Big Problem

[MCGEE2SKINNER]

Hi Guys
Received my new qc yesterday oboy. Started to change it got the old hair dryer out. Did other things while it heated up. Could not break it loose. Did other things while it heated up some more. Hot to the touch. Tried again snaped socket squired wrench from cw. Got the broken piece out from bottom of qc. What next? I had a squired off allen wrench I think I got from cw a long time ago. Idea try it from top. Guess what I broke that one off also broken piece still in. I'm in trouble now. Any ideas?

JIM McGee

[DocWheeler]

MCGEE2SKINNER,

A hair-dryer is usually inadequate for this job. Either use a heat-gun or heat a short length of 1/2" rod that is in a bit adapter that is mounted in the QC with a propane torch. Either way - USE CAUTION!

As for the broken piece in the top, maybe gravity will work if you turn it over or you could use a small magnet.

[oclatta]

rjustice sells heat treated tools for removing the QC. You can find him and his e-mail address in the members list. It does take more heat than a hair dryer.

[MCGEE2SKINNER]

Hi Guys
I don't know how hot you have to get it but it was hot enough to burn my fingers.

JIM

[MCGEE2SKINNER]

Hi Guys
Got er done went to harbor freight a bought a pencil torch. 5 minutes I had it off. I have always used the hair dryer to take them off. this one was tight this is the first time for this machine. Thanks for your input.

Jim McGee

[Jim N.]

I was just on Harbor Freight web site and see that they now sell CW, probe & bit set- How 'bout that:p
Jim N.

[rhausman]

Jim ... where, specifically, did you direct the heat from your pencil torch and for how long? I finally gave up on trying to change one QC ... got the techies to send me a whole new set up as it was still under warrenty ... still have the zdrive that was replaced and would like to see if I can get QC off (practicing for future) ... r

[MCGEE2SKINNER]

Rhausman
I Directed The Point On The Nut On The Top Of The Qc. Only A Couple Minutes. Still Was Hard To Break Loose. I Changed A Lot Of Them And This Was The Worst. It Came From The Factory That Way. I Have 2 Machines This One Was My 4th.

Jim Mcgee

[PCW]

Jim ... where, specifically, did you direct the heat from your pencil torch and for how long? I finally gave up on trying to change one QC ... got the techies to send me a whole new set up as it was still under warrenty ... still have the zdrive that was replaced and would like to see if I can get QC off (practicing for future) ... r

Pratyeka had a good post see below
http://forum.carvewright.com/showthread.php?t=10222&highlight=removing+qc

Tha method I used to remove my QC was this: I got a 1/2" adaptor and installed a 1/2" piece of steel rod 3" long in it. Put this and the adaptor in the QC the normal way. Then use a propane torch to apply heat to the steel rod while slowly turning the QC from above with a square bit. The heat will propagate along the steel rod through the adaptor to the QC. Once hot enough remove the flame and try unscrewing the QC. Mine came off after 2 minutes of heat.

[oswhnr]

I am a new user and am finding the forum very useful! Since I am a proby here, what is a QC?
Thanks

[AskBud]

QC is shorthand for the Quick Change Chuck.
AskBud

[dvel56]

Why is everyone always changing out the QC. If people are changing them out the are built to take the demand of carving. I did not buy the machine to spend 50$ every other carve. I clean my machines as instructed and the QC still goes bad ,this is my 3rd machine. First machine carved 12 hrs and needed a new QC that one lasted 1 carve with the new QC and New adapters the 2nd lasted to 74% of the wilderness carve and the bb markes where in the adapter so I sent that one back.

[PCW]

Why is everyone always changing out the QC. If people are changing them out the are built to take the demand of carving. I did not buy the machine to spend 50$ every other carve. I clean my machines as instructed and the QC still goes bad ,this is my 3rd machine. First machine carved 12 hrs and needed a new QC that one lasted 1 carve with the new QC and New adapters the 2nd lasted to 74% of the wilderness carve and the bb markes where in the adapter so I sent that one back.

Most likely I am not going to gain any points at LHR Technologies (and not looking for any) but I would have to say that it is a weak link in the machine.

I do not know why LHR Technologies does not want to guarantee the QC as long as the machine is in warranty. Makes a person wonder.

[Jeff_Birt]

The QC is a consumable part, just like the feedbelts, bits, your wood, paint, glue etc. There is no great conspiracy going on.:rolleyes:

The key to a happy QC is proper use and cleaning. If you don't wipe any sawdust buildup out of the QC between bit changes the bit adapter will not properly seat and you are on your way to trouble. I have a collet chuck on my big Bridgeport Series II knee mill at work. If I don't keep the bits, collets and chuck clean I would see the same problem there too.

I have talked at length about this with the the engineers at CarveWright trying to find out any other tips or tricks for everyone and have learned that they eliminated problems with premature chuck failure in their shop by instituting the same procedures they wrote up in the QC bible: http://carvewright.com/downloads/Care_and_maintenance_of_the_QC.pdf .

If you want even more proof on this concept please reference this page on the PreciseBits site: http://precisebits.com/tutorials/coletcareprocedure.htm .

So does all this mean I think the QC is the 'perfect' design. Nope, there is no such thing. I do know it works great for me and it works better than a similar chuck I paid $300 for for a bench top milling machine.

