Member postings for mechman48

I have had the WM250V-F for a short while,this has the power X feed which is one factor that influenced my choice , others were parking space & budget, I also got a WM16 mill, both from the Harrogate exhibition.I would have liked to have bought the bigger machine but with budgetary constraints & space I at least ended up with two machines which was a bonus, I originally set out to get a Super7B with power cross feed but your'e talking silly money..two were for sale at the exhib, with usual accessories & some tooling...but £££££££'s above my finances

So far I have not machined anything in anger other than some small stuff for future use as material supply was limited, so far it seems ok & has done what I asked of it. If I had the finances & space I would have gone for a Colchester 1600 / Harrison 250 / 300 but these would not have had DRO's, then there's tooling to consider...

I can concur with Bazyle & JasonB comments, I can only suggest go for the biggest you need to suit your projects / budget.

Happy hunting.

G

Ketan;

I applaud your loyalty to your Co & have no qualms with Arc Euro, in fact I have had a very good service from said co. re tools etc previously purchased, & will use them again as I find your prices very competative & delivery is v.good so no probs on that context. Re. my previous comment 'not bothered' I inferred that this was the case because at the exhibition there was a distinct lack of staff i.e only 'yourself' available, &, judging from visitor comments at the time, IIRC, 'where are the reps? I can only state my opinions as noted at that time, whilst I noted at the time the SX3 seemed a sturdy machine & I was of the intention of seriously looking to purchase one, the percentage of visitor comments & lack of 'availability' of your 'sales staff', & who it seems, by your own admission,'that you were the only one' were more inclined toward the CNC products on display & was very apparent.

In this present 'economic climate' everybody is looking toward making savings .. 'profit margins' as best they can, & as a 'MEW afficianado' I understand this aspect, but at the end of the day we are "amateurs" most of us cannot or do not look to 'production line technology' & can only afford 'manual machinery or second hand equipment, most of us look to constructing a 'Stuart 10' as a marvellous achievement, myself predominantly. My choice of other machinery was based on the aspect that there were 'more staff' who gave me more 'informative information' & could offer a better 'show deal that of Arc Euro..'at the time' other 'agents at the show provided at least 3 (IIRC)members of staff on hand at any point in time for customers queries..& they were inundated, myself included, in fact It was difficult to get close to a 'rep' to ask a question. Whlist I appreciate that Arc Euro purchase their machinery from the same companies albeit under a different colour dressing it would be appreciated , from my point of view, that more of your staff should have been on hand to offer advice & answers from prospective clients,if you do not have more staff available at these exhibitions (a major selling opportunity) again, that can only lead to the queston of 'are you bothered' May I quote..

"Regarding your question about 'negotiable' prices at shows, this is usually up to the seller. George mentioned earlier that he managed to get a package deal from Warco at the Harrogate show. On the other hand, we did not have a package deal for similar sized machines at that show, but it did not mean that I was 'not bothered', as per my earlier reply.

The position on price and deals changes from time to time. The deal that Clive may be referring to for an X3, was probably in September this year. There was another deal in October for various machines. There are no special deals or packages at present for the Super X3s. It is uncertain if and when price/package deals will be released for any machines from ARC.

ARC is not attending the show at Alexandra Palace next year. We are also uncertain if we will be attending the Harrogate show. However, you may be able to find deals at the show depending on which seller wishes to do what ever deal they want. Apart from ARC, at the Harrogate show you will probably find at least four dealers who you can talk to and review their range for your requirement".

'The above comment to me seems to 'infer' that.. ' if you don't like it you can lump it' !!!. ... Could I be wrong?

Whilst I have/had no intention of besmirching Ketan or Arc Euro per se, if they want to maintain their standing in this competetive market then they should look at establising a higher profile at these high profile lucrative exhibitions & establish a more relevant & progressive marketing approach to todays clients... 'we the 'amateurs'.. not hi tech sales targets.

The above comments were made without malice or forethought of any intent whatsover to the aforementioned co.or personel,purely on the basis of personal observations at the time.. & I look forward to future dealings with Arc Euro trading Co.

Mmmmh... maybe OTT?

