Warco WM250V Oil Change

I've had my Ltahe now about 5-6 months and the manual says to change the gearbox oil and recommends Mobilgear 627 - I just wondered what others were using. But also I don't like the look of the drain plug for the gearbox, almost looks like there is some weld around the plug. The oil in the sight glass still looks like new and I'm wondering if I should leave well alone - by the time it gets dirty I will likely looking to upgrade the Lathe anyway?

The manual makes no mention of there even being any oil in the Apron but it clearly has a sight glass and there seems to be a 'plug' of some sort under the Sight Glass on the bottom of the apron? The oil in this sight glass is dirty as you can't even see through the glass so I guess I should at least change this. Does anyone know if there is a seal I should get for the plug before doing - the manual shows the 'plug' as a screw on the parts diagram - but I don't think the manual is completly up to dat maybe..

Sorry I've done this very quickly and the photos are terrible..

Maybe this model lathe is a bit new for there to be many looking at oil changes yet..

Just wondering really how often others change their oil in these type lathes, what oil they use and if I should leave that gearbox plug well alone, for the time being anyway..

Thanks

Garry

I changed the oil on mine once, after about a year, and not since (about 8 years). I used 46 hydraulic oil I think.

Thanks Simon - wow 8 years!

I'll have a think but maybe I'll just leave well alone then, for the time being anyway. A lot depends on whether I can use the Lathe for my next project or if I'll be upgrading sooner rather than later as well.. At the rate I'm going it'l take me another year to finish what I'm doing now first though...

Cheers

Garry

I think I changed the oil in my 1326BH BG lathe after about 6 months, and in the twenty years since then it's been changed once.

Ian S C

Search for "lubricating lathes" and you'll find some information there.

There is a site http://journeymans-workshop.uk/lathemaint.php covering the gearbox oil change for a Warco WM250V, if you follow this see my entry in the above "lubricating lathes" should you want to use car gearbox oil.

EdH

04/06/2015 16:54:40

Warco do a headstock oil, I top up with that for the saddle and headstock on my 280V. (The saddle has an occasional small leak that needs investigating).

Russ

Edited By Crocadillopig on 14/08/2015 12:11:46

Thanks everyone, I've taken a copy of the link (EdH). I'll wait a while I think and see if the Gearbox Oil at least starts to look dirty - its looks like new at the moment. I was half expecting to hear I should have changed it by now but sounds like theres maybe no rush just yet..

Cheers

Garry

I just top up the gearbox and apron oil every couple of months, not drained any myself as the lathe seems to be "self draining" if you know what I mean Warco head oil for both.

Edited By JasonB on 14/08/2015 15:39:58

Hi Jason - that sounds like a good approach, it'l do for me then too! I'll get some from Warco..

Cheers

Garry

I had a jamb up on my WARCO due to letting the cross slide travel too far across the bed, so I had to take it to bits to un- jamb it. Glad I did really as there were bits of stuff floating about in there that shouldn't have been, so it got a good clean out. If you wind the cross slide across the bed, a gap will be visible that allows stuff to get into this gear box. I can't see how you can stop it getting in there. The upside is, that you can dipstick the oil in there to see how much oil should be in there. If you put too much in it will only leak out until its correct level is reached.

The operating instructions are not up to date, My manual shows things that are supposed to be on the machine and aren't

Hi Alan

Big thanks for that - really useful as my 'sight glass' for that gearbox is completely black and so I can't see the Level - I can have a look tomorrow now...

Cheers

Garry

.

Although not new one, when I bought my lathe one of the first things I did was change the oil as a matter of course as I had no idea how long it had been in there and importantly it was of an unknown quality. IMHO it really is false economy to put budget lubricants an any machine of any type.

I also fixed a strong magnet in there to attract and keep any wayward swarf that might come out to 'party'

Nick

From my own experiences with new Chinese lathes it is definitely never too early, at any time, to change the oil or at the very least check its condition, in any oil filled gearbox they have,

At our budget end of the market some, not all, but definitely some machines are assembled with all sorts of filth in there, as well as sometimes just dirty old looking oil. The two new Warco 1330 lathes I was given were horrific inside, so I would always check and change the oil straight away, or as soon as you can.

Thanks both, I like the magnet idea. I'll be having a look later to see how dirty the oil really is and I'll be using the 'Headstock and Gearbox' Oil from Warco..

