New ShopBot Desktop (w/indexer) - not very happy with it...

[Guerra Cues]

Hello folks,

I will try to get some pictures tomorrow to illustrate my disappointment...

Got my Shopbot Desktop, very well crated no doubt
- Got it up and running and installed the indexer (prototype) and did not align center to center - understandable since it was a prototype. The good - the chuck (good quality) and the tailstock (nice live center)... And man, it will be almost impossible to measure the backlash because it looks very, very solid...
So, Shopbot sent me the replacement for the indexer.
The good - Looks like it finally aligns center to center, looks like, I haven't tested yet but looks promising...
The bad - the cheapest small chuck I have ever seen (smaller than the prototype), I have a Craftsman wood lathe that has a better chuck than that, made in China too :rolleyes:
The tailstock has a ton of play and no way to adjust the depth or tighten the stock between centers. The live center it is the cheapest piece of you know what I have ever seen. The pointed angle of the live center only has like 0.125" depth and super skinny, therefore won't work for me at all since my center drill is slightly bigger and wider.
Even if I never had seen the prototype these accessories on the indexer are not acceptable at all
And something else, they sent me the chuck with the jaws reversed, no big deal if the jaws would align right the other way around, had no problems with the prototype at all because it was a quality chuck and yes I had the jaws in the correct order.
I am going to put a call to Shopbot tomorrow and if the issues are not resolved properly the whole thing is going back and I am not paying for shipping either.
The indexer mechanics seem to be very strong but man the hardware is really bad.

Sorry guys for venting but after so much research and pulling the trigger on the Shopbot and spending about 7K on what some of you guys might consider a toy, I was looking for precision work and the nice indexer and Shopbot tolerances weighted on my decision.
Now I get this really cheesy indexer that was supposed to be an upgrade or a nice updated version of the prototype and it was exactly the opposite.
Another thing...
Everything on the Shopbot was anodized except the gantry part of the Shopbot where the logo is and it was just a sticker with the logo on top of a cutout piece of aluminum that still shows the grade of metal used...

To me it is extremely disappointing specially when there are so many other options out there.

I heard that the support for Shopbot is good but it took almost 3 weeks to get a call back on the weekend. Brian was awesome I have to say. I can only be around my machine on weekends since I have a full time job.
I also have to say that every time I call Shopbot the support folks are always super responsive as well.

[myxpykalix]

if you're not happy send it back. For the money you spend you should be satisfied with your product. I can't imagine they won't make it right. They have taken thngs back from me, paid shipping, sent refunds and fixed things without squaking about anything. I totally understand your frustration (in general, not with SB) so make sure you call them and see if you can't get it worked out.

You might look at used models in the for sale section that would give you a bigger machine for the same money. Don't get flustered it will work out for you in the end:D

[michael_schwartz]

Give Shopbot a reasonable chance to deal with this. None of us on the forum are in a position to resolve complaints or to provide customer service, or support. Most users will go out of their way to help out but in your situation your best bet is to work directly with ShopBot. Keep in mind they may be a bit slow over the thanksgiving holiday. They monitor this board from time to time but this isn't the fastest or most efficient way to get in touch with them.

I can say that it is quite rare that people are dissatisfied and I am sure they will do everything they can. I don't mean any offense with what I have to say, and I hope you get everything worked out.

[Guerra Cues]

Well, after a talk to Ryan we were able to identify the issues and we are going to tackled them.
I always give people the benefit of the doubt and I am sure Shopbot will do everything on their reach to make it right.
I will post the the outcomes.