With respect

George

I have some 'Cetus' cutting fluid from years ago, dilution ratio 25:1, never had to use it yet..try dry cutting with indexible carbide tips .. tip radius 0.04-0.8mm on a reasonable high speed for MS .. 600 - 700 RPM.. thereabouts, dependant on machine & material ? .. flood set up on a MS7 seems OTT to me, more for a cnc/production setup? I envisage you would have more on the walls & floor than collected back in your system? try drip feed with white spirits & clean engine oil (SAE 20 - 40) mix, .. just a thought?

Cheers

George

Highlite text.. Ctrl + c = copy... Ctrl + V = paste ..simples

George.

On converting my attached garage to a workshop I informed my house insurance co of the changes, they then conferred with their underwriters as to the requirements needed..it boiled down to this.. as long as no cylinders were stored inside the garage /workshop, &, there was no prospect of my carrying out any form of heat application i.e flame cutting, welding, building of live steam models ..apart from static display models, then I was covered under my normal contents insurance with the appropriate amendment to my policy..but caveat emptor as the saying goes ..check with your insurance co to clarify..so far, as mentioned, &, as I can ascertain.. don't store any flammable gas cylinders inside any attached building! so in future I will be storing any propane / plumbers type cylinder torch/ equipment outside in the shed. Hope this helps..

George

Hi Mick

I bought a Warco WM16 at this years Harrogate exhibition, along with a WM250-VF lathe I plumbed for the WM 16 on the basis of getting a reasonable discount as a package deal (inc stands) & it came with the longer table & free delivery.I would have got the WM18 but it would have stretched my budget & there were other items that I wanted to get so I settled for the next size down plus it fits better in the space I have for it. I haven't used it in anger yet as have been diverted to houshold decorating duties & completing my garage conversion.The down side is that this machine only came with MT2 spindle taper, the WM 18 has an MT3 & my other tools were MT3 to suit my previous combi mill/lathe but that was easily overcome.

I did look at the Seig SuperX3L but the rep (only 1) was nowhere to be seen for a long time & when he did turn up I got the impression that he wasn't bothered about selling the manual machines, only in flogging the CNC stuff, a few other customers were of the same opinion from overhearing a few comments, & the price was over budget too.

I can only reiterate what other members have said, set your budget & go for the biggest you can, that will fit into the space you have & will cover what you plan to do.

Happy hunting

George

Edited By mechman48 on 29/10/2012 14:51:41

Machine Mart

Cutting fluid - Ref order code 059930400 - 1 ltr - £ 8.39p cheers George

This Site also sells wheel reducing bushes for a nominal £2.60 'per pair I assume' although in the past I have made my own from Nylon/plastic/hard wood/Alu.Just don't make them too tight a fit otherwise you will create stresses in the centre,a decent push fit is all that is needed.

George.

Hi

Same question; I live in Marton Middlesbrough & am completing garage conversion to ME. Looking to concentrate on small scale steam engines. Anyone in the area that has similar setup & interests would like to pal up for bouncing ideas.PM me if interested.

George

Hi Jason

Fantastic job!

The question I would like to ask is.. looking at your machining photos I assume that the machine you are using is a Warco 280V-F with varispeed drive(it looks like it to me from the colouring & leadscrew knobs), as I am awaiting a 250V-F I am wondering what size Dickson type QC toolpost you have fitted on your machine. I have a 0 size clone (Bison) from a previous machine, that I intend to use instead of the 4 way post as supplied with machine (together with a total of 10 toolholders), & with it being hardened, therfore unable to machine counterbore on the underside to fit, it looks like I will need to make a new toolpost spindle, you wouldn't happen to have a drawing/sketch of the post/spindle dimensions,or suggest a suitable tool to enable boring out the QC block (which I am loath to do at the best of times).'solid carbide' perhaps?

Hope you can understand my question. perhaps other members can help?

Regards

George

Edited By mechman48 on 28/07/2012 20:53:16

Oooops ..Should read 'tramming'..I think, grey matter's a bit slow today!

G

Hi Geof, & all

Fortunate enough to see this write up,having just received my WM16 2 weeks ago I was wondering about checking quill set up & trammeling the head so the comments are very informative.I have not put it in its final place as have yet to get my WM 250V-F delivered & placed,hopefully early next week so have not done anything with it other than remove from packaging & put onto its stand.I have tested it out as far as motor running & speed range & all seem ok..so far.

