Member postings for John Slaven

Hi Keith,

You can see the small angle bracket better in these photos. I know it doesn't look very substantial but I've had no problems with the scale sensor in the last 3 years. The scale itself was attached to the cross slide by drilling and tapping (carefully) There are a few Youtube videos showing scale installations on various lathes that may be of help to you. Cheers the noo.

Hi Keith,

I didn't use the brackets that came with the scales but had to machine one to get the scale to fit at the front of the carriage. I'll take the guard off this afternoon and see if I can get a better photo of the bracket. Cheers the noo.

Hi Keith,

Here are a couple of photos of my set up. You can see what I mean about the chuck jaws!! a wee scuff on the swarf guard. Anything else I can help you with just let me know. Cheers the noo.

Hi Keith,

I fitted my scales to the right hand side of the carriage on my WM250VF but found it really restricted the tail stock for drilling. Changed it to the front of the carriage and seems to work well. Just need to watch if the chuck jaws are quite wide they can catch on the scale cover. Let me know if you need a photo of the installation. Cheers the noo.

Hi Roy,

Welcome to the forum. I live in Longside near Peterhead. Don't know of any model engineering clubs up here in the N.E. Drive a Yamaha SR500 and restoring a Harris F1 framed ex TT track bike which is road legal (sort of). 75% through building a Stuart 10v which has been a great learning experience. Overhauling 2 Lister D's at the moment as well. Fully retired 2 years ago (every day is a Saturday!) after working on Forties Delta for 35 years as a Tiffy, so may have met you at some point if you were in the Forties. Sounds like you were wire line or drilling. The down hole gear used fascinated me. Remember calibrating a down hole pressure recorder that used to scratch the pressure trend reading with a needle on a black painted brass strip inside the down hole tool in the 1980's. You'll find this forum full of information and chat.

Cheers the noo

John

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies. George, you were right. The 4 allen bolts at the back of the saddle were loose. Gave them a snug up and the saddle feels a lot better. I can now part with confidence!

Cheers the noo

John.

Hi George and Howard,

Thanks for the reply. I'll have a look this afternoon. The saddle is pretty loose and parting off is near impossible.

Cheers the noo

John.

Hi All,

My WM250 seems to have a very loose saddle. I can see no obvious gib adjustments. Is there some other adjustment for the saddle that I have missed? Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers the noo

John.

Hi Richard,

See my mods at this link here. https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=135939

Cheers

John.

Hi Ross,

My WM250VF was exactly the same until I tried the old paper trick between the teeth. It takes a wee bit of time but well worth the quieter running. The noise from the gears is probably just below the motor fan noise now.

Cheers the noo

John.

Hi Hopper,

No speed control on the motor at the moment so I still use the quill for fine adjustment.

Cheers

John.

Hi All,

Just thought I'd share a few mods I've done to my Warco WM14 mill. Cooling fan fitted to the top of the motor housing. This makes a huge difference to the motor temperature. Was getting tired of having to reach up to adjust the Z axis so I fitted a wiper motor in place of the hand wheel, limit switch and up / down switch. Switch is fitted just under the stand tray which makes it much easier to position the Z axis by sight. I have DRO scales fitted to my WM250VF lathe and WM14 mill with one DRO and found it a real hassle have to change around the 9 pin RS323 connectors when I wanted to change machine. 2 cheap RS232 data switches from e-bay solved the problem. Switch the DRO on and select the mill or lathe function then select the mill or lathe on the data switch. The WM14 stand is a bit flimsy to say the least. I welded up a brace that is fitted between the rear of the Z axis bed way and the stone wall in the workshop. There is no movement whatsoever in the mill now. Probably the best mod for the mill. I've still to give everything a coat of Warco green to make it look a bit better. Life in the workshop is a wee bit easier now.

Cheers the noo

John.

Hi All,

Thanks for all the info and photos. There was no "S" on the valve chest cover which threw me a bit. Looks like a nice wee restoration project as there is a fair bit of slop in the con rod and the eccentric sheave. My friend thinks it has not been run since the 60's or 70's but it does turn over just fine.

Cheer the noo

John.

Hi All,

I was given this model by a friend the other day. It was built by his father, he thinks around 1930. I have added one photo with my own partially completed 10V alongside for comparison. Any help identifying the model would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers the noo

John.

Hi Dave, I did fit a Warco DRO scale to the saddle on my WM250VF but have since removed it and am planning to fit it to the front of the saddle. It does restrict the use of the saddle lock allen bolt depending on where the cross slide is. The scale fitting also restricts the full use of the tail stock which was the main reason for removing the DRO scale from the saddle. Other than that I found the DRO very accurate on WM250. Hope this helps.

Cheers the noo

John.

Hi Steve,

Definitely a pointer puller for pressure gauges or clock hands. Used one almost every day to pull pressure gauge pointers off for calibration. Check out the link here.**LINK**

Cheers the Noo

John

Hi Mike, Have you checked the chuck guard interlock switch? There is also another interlock switch on the belt/ gears cover which can prevent the lathe starting. Hopefully it's something simple like that.

Cheers the Noo

John.

Hi Robin, Retired 6 months ago at 55 and every day is a holiday. Problem is...will I do some milling, lathe work, wood turning, fix that old motor bike, gardening or DIY. Machining usually wins!! Just enjoy yourself.

Cheers the Noo

John.

Hi All,

Face plate true'd up and now spot on. Thanks for your help.

Cheers the noo

John

Hi Rik, Jason and Nick,

Thanks for the reply. I'll get it trued up with a wee skim. I've center punched the mounting flange next to the "0" mark on the headstock so I can re-align the face plate. Many thanks for your help.

Cheers the Noo

John.