Chester Power Feed

I recently purchased a z axis power feed from Chester for my Chester 626 mill, on opening the box the extension shaft that is needed to attach the power feed to the mill was clearly designed for a different machine than my 626, it has an internal thread to attach it to the shaft, where the shaft on my machine is a plain keyed shaft.

Not a problem, call Chester and ask for the correct extension shaft and the job will be done by the weekend. Talked to Chester only to be told "The power feeds we sell are generic and we would expect a certain amount of adaptation work to be required to enable the unit to be fitted."

Having avoided Ebay and gone direct to the original machine suppliers and paid an excess for that privilege I would have expected the unit to fit my machine without having to make up a new extension shaft. I think at the very least Chester should state in their advertisements that addition parts will need to be manufactured to enable the unit to fit the machine.

I have to say I am somewhat disappointed having paid north of £300 for the unit and probably looking at a couple of days work to make a new shaft.

Have other members encountered similar problems when fitted power feeds?

Any disclaimer would need to basically say "This product may not be fit for the purpose it was intended for"

As you say, maybe it should be marketed as a generic diy kit

Edited By Ady1 on 04/02/2015 09:35:40

There are at leat two different forms of lead screw on the 626 mills, whether from Chester, Warco or Toolco and depending on the country of manufacture and age they have different diameter and length leadscrews and key ways.

My Chester 626 originated from Taiwan and has a short 20mm diameter lead screw but with a 6mm Woodruf keyway and I have been hunting unsuccessfully for a suitable supplier for well over a year now.

When I spoke to Warco I was advised that if I purchased a power feed motor from them I would have to carry out numerous modifications to make it fit so have resisted that sales pitch for now.

I had also posted a question on this forum asking if any members had any suggestions as to either a source or any other means of driving the x axis but to date there has been no response.

Mike

"I had also posted a question on this forum asking if any members had any suggestions as to either a source or any other means of driving the x axis but to date there has been no response.''....

.... How about trying a either of... 12 / 24 volt window wiper / winder motor, via appropriate transformer + DPDT switch... I have fitted a 12v wiper motor to my WM 16 x axis drive, used surplus u/v joint & sockets from spare socket set ...

George

In response to the original post,

We do regularly get these questions about power feeds and as these units will fit many different machines often there is a requirement to modify or manufacture an additional part, whether it be a shaft or a bush.

We do our best to explain this at the point of sale, however, this is not always possible when it is ordered over the internet.

Of course any customer who is not happy with a product, or the description of the item may be construed as misleading, we will offer to refund in full or replace with a different item.

However offering this service is dependent on the customer being able to communicate this with our staff without hanging up the phone mid-conversation!

I will not enter in a convoluted back and too about our customer service, unfortunately we cannot please everybody! However hard we try.

So if you would like to get back in touch with our staff or myself directly, I will be more than happy to get this sorted for you.

All the best,

Tony.

Hi Tony

Thanks for your response, I will take the time to call you probably next week .

For your information, before ordering I did check with your staff that it did fit the 626 and at no time did anyone mention additional work required to make it fit and I do not hang up the phone in mid conversation even when I am hearing something I do not want to hear

Regards

Hi George (Mechman48)

Your reply is exactly that I have looking for and I believe that for me this is the way to go.

Could you perhaps just advise how you sorted out the variable speed for the wiper motor.

Best regards,

Mike

This simple sole was wondering about modifying a cheapo variable speed electric drill for the purpose - to solve the issue of transformers and sourcing a matched potentiometer?

Hi pgk,
Most reports of people using cordless drill use a mains power supply to save the problem of batteries going flat. If you are planning on using a mains powered drill I think the slowest speed will be too fast and they will be very noisy if you add gearing to the output.

Les.

Mike,

Ready made variable speed electronics are readily available on ebay, in various capacities including 12 volt.   Search for "motor speed controller".

You can build your own but if, like me, you are an electronic ignoramus, this is a godsend.

I bought a fully enclosed version, which will handle up to 15 amps - real overkill for the fan which it is currently (excuse the pun) controlling, but it may be required for more testing duties in the future, and it is excellent.

Articles in MEW have covered building the actual power cross feed.

Phil

Edited By Robbo on 06/02/2015 11:01:48