Did receive my WM250V-F at the same time but on checking there was a major fault with the assembly (turned out to be manufacturing fault) so a phone call to Warco with an explanation (long story..& photos!) has resulted in Warco sending me a replacement from their next batch, due in this week.I must add that Warco after sales have been very apologetic & have taken on board my comments from an e-mail I sent stating my concerns & initial disappointment of the quality of the lathe, having commented that this is the first time this type of defect has been encountered Warco are reassuring me that a thorough pre-delivery inspection will be carried out on the replacement.Will keep you all posted.

Cheers

George

Hi David

Mine shows up ok, for MEW only though.

Regards

George

EtheAv8r

Mea culpa ..it is a radial 'milling' vice, thanks for pointing this out, methinks ones grey matter is slowing down more than one thought.

Cheers

George

Nice to see a blog about vices crop up at the right time: I have just received my 100mm radial precision vice from Arc Euro yesterday(usual disclaimer) & was wondering if anyone else had the same, it looks a nice piece if kit to fit onto my W16 mill ...when it arrives, I was wondering though whether it would be a tad too big, maybe I should have got the 80 mm..

Cheers

George

Hi all

Addendum re lighting; hopefully the photobucket links work but I was expecting the actual photo to be visible,can members who are more experienced help with explaining to me how to upload photos into the reply box & into my album as I seem to have trouble creating photos from 'photobucket' & 'my pictures' on my pc. All I want to do is 'copy & paste' but nothing happens.

I have created an album,clicked on 'add photos' located the photos in the' browse' boxes then clicked on 'upload photos'...zilch..nada..nothing....help!

George

Hi Ian

I too have converted my garage to a workshop (single 4.5 x 2mtrs ) & have painted the walls & ceiling white plus added celotex insulating panels behind the 11mm OSB boarding. I have hung 3 4ft flourescents over the main working areas & 2 bulkheads at the darker end.I will be adding spots to the areas where I will have my new toys (mill & lathe) will be placed.

I have hopefully managed to attach a couple of photos to give you some idea of my set up(still not sureabout adding photos successfully)

[IMG]http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n490/mechman48/Workshop%20project/Workshop%20conversion/Garageconversion201227.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n490/mechman48/Workshop%20project/Workshop%20conversion/Garageconversion201228.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n490/mechman48/Workshop%20project/Workshop%20conversion/Garageconversion201228.jpg[/IMG]

George

Im indoors;

I note from your comments last year that you have a WM16 & were pleased with it & its performance after a couple of months.I am expecting delivery of WM 16 ordered at the recent Harrogate exhibition & was wondering, now that you have had yours for a longer period, if you have come across any serious shortcomings/deficiencies to date, e.g. bearing probs, overheating motor, alignment faults etc? I would be interested to know so that I can preempt any disappointing surprises & maybe get in touch with Warco to resolve any issues. Would appreciate a PM with details.

TIA

George

Hi Jon

I have just bought a Warco WM250V-F at the Harrogate show last weekend, I was also down to a choice of DB10VS or the WM250, what made up my mind was the Chester machines were lacking in refinements i.e. no leadscrew telescopic cover(this seemed to have been removed judging by the brackets left on the machines, but could be retro-fitted, at a price of course!), no power X feed, & delivery charges.

Warco's WM250 V-F included all of the above at no extra cost so it was a simple decision,but the choice is yours.

George

Went to Harrogate with SWMBO on Sat. absolutely amazed at the standard of model engineering on display.Have been in engineering all my working life & looking at some of the models made by so called amateurs puts my skills to shame I must admit.

I was really impressed by the scale model of a Bently engine setup (can't recall the name of the chap but have video shot) but on asking him how long it took to build ..10 years, made me applaud his skill & patience. the place was packed out & I felt like a kiddie in a sweetie shop (my first time at one of these exhibitions) didn't know where to look next! will certainly be attending again.

The crowninig glory of the day was I purchased a Warco WM250-VF & a WM16 variable speed mill,(usual disclaimer) with kind permission of SWMBO, so the next project is to convert garage into workshop.A great show & a well done to the organisers.

George