Looking to buy a Warco Mill

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So … take note of Jason’s comment, and proceed accordingly.

MichaelG.

Yes, I will need to

Edited By dave train on 30/04/2023 10:40:00

Long story but I had to sell the WM18 due to financial circumstances.

I have a WM18 because it's the biggest I could get into my workshop. Although it does all I need of it, it's not the best of all possible machines. For example, I'm 6' tall, which means the table is a little low (backache). If I lifted it, I'd have a longer stretch to reach the Z hand-wheel (tippy toes). Ergonomically, the WM18 is about as big as this style of mill will go. Others fit power assist, and it's a good idea.

It does fit in the space though! Headroom a small problem - it's 350mm less than my 2.3m ceiling, so I had to be a little careful about lights and the up and over door. With the head fully down, there's space for an engine crane to lift it on to the stand. Otherwise, I'd have needed more manpower! Once installed, side movement of the table is an issue: full travel including the hand wheels is 1.7m. Although unlikely to be moved full travel, the machine would take up a fair whack of 6' x 6' shed space, not leaving much room for anything else, like a bench! Do-able, but a bigger mill would be more challenging, and perhaps impracticable.

I'd really like a bigger mill too, but it's not going to happen.

Dave

Starting to think I will have to set my sights lower, possibly a WM14 or 16

Just looking at the Warco website I think the WM14 will be too small so the WM16 is now looking favorite

Edited By dave train on 30/04/2023 18:21:52

Really only you can answer the question of whether your old WM18 was big enough to do what you want and fit in the shed or not and then size the new machine larger or smaller as needed.

The WM18 was in a bigger shed, I have moved since then

How long is the draw-bar ? At my last home I had to cut a little hole in the ceiling of the workshop to insert or remove the draw-bar in my VM-B, fortunately there was about 1/2" clearance under the floorboard of the bedroom above.

Edited By Bob Unitt 1 on 30/04/2023 18:36:52

Good point, though not on the WM18. This style of mill has the motor perched on top, so the drawbar has more headroom than on other machines. It's about 300mm long, and I could remove it with the head cranked fully up if I had to. As doing so would require me to stand on a box, I normally lower the head to a more comfortable height, where there's plenty of room.

The layout of the machine is good for smaller workshops, but it's not as rigid as the next size up and there's no knee. It's a decent compromise considering my space limitations.

Dave