflect my state of mind, well, yes it does.)

PS.  Next day.  After sending photos of the issue, the seller accepted responsibility, and I am getting a full refund.  That restores my faith in Ebay/Paypal.   I hope that the next one is in better condition, and comes a bit more quickly.  Sorry for the bad language.