Warco GH600

When you use the half nut lever at the right of the apron (front of the saddle) it selects the threading speed. When you use the 3 position up/down lever selector in the middle of the apron it selects a different mechanism driven off the slot that runs down the leadscrew. Just try the two operations without changes to the headstock knobs and you will see the difference in speed of movement.

Jed

Two levers on the apron The one pointing towards you that selects the fine feeds and the one parallel to the bed that operates the half nuts for thread cutting . The one pointing towards you has the two positions up or after sliding it sideways down .

With the 32 120 40 change wheels in place ( as it was when new ) the combination of A B C and 12345 giv.es you the selection on fine feeds B and 3 will give 0.0122 per rev. ( with half that for cross feed due to the gears in the apron .

Brian

Thanks Bazyle - that explains it.

It still took a few seconds to figure it out. The lever appears to only have two positions - neutral and down (engages power cross feed). The third position is engaged by sliding it to the right and then up.

Thanks for the help

Jed

Hello Jed

If it makes you feel any better, I've wondered about the top table too but haven't given the time to think about it, so thanks for asking the question. .

I tried to figure out a way to make a simple lever / cam to lock the saddle when required rather than using an Allen key. Unfortunately, the friction isn't so strong when engaged so it's not effective. Will need to think again.

Saying that, I noticed lots of chatter when parting off at a fairly slow speed and found that the cross slide was the culprit. I could watch it juddering quite clearly. A slight adjustment of the locking screws to the dovetail sorted out the problem and it parts much more cleanly now although I had it a little too tight to start with and the wheel was a bit harder to turn than felt sensible (Wear to the slide). Since then, I've adjusted the saddle too and that is another improvement. The friction is enough not to cause wear but prevents judder. Also, the saddle moving on it's own isn't so much of a problem with normal cutting pressures so locking off the screw won't be needed as much.

To my mind, the improvement is significant. Has anyone else been down this road?

Cheers

T-boy you're not reading this forum enough. There have been several examples or people making improvements around the allen key lock to all sorts of different lathes to improve ease of use.

Yep, that does make me feel a little better :D There's no mention of how to operate the lever in the manual (no surprise there) and the diagram on the apron only illustrates two positions, so unless you're familiar with these things from previous experience, it is easy to overlook. That's my excuse anyway...

I haven't got around to fettling the gibs and so forth yet, but given my first attempt at parting was a bit of a disaster, it sounds like I should get onto it.

@Brian, sorry I missed your explanation earlier, your input since I purchased the lathe has been much appreciated.

In other news, I had my first major oopsie with the lathe. I'm not sure if this a classic beginner's mistake, or my ineptitude is unique, but here's the result...

It's just bent sheet metal, that I might just be able to persuade back into shape. Does anyone care to guess how I managed it?

Edited By Jed Martens on 24/11/2019 14:20:24

A belated reply to the question about the numbers in the left hand columns.

These are the changewheel set ups needed to produce the different feed rates, or thread pitches, in combination with the other controls.

The two "surplus" gears are needed to allow the full range of threads to be cut. Similarly, on my lathe, the 40T drive gear needs to be replaced by a 32T to obtain some of the Metric pitches.

By using different combinations, of the gears, and a few calculations, you may be able to find other feed rates, and thread pitches, not quoted on the plates or tables in the manual. The middle gear is merely an Idler which will make to difference to the end result. It purpose is to ensure that the feed is in the right direction, and to fill the gap between Driver and Driven gears.

By now you should be much more familiar with the machine, and its foibles, and getting a lot of pleasure from using it.

Howard.

While i was typing, it looks like you managed to roll it back on the castors, pretty hard into something with a sharp corner. Do apply the brakes!

Seems as if you are going add some sheet metal working skills to your port folio!

I can only suggest using a 4lb lump hammer on the inside of the tray, as a starting point to try to return things towards where they started. The outer rim will be last in the queue for panel beating. You may need some bits of sturdy steel to back the sheet metal while you panel beat.

Start off with fairly heavy blows, and as the metal approaches the original shape lighten the blows to take out the hammer marks.

If it is any consolation, The man who never made a mistake, never made anything.

Soon you have learned another skill! (not to mention filling, sanding and painting!

Howard

Good guess, but the lathe is immobile. There was no other object involved, all damage was self inflicted.

The metal beating advice is much appreciated, as it's something I've never attempted before. As you say, yet another skill to master

You're quite right Bazyle. I've seen a couple of them but it involved a lot of work and I didn't want to damage the lathe before I understand it a lot better. Spending more time learning about tooling at the moment.

Ouch!!! That is significant damage close to the lathe bed. I would be checking it hasn't nudged the bed out of true.

John

Did you start the lathe with the red ball hanging over the end of the splash tray and start power feeding towards the chuck?

Not sure if you're close by to Buckingham area. I have a set of panel beating hammers and dollies and have done some sheet metalwork and car body repairs. Will help you if you need.

Cheers

And a slide hammer!

Ian wins the prize, that red ball in the middle of the picture is the culprit. I had the carriage close to the tail-stock end of the lathe, turning a piece that was about as long as the lathe can manage. The lever was depressed to start the lathe (with power feed towards the chuck), and since I was watching the work, I didn't notice the ball hooking under the edge of the stand.

@Triumphboy, very grateful for the offer of help, but I'm up in Scotland

@John I think you're right, the top sheet of the stand is lifted a little around the front right corner of the lathe bed, which will likely have an affect on how straight the bed is. The irony is that the work I was turning was supposed to be a test piece to help get things into alignment - I've yet to seriously tackle getting the lathe set up properly. So at least I haven't undone any previous work in that regard. But now I need to do some metal-bashing before I can get back to checking if everything is true.

The red ball on mine is 4" above the tray when the lathe is running.

Have you got something else wrong that allows the lever to drop so low?

Yes, the mechanism that attaches the lever to the control shaft is shoogly, and it can be depressed beyond the detent if you're not careful.

I hadn't thought this an issue as the tray itself stops you pushing it too far, but failed to considered the case where the lever is beyond the end of the tray...

Edited By Jed Martens on 25/11/2019 20:57:58

I purchased the 125mm collet chuck from ARC and it arrived today. It dropped straight onto the GH600 spindle flange without the need for a back plate. Measuring on some ground stock where it leaves the chuck, I can only measure 0.01mm deflection when I turn the spindle. This measurement is repeatable if I remove the chuck and refit it in the same position. The other two possible orientations are not as accurate, but still only show up to 0.02mm deflection.

I was only half expecting it to fit without a plate, and I wasn't expecting it to be that accurate.

Nice when things go right!

hi guys finally got my gh600

first job changed the tool post to a quick change tool post!

Easier then I thought.