[PCW]

I think that there must be some bad batches of the QC out there due to lack of Quality Control. The reason I say this is there are some people don't seem to have to any problems with them and others have failed on day one.

The chuck in my opinion should be able to last a least 200 hours without failing. If the chuck does not last 200 hrs it should not be put it on a $1800.00 machine. I can understand a bit breaking or other consumables parts wearing out and that is understandable and acceptable. You do not see any router manufactures not covering their chucks that are mounted on thier routers for the full duration of the warranty.

In my case my machine was so out far out of balance the spindle bearings failed after only 21 hours. LHR was good about replacing the z-trunk with a refurbished z-truck but it came with used bearings with the screw holes caked with saw dust. I felt both bearings and they both had excessive side play. So now I am waiting for the replacement bearings to arrive in order to make the repair to the replacement parts so I can make the original repair.

In this time of economic downturn there is no reason for a company not to have the best & brightest minds available working in there plants from the top down to the person who sweeps the floor. I am asking someone (anybody) at LHR to do me a favor because I am unable do so due to location. Find the person who shipped me this z-trunk with 2 used bad bearing and go up to them and ask them WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU THINKING. All in humor with a serious message in mind.

[Digitalwoodshop]

You can destroy a new QC or in his case a new Machine with a New QC in just one project. How? Just use a bad Bit Holder with BB Marks in it. When ever you change a QC you must get rid of any worn bit holders if you don't you will just waste your money.

Put a new bit holder in a bad QC and you will get BB Marks on the new bit holder...

You must break the cycle and replace the QC and bad holders together. THEN you will get high hours on your CLEAN QC.

And Yes I wish I had a 2 Wrench Router Bit Holder like a Router too...

AL

[robbrigg2]

Hi all, well after visions of projects swirling in my head, and some pretty nice starting projects bam my machine goes down. Now this might or might not seem bad to some, but for me it is terrible. THis is only the 4th week having this thing, and it is the second machine in that time. The first one had a screw break off on the z-truck and now this one has "clean y-rails" and a burnt out flex-shaft after 2 days. I patiently endured fighting with the second machine after getting it out of the box and trying to get the front roller to uncompress. But this is too much. What is the problem? Is it me or the machine? I think this is a great tool but it seems it has some problems with the engineering. I want to like it, I could even grow to love it... but right now I hate it with a passion. Should I try for a third machine?

I've been going through these threads and it sure seems like a lot of people are having the same issues. Even the senior members admit to owning multiple replacement parts. Is that what I should have done? ordered 2 or 3 of each of the components so that I could keep it running for more than 3-4 days at a time? And if these are the problems faced after a month what will it be in a year? Is it going to be worth the frustration or should I follow the old adage "You get wnat you pay for" and buy up?

[Digitalwoodshop]

I own extra parts because I use the machine hard for a business and parts do wear out just like a car.

You posted in the Educator Section. This post would have been better posted in the regular troubleshooting section.

This machine requires care cleaning and maintenance. A stuck roller switch is usually dust related. Do you have a down draft setup?

Burned Up Flex is due to a kinked spring as in my case or lack of proper lubrication. Over lubrication can cause failure of the spindle bearings too. So reading the Tips and Tricks and LHR tips helps.

Sorry about the broken screw on the truck, that would have been a trip to LHR for a fix. That would have been the best bet as they would have made sure it had all the latest parts.

Trading it in might not have been the best move. If it is in Warranty send it to LHR. Get all the fixes.

Remember it is a hobby machine.

AL

[robbrigg2]

Thanks Al,

I cooled off and took another look at the machine and found two things. 1) the QC has some play in it so when every now and then the bit took a little extra chunk that gave me the Y Rail error (I think I have it figured out now but I need to watch it). It is running at the moment.

When I called LHR they wanted me to do the repair. I live 15 minutes top from their location, but I was going to have to do the repair with a core charge no less. I was willing to do this, but after 24 hours and some change of not hearing from them that I could come pick up the part I called in and was told about the "approval process" seems they need to pick a different word than "approval" as I bought their machine and I was paying the core so I should not need an "approval". THen it came out that the part was on back order and no one seemed to know when it would come in. I had orders that needed to be filled so I opted for the return with Amazon.

The front roller was stuck straight out of the box as many others have complained about here. I had to remove the roller and reinstalled etc. etc. before it finally worked but I did that with no real heartburn. I could see troubles like this after a couple of months but in reality I spent more time this month waiting for the machines to come then I did carving. Got some great designs finished but gotta be able to put them on wood.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.

[davidbf]

HI dvel56,
My machine has 102 hours on it and has the original QC. My problem is BITS I put a new 1/8 cutting bit in yesterday and made a cut 11/2 in. long in .75 hard maple before the bit broke. The sad thing about it is that bit was a replacement for another 1/8 cutting bit that broke along with a 1/16th that broke.

i am so tired of getting errors on my machine much more and i'll switch to lazer.
Tonite i put a 17 inch long board in and the machine told me it was 16.273 . it told me this three different times now i'm trying to figure out why this is hapening. I just put new traction belts on it, and it seams like everytime i call or e-mail LHR with a question they
sound like i have just ruined there day with my ?