Member postings for jaCK Hobson

I just bodged/fabricated a table for my Femi. Works well - self aligns (once set up).

£200 - get a decent QCTP and lots of holders. I'm not convinced how good the one recommended on Warco site is... maybe get some opinions. But maybe the 4 post will see you through for a while.

Stuff you need: boring tool, knurling tool, centre/spot drills

Stuff for speed: spare drill chucks? QCTP. DRO

Stuff for quality work: Collet chucks, measuring equipment (dial indicator, calipers)

I don't see reason in this post not to still consider Warco a dependable supplier of reasonably priced machinery.

I don't consider any available hobby machine 'quality' at this price..

They seem to have offered a full refund. And £200 seems good if it really is just cosmetic. There will always be mistakes and disagreements. We don't know the exact details. I don't think I'm put off buying from Warco just for this.

I bought a rear parting tool post for the myford this month - clamp bolt didn't fit cross slide and I don't think it was on Centre height; initially annoying but I had fun correcting the issues. Tilting table from Vevor didn't go to 45 degrees until I took an angle grinder to it. I consider this is par for the course for buying cheap.

I know the bad taste in the mouth when you think you are being done over on a big purchase. But if the issue really doesn't impact function, it might be best to just get over it asap and enjoy the tool. Maybe I could help John by telling him I think he negotiated a good deal!

Motor on its own - no problem. Driving clutch via another source - no problem.

Belt didn't seem to be rubbing but the motor drive and clutch pullies seemed to be 3mm out of alignment. I tapped to align and made sure set screws tight - much improved!

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 12/11/2022 18:29:29

Exactly!

The rust seems cosmetic only - very little practical impact on performance. I had something similar (cosmetic) on my mill which I soon forgot. It would have been a huge bother for me to return the mill. I'm happy with the £50 credit I was offered (without negotiation).

My experience is also that Warco should try and keep you happy... the lathe is just the start of the expenditure.

However I have huge sympathy for the few reputable importers that we have - with supply, prices, and exchange rates fluctuating so wildly it must be a worrying time at the moment for them to be confident they can stay in business. So personally I'm happy to compromise to help out the supplier for pure cosmetic issues (even if that implies I subsidising those who are not so happy to compromise).

Do Amadeal/Arc/Warco/chester hobby actually make much money over last couple of years? I suppose I could look that up at companies house. Or they could tell us while they are engaged! That might inform how much we should compromise. I was getting very frustrated at one point in lockdown where all machine tools were out of stock - it would be terrible if that was a more permanent problem!

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 12/11/2022 09:53:20

I am jealous of how quiet yours is with clutch disengaged. Mine makes an annoying din (even with tumbler disengaged ). Anyone know how to make sure a clutch is quiet?

Maybe it isn't the clutch.. from memory it seems periodic like the starter-winding centrifugal switch clicking. I would appreciate a list of things to check ... then maybe I'll get motivated to post a vid if still an issue.

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 12/11/2022 09:26:33

You can customise it with your own welcome message - how useful!

Heat-up time is really fast, and takes up so little space.

I been running mine infrequently for a couple of years or so - not a hard life. New tips easy to get on amazon next day.

Dunno about heavy/prolonged use.

+TS100!

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 09/11/2022 18:04:56

Another way: get a 20 cm bolt, chuck up 4cm thread, turn down end near chuck, part off. All sorts of things would work as it looks like accuracy isn't required. I might just spin it in a drill against a grinder to take the thread off.

I don't know the 'right way' to do it

I think Mushet was early in realising manganese was beneficial against the negative effects of sulphur and thus made it practical to get high quality iron from resources mainly in Forest of Dean (I think they had sulphur in coal as well?). I think he got his manganese from iron ore in Rhenish mountains... Germany. Practical quantities might not still have been available by WW2.

If the boss is reasonable, have a reasonable chat with him when he gets back. It is very, very possible that there might be something loose after blower repair - should be an easy fix and he shouldn't charge. It is possible it is coincidence and parts need replacing - in which case he should charge. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt one more time and trust him to continue to be reasonable. Otherwise, you don't have a handy garage. Take this opportunity to build a relationship rather than wreck one.

