Member postings for TiddlerTad

Edited By TiddlerTad on 18/06/2022 09:38:47

Many thanks for the info. Very much appreciated.

Hi petro1head - just wondering how you are getting on with your WM18. Are you still happy with it? Also, was it easy to take apart? You mention that the gas ram was the hardest to put back - could you elaborate?

Reason for the questions is that I've just had to return a Sieg SX3.5DZP, and it looks like the WM18 might fit the bill - once Warco get some more in stock.

Cheers. Andrew

Yeah Steve - it certainly ticked all the boxes for me. Really gutted that it has to go back, but I can't contemplate stripping the head down and trying to do a proper paint job on it. If it had been just one area of the head I would have lived with it, but it's clear that the whole head is affected.

I've purchased loads of stuff from Arc and this is the only major problem I've encountered. Arc do provide excellent customer service and I feel very sorry that they have been let down by the Sieg factory. If it had been a component failure I'm sure we could have worked out a solution and it would have been rectifyable. Unfortunately Arc have been placed between a rock and a hard place. I hope that they can recoup the cost from Seig.

I now need to look for an alternative for my Farm Boy build but I'm really struggling to find something that fits the bill... decent size and capacity but not too large and heavy (less than 200Kg), R8, DRO, power feed on x-axis.

All the best. Andrew

Thanks again for the comments.

Machine all crated up and being collected tomorrow.

Cheers

Andrew

Paint is peeling off every day I use the mill and I've decided I'm not prepared to spend time and money trying to fix something that should have been right in the first place.

I'm going to bite the bullet and get my neighbour round to help me get it back into the pallet. I'm contacting Arc to arrange collection and a refund.

Thanks for all the comments.

Thanks for the suggestions.

From what JasonB suggests it looks like this is turning out to be an absolute nightmare. A brand new machine and I'm now going to have to take all the stickers off, take it apart, strip the paint off and respray it all. I didn't appreciate that I would have to go to all that trouble through no fault of my own.

Extremely unhappy!

Hi

I was really excited to get my new mill the other week but was very disappointed to find paint flaking off the head. In fact when my neighbour helped me move it into my workshop he asked me if it was secondhand!

I have been in contact with Arc on several occasions and they got some paint manufactured so I could touch it up. Unfortunately having received the paint, it doesn't match the original colour despite it being made to the same colour code. Having found more paint coming off the other side of the head I contacted Arc again. I appreciate that this is a difficult issue to resolve and all they could do was to offer me to return it to them at their expense. These machines are heavy and it had been a real effort getting it into my workshop, and I couldn't face going through all that pain again. As such I had no option but to decline their offer.

I've purchased loads of stuff from Arc in the past and have always been very happy with the quality of their products. In fact lots of people contact me regarding equipment shown on my YouTube channel and I have always recommended their products.

So, the purpose of this post is to advise others who purchase this mill to check the paint finish out before moving it off the pallet and into your workshop. That way it will be easier for you to get Arc to take it away and avoid disappointment.

It's a real shame that I've had a bad experience with the most expensive bit of kit that I have ever purchased for my workshop. I will now have to find a paint supplier who can make some paint to match the original. ☹️

Hi - I made a 10V last year and produced a series of YouTube videos. Some of my machining methods might not be the best, but it runs as sweet as a nut. I also added a reversing mechanism which definitely makes the engine more interesting.

The link to my video series is here

They might be of interest. Good luck with the build.

Cheers. Andrew

Hi Jonathan - This really is an excellent Forum with loads of experienced machinists and hobbyists contributing.

I've sought advice on a few things and I am always amazed by the number of people willing to help.

BTW I live near Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.

Ha ha - nice one Nick.

Thanks for the suggestion Howard. I did check out Tracey Tools and their prices were similar to Chronos. Having had good experiences with Chronos it was hard to change, but I must give Tracey a try sometime.

Eh up Bandersnarch, I'm really glad you think I made the right choice. At least it should simplify the build and I do like to machine stuff to spec.

Cheers!

Many thanks for all the advice and suggestions. Lots of useful information and links.

After considering all the options I've decided to stick to the drawings and go with unc. I think it should make my life easier. In the past I've purchased hss taps and dies from Chronos and they seem reasonable quality at a decent price. So, I've just purchased a variety of unc from there. I also think AccuScrew (thanks John) and modelfixings will be able to provide all the fixings I need.

Thanks again and stay safe all. 👍

Andrew

Hi - I'm after some advice regarding UNC threads....

A couple of years ago I ventured into model engineering and ended up acquiring a decent selection of metric taps and dies. I subseqently went on to machine Stuart S50, 10V and half beam engines which resulted in me acquiring a decent collection of BA taps and dies.

I have recently decided to make a Jerry Howell Farm Boy hit and miss engine and see that the majority of threads are UNC. Rather than buy a whole load of UNC taps and dies, my initial thoughts were covert to BA. I then came across a old thread (Nov 2011) on the ME forum which discussed this type of dilemma and I see JasonB made a very useful chart showing UNC with BA and metric equivalents. So, I was convinced that converting to metric would be a good move as I would only need to purchase taps for M2.5 and M3.5 (I already have M3, M4, M5, M6). However I have just noticed that the availability of M3.5 screws (in particular countersunk) appears to be non-existent. I'm also a little concerned that the look of metric on an old engine might not be great either.

So, I'm back to thinking that I should just bite the bullet and purchase a load of UNC taps and dies. Maybe one option would be to purchase second-hand UNC in order to keep the cost down?

I guess this must be quite a common issue and I would really appreciate any views/advice on this.

Cheers

Andrew

Hi Henry

I contacted them a while back and was informed that they would get some in by the first two weeks in Jan. I kept on checking stock but no luck. I therefore decided (in Feb) to have a go at making one from bar stock, and purchased plans for the Jerry Howell Farm Boy. Not started on the Farm Boy yet (other priorities) but in hindsight I think I would have hit the buffers trying to mill the Redwing on my small SX2P. I really fancy a bigger mill, but no spare funds at the moment.

I've just checked the Forest Classics website and it looks like they now have a Redwing w/c in stock. If you plan on travelling down it might be worth your while giving them a call and making sure they still have one. I hope you manage to get one and it would be great to hear about how you get on.

All the best - and good luck!

Andrew

Thanks Jason - I think I will give that a miss at the moment (pardon the pun).

Cheers

Andrew

Hi John - many thanks for the info. I've downloaded issues 4 and 10 and will have a read. I will most likely purchase the other issues you mention.

Much appreciated.

Andrew

No worries Henry. Have fun with that new lathe!

Cheers

Andrew

Eh up Henry - it looks like we might be fighting for the Forest Classic Red Wing when it arrives! Ha Ha.

Hi John V again. I'm always up for a challenge. I've ordered the digital versions and looking forward to getting the download link. I really appreciate the offer to answer any questions. Though I hope I will be able to work it out without having to bother you. I just hope that Forest Classics have ordered more than one set of Red Wing castings from the USA, otherwise I'll be fighting Henry for them!

My original post seems to have created a spark! Ha ha.

All good fun. Take care.

Andrew

Thanks Jason - I've ordered issues 4 & 10. I'm just waiting for the download link to arrive via email. The magazine does look extremely interesting so I will have to explore other issues too.

Cheers

Andrew