Member postings for Martin Hamilton 1

In the case of Wabeco they clearly state production in Germany on state - of - the - art - machine tools. There logo also states Made in Germany.

I thought spending more money on a European made lathe was the way to go, this turned out to be a big mistake in my case when a bought a new Wabeco D4000 lathe. I got rid of this lathe @ a great lose just to get some money back, i had it less than 1 year a didn't do that much work on it so was like new when i sold it. This lathe was documented on this forum along with a few others that also had serious issues with the Wabeco D4000. The reason i stayed with a European machine over say a Warco was that i had had an Emco V10P for 20 years 1994 - 2016, this was a 1977 produced Emco V10P to which had served me well up until there was a failure in the headstock gears creating a mess inside the head stock. With limited parts available for the V10P & astronomic prices for the few parts that were still manufactured all be it by another company & not the original Emco factory made it not viable on this 40 year old Emco.

There are only 2 lathes in Toolco machines that have brushless motors up to now, one is the 1014 the other is the 1130. All of there milling machines with the exception of there turret have brushless motors.

Their are a number of tool suppliers in the UK for indexable tools & tips RDG Tools for one, take a look at Banggood as they have some excellent indexable tools & tips at very good prices indeed.

On Proxxons spare parts list for the PD400 they list the 2 headstock bearings with the same part number, they are probably both 30207 bearings. How do you find the PD400 in general having used your one for several years. I have thought about possibly getting a PD400 for some time now but was a bit wary of the being so light in weight. I don't do particular heavy work more just fairly lighter turning. Glad you getting your problems resolved with the unwanted taper.

Martin H

Edited By Martin Hamilton 1 on 20/05/2018 14:16:22

A lot of the Chinese machines that's been talked about over the years on various forums etc having inaccuracy problems were more than just some thing shifting out of adjustment whilst the machines were in transit. Some have had to dismantle their machines & things like the headstock or tailstock have had to be shimmed or even re machined to get them accurate. especially if the headstock or tailstock is out of line in the up & down plain, as their is no adjustment for this as things where not machined true in the first place. Also when you see the cross slide not machined @ 90 degrees to the carriage or headstock, when you see machining errors like this the machine could never of been accurate even when tested in the factory & a certificate was stamped & issued with the machine. I think some of these things are more than just going out of kilter due to transporting problems.

I was told by a well known UK Chinese machine supplier that the accuracy certificate is done at the factory in China, the certificate is only relevant on the day the test was carried out. Beyond that day they are not responsible for any inaccuracy as its beyond their control what happens to the machine during transport. Sounds like a good get out clause to me making any certificate not worth the paper it's printed on. Especially when you here of some machines that have to be rebuilt to get things in line, this does not correspond to the accuracy certificate issued to these particular machines. These UK suppliers can't possibly check any machines for accuracy other than lifting the lid on the case & plugging the machine in to make sure it runs, they still have the grease covering the machines & their is no sign off anyone touching or moving anything on the machine.

The Warco WM250v uses a Delta Inverter drive with AC induction motor, I understand most other lathes use DC brushed motors.

Amadeal still do their CJ23b 930 variable speed lathe, this is the same as the 920 lathes but with a 30" between centres + a 1200w variable speed motor. Also I always wondered where Warco got so many used warco machines from, many practically new. Could they be returned machines ?.

It does make you wonder when some of these UK suppliers say inspected by our own expert staff prior to delivery, as I have thought they simply plug the machine in & make sure it spins.

You have to question the accuracy certificate you get with all these Chinese machines, as so many have found out that some machines need practically rebuilding & resetting up to get them accurate. When I asked the supplier ( I think this was Warco ) about these so called accuracy certificates they said the certificate was only valid on the day the machine was inspected back at the factory in China. Some of these machines can be quite old by the time you purchase from the UK suppliers.

A number of years ago I broke the blade on my metal cutting bandsaw, I need to finish a job quick so silver soldered it. I simply butted the break together with a aluminium backing strip ( ally to stop the solder from sticking ). Might of ground a v on the break & then silver soldered, still using the blade today.

Many thanks indeed for that Mick.

I am thinking of getting a Warco WM250v lathe, could someone possibly measure the height from the feet of the lathe bed up to the headstock spindle centre. Reason I need to know is I am possibly mounting the lathe onto my existing bench & need to know if I need to alter my bench height. Many thanks Martin.

The manufacturer should have read Real Bull.

Just remembered their is also the Amadeal CJ 23B - 9x20 & CJ 23B x 750mm between centres, these 2 lathes come with 1200w motors + variable speed 100rpm - 1800rpm. Still sold today by Amadeal in London, these versions are made by Red Bull, don't know if this is the same maker that also makes the Chester 920.

Their was also the Excel Pinnacle 918 lathe.

I have had an RD350 mill for around 25 years & have been very happy with it. I bought it second hand. Mine has an R8 spindle & came with a nice GEC 1hp ac motor.

I also found quite severe flexing when drilling with the tailstock, I had to go up in drill sizes in very small increments & I mean small. If I went from say a 6mm up to an 8mm drill the tailstock/drill would noticeably flex whilst the drill would start screeching & flexing as soon as the drill started to cut. Just like you would get from a blunt or chipped drill, these were not blunt drills as I have been a metal worker sharpening drills for more than 50 years. Just out of interest I also tried this with some brand new Dormer drills with the same effect, also out of interest I had a piece of bar between centres with a clock gauge on the bar at the tailstock end of the bar & literally with 1 finger very lightly ( & I mean lightly) putting pressure on the side of the tailstock. The gauge would move 4 to 5 thou, I also found that if I had a piece of stock in the chuck with a centre in it & then undone the tailstock & slid the tailstock away & then slid it back again with the centre back in the stock. The tailstock had gone back not on centre, on inspection of the V cut in the base of the tailstock it appeared to have a bow in the V allowing the tailstock to rock before the clamp was done up.

Neil that is what I thought, that is why I bought one, to say this was the biggest disappointment of my life is an understatement. I will now probably now go with something like the Warco 180 or the Toolco 1014 with the brushless motor.