My new lathe a Warco 918

Both my Mitutoyo & M&W both jump in 0.0005" steps as well.

Oh, that's disappointing then. I hoped it might have the full compliment of digits, not that I would have expected to have that much more accuracy, but it helps to interpret the readings better.

I know there are calipers available that display to 0.0001mm but they are not cheap. I bought a Starrett caliper in the 90's that had a miniature bargraph (with 9 segments) after the usual 0.00mm, unfortunately it was addicted to batteries and later became intermittent.

Ian P

Hi Ian,

Its a standard Digimatic with the 0.0005" steps on the last digit as Jason and Martin said.

Ron

The warco 918 is a good old lathe but has its weaknesses one of which is the compound but the mod for this is well worth doing to stiffen up the toolpost. Ive also converted mine to a treadmill motor which works brilliantly,also the Dro.

Sounds good Trevor, I am certainly happy with mine. The previous owner had done a number of mods which are well engineered so I was lucky. The only thing I have added is a digital readout for the spindle speed.

Ron

Edited By Ron Laden on 02/12/2019 04:40:09

Anyone use the carbide threading inserts..? to be honest I didnt know they existed until I came across them yesterday. I was looking at some internal and external inserts in 60 and 55 degree, I really like the idea of them and fancy getting some but I need to see if a 8mm or 10mm shank tool holder is available as 10mm is the max I can go with and dont know yet if they come down that small.

There was an article by Harold Hall in MEW some time ago.

I have a Chinese 10mm holder marked SNR0010K11.

Do you have the original four way tool post for your 918? If so you can go up a lot bigger than 10mm. The last tool holder I got for my 8 x 14 lathe was a 16mm. I trimmed a couple of mm off the bottom on the mill and the tool is permanently on centre height using inserts.

PS If you are feeling flush, Greenwood Tools have a range of holders from 10mm centre height.

I wonder what the Banggood threading insert holders would be like..? they do quite a range for both internal and external threading.

I have never used Banggood and I wouldnt use them for the inserts but I would have thought the holders should be half decent..?

I get my threading inserts from HERE

Jim

They are OK'ish, not the best but worth a punt, plenty of reviews on Youtube.

Tony

Thanks Guys, I have just ordered a 10mm holder so I will see what arrives, at a fiver it wont be the end of the world if its not up to much.

Ega, I think its the same part number as yours.

Ron

My feeling is that the part number is standard and not peculiar to any one manufacturer.

I hope you will let us know how you get on with this.

Impressed with the GT insert, I turned up a pair of larger pivot steel spacers for the loco which need a good surface finish so I used the GT for the finishing cuts, very good.

I will get some on order I was given the one I tried this morning.

Edited By Ron Laden on 15/12/2019 07:21:50

The lathe came with two 4 jaw chucks, a 6 inch Burnerd and a Chinese 7.1/4 inch, the Chinese one is pretty awful, difficult to adjust and set up and once set the jaws have to be locked from behind, a b it of a pain in the wotsit.

However what is really good about it is the casting is shallow only 30mm and it is quite true, 0.001" across the face and when run 0.0025 run out at the edge. So rather than leave it sitting in the corner of the shop never to be used I thought it will make a good candidate for conversion to a faceplate. This morning I gave it a 5 thou skim all over to clean it up and once I have finished the Jowitt I will add 4 more slots and make up some fittings and clamps.

Edited By Ron Laden on 11/03/2020 16:27:57

Edited By Ron Laden on 11/03/2020 16:36:03

That 7 1/4 inch independent 4 jaw chuck was standard issue supplied with most new 918 lathes. They are awkward to use for metal work because the jaws are not positively or precisely located in a tee slot, I think they are actually really intended for wood turning lathes. 

Edited By Lathejack on 11/03/2020 22:44:53

Thanks LJ

I thought it probably original issue which in my case is almost 24 years ago. There is no way I would want use it as a 4 jaw plus I am fortunate in having the Burnerd.

Do remember, though, (nearly) all these ‘reviews’ are from ‘influencers’ paid by bang good (free items, mostly?). Would you expect a paid employee to tell you anything other than their products are good and you should buy them? People who believe all they see or read are just a bit naive - at the very least.

I had forgotten about this it was back in December, I didnt watch any reviews but with the Banggood holder at less than half the price of others I had seen I went ahead and bought one. What did I receive ..? well to be honest I couldnt believe how good it was the quality looked excellent. I didnt buy inserts from Banggood I paid more and bought them from a UK supplier and that would be the acid test, the holder may look great but what would the fit of the inserts be like. Well again faultless, the seat and the snug fit of the insert couldnt be better so what is there not to like. Now the holder could be made of Chinese cheese but I dont think so I have used the tool with no issues what so ever.

Having said this I am not suggesting buying Banggood tooling, I buy all my lathe and mill tooling from one UK supplier. I only go elsewhere if they dont stock what I need and in this instance I gave Banggood a try based on price and it turned out much better than I would have imagined.