Cheers

Garry

My two cents worth - I think anyone with a Chinese gear-head machine should have a look under the covers sooner rather than later. I have a 13 x 40 lathe with a fairly crappy external finish, although all the actual mechanics are pretty good and after only a very small amount of fitting and finishing, it is very nice to use, and capable of turning () out some nice product. However, about 6 months ago I had a solid day of high-speed (1500 - 2000 rpm) work and when I was cleaning up that evening I saw that the gear-head sight glass was jet black! It had never been anything other than pristine ISO 32 before, and I feared the worst, although I hadn't noticed any change in the sound. I let it settle for a long time (months) before opening it up. To cut a the story short, I figure that a little nodule of cast iron (of which there are a number, clinging to the internal wall of the headstock casting) had come loose and been swept up into the gears and crushed. The bottom of the G/B had a significant coating of ultra fine black powder, and when I drained it and flushed it thoroughly with kerosene there was a lot of grit as well. The other nodules that I observed on the walls all appeared to be solidly attached, so I left them where they were. After further flushing, drying, re-filling, running slowly for several hours, draining, and refilling, everything seems to be ok, and I have since done a lot more high speed work with a sight-glass that is still beautifully clean.

I phoned Warco with the same question, and their response was that the unit was effectively lubricated for life, and suggested I don't bother.

But I've another issue that I think will cause me to take the apron off, so I'll probably lose the oil doing that.

What happened was that I engaged longitudinal feed when I intended to use cross feed, driving the milling slide into the chuck-mounted endmill. It was one of the first cuts I engaged, so I didn't recognise the growl for a second or two. When I hit the emergency stop I couldn't at first disengage the feed or - obviously - move the saddle. I eventually succeeded, and found that the shearpin on the leadscrew hadn't broken, but the keyed sleeve in one of the changegear pairs had. Warco were very quick in sending a replacement.

But since that time I've been living with a stiff tight-spot on what I think is the rack to apron gear mesh, about every third turn of the carriage handwheel. My guess is that the crash bent the shaft a bit, but I won't find out till I drop the apron. Hopefully, releasing the telescopic leadscrew covers and removing the 4 vertical socket screws will let me do this. Anybody know?

I have found, by the way, that the saddle handwheel dial - although coarsely graduated in 0.25mm divisions - is actually pretty accurate, and you can judge it to a thou or two with reasonable confidence. I've milled slots for flush-fitting components with it with good success. The fine crossfeed is a delight, giving a silky finish on facing cuts and cross milling.

Regards,

MickB

Garry

I changed the oil on my machine after the first 6 months...Gearbox & apron... & only once in the past 2 1/2 yrs, I can still see in the sight glass so I'm not expecting to much contamination...

I just top up the gearbox and apron oil every couple of months, not drained any myself as the lathe seems to be "self draining" if you know what I mean Warco head oil for both.'

Edited By JasonB on 14/08/2015 15:39:58

Me too, but just on the apron oil, I know where it's 'self draining' & the amount is minimal, but as it's working fine I feel I have no need to drop the apron just yet, maybe a major look at next year.

Mick B

IIRC... I have posted a couple of pics in the 'Warco 250 & WM 16 family' thread re. the hand wheel graduations in answer to another members question...

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=97098&p=4

George.

Edited By mechman48 on 12/11/2015 21:51:17

Edited By mechman48 on 12/11/2015 22:08:42

Thanks George. I wasn't chasing tenths or working large lengths, so the 0,25mm ~ 10 thou approximation was good enough for work I've done in the 6 months I've had the machine; but I'll bear your results in mind for future jobs!

Compared to the Myford Speed 10 I had for the previous 15 years - the WM250V may not be as 'nice' in some respects, but it's given me substantially improved capability in many areas. Maybe I've been lucky, but bar stock in the 3-jaw runs true within 6 tenths. The vertical slide I bought with it is none too good (haven't really worked out what unit on earth the calibrations are supposed to be!), so I modded the Warco baseplate to fit the Myford double-swivel milling slide I already had, and that works very well.

Regards,

MickB

Looks like I am late to this party!! Just got an AMABL250FX550 which is just the name that Amadeal give to a similar machine to many others. Oil was leaking out of the leadscrew gearbox so I took the front off, cleaned it out and tidied it up then reassembled it properly, and I was looking to see what the oil capacity was when I stumbled on this thread. I filled it till it showed on the sight glass and I have a tray under it now with a piece of tissue to see if it has leaked by the morning. I cjecked the glass on the apron and that is low, so I will get oil tomorrow and then decide whether to top it up or take it apart. Not used the machine yet, at the moment it is sat on two B&D workbenches, waiting for someone to buy my ML7!!

Just a comment re machining/casting debris in machine tools. I was pleased to find no such problems when I examined my new Warco lathe. Admittedly I haven't delved into every area, but so far, all good. I would agree that an early oil change is a wise precaution tho'.