And, things on old cars can break just by looking at em. Every time I fix something on my van, something else breaks. If something is 99% of the way to failure, then the mechanic tips it over that 1%, it doesn't seem fair to hold him totally responsible. 

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 15/09/2022 16:42:55

I have often used stuff to inspect blade edges. You don't need to spend much to see a lot.

search amazon for 'pocket microscope'. Less than £20. Something like https://www.inglesport.com/product/carson-microbrite-plus-60x-120x-pocket-microscope/. (more handy as you don't need a computer, and I don't have a computer where I tend to do my sharpening)

Macro on a good mobile phone and zoom in.

10x loupe.

Cheapest USB microscope. I think you will be limited by contrast/colour depth rather than magnification with the cheap ones.

The magnification they quote must depend on the screen size viewing Or area as suggested above.

The actual optics are nothing like x1600 in proper microscope terms. You probably need to replace the air between the lens and subject with oil at that power...

Conclusion : Anything will help with your sharpening. You certainly don't need to spend much.

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 14/09/2022 09:43:34

It is probably impossible to be sure one way or another.

Intermittent ABS light could be indication of some loose connection or other failure which just happens to get worse after MoT.

OR maybe they had a look, didn't find anything, but failed to connect the speedo wires back up solidly.

OR, in fixing the blower, they had to disconnect the speedo (not uncommon), and didn't plug it back in correctly.

I'd be slightly dissapointed with this : "'had a word' with the chap who had done the MOT and he said that the speedo/computer failure was because of the ABS fault".

Was MoT guy the same who originally noticed the fault (and implied it needed looking into)? If not, did they look into the fault? Check your bill... does it include any fee for investigation? Did they fiddle with speedo during the blower fix?

Ideally I'd want a garage that showed a little more concern.

Also, take it easy. Cut a shallow channel along the length and then slowly make it deeper. i.e. do not plunge the disk through the material to cut full depth for the whole length - Cutting full depth is quicker but it eats disks.

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 02/09/2022 10:45:53

if silversteel, then just a high temper should make it soft enough to drill. In a dark room, heat until it just starts to glow... or stop just before at 'black heat'.

This won't work with all 'tool steel' particularly deep hardening steels, stainless steels, air hardening, HSS etc.

I think this ability to easily get the steel back to a workable condition is a major reason for choosing water hardening steels for small tools i.e. easy to re-work if you get it wrong first time or need to adjust.

Edited By jaCK Hobson on 02/09/2022 10:22:10

As I get older and eyesight gets poorer, I can't have too much light. 15'x15' garage: 5 fluorescent, 5 led equivalent, 2 600x600 led, and a few task lights. And the whole workshop painted white. I don't have to have them all on at once, but it certainly cheers me up on a dull day. I don't have any natural lighting though. I much prefer the LEDs to the fluorescent and they don't shatter when you tap them with a plank (low ceilings).

To know how to work it, you need to get a better idea of what the makeup of the 'tool steel' is.

Some ways of getting more info include hardness testing, observing the sparks that an angle grinder makes, etching it and looking at it under a microscope, a XRF analyser...

Maybe chop a bit off and see how it behaves to heat treatment.

I'd start with spark testing and basic hardness testing.

Best advice was probably 'try it and see'.

I have learnt to avoid investing large number of hours into mystery steels.

The die is not split. Comes from the std machinemart metric tap/die set.

I can't work out what happened. Maybe the thread blank was oversize slightly when I cut it - I remember it being a little tricky to start. I filed off about .5 mill of the thread diameter and ran the die up and down with positive/negative pressure etc to try and get a bit more metal off... but the threaded hole just won't have it.

I made something, mostly on the mill, using lots of different cutters, saw, power tapping, workholding, positioning etc!

I just made it up as I went along, so design flaws, but lots of fun! I haven't quite worked out how to use the thing best in all situations but I can at least use it. Not got to 5000 rpm yet.

I failed to make a brass thread to fit despite using matched M6 tap/die! Std m6 bolt goes in brass hole, std m6 nut goes on thread, but brass thread don't go in brass hole