Hello From Coventry

Hello.

I'm slowly working my shed into more of a machine shop. Last year was all about getting a Tig welder working, and a bandsaw in place. With those tools I'm in the process of making a folding workbench that will work in a small space.

I have some experiences with lathes and mills, I know the power they hold over all things mechanical. So I'm hear to ask a lot of questions about my initial setup. I have a decent Ideal of what I want, so in that regard I should be pretty low maintenance!

My Grandfather was a mechanical engineer by trade and I spent a lot of time in the shop helping him up to my mid 20's. Unfortunately when he wrapped it all up I didn't have enough experience to even contemplate running his business.


Now at last I have enough disposable income to set myself up at home.

Hi and Welcome

I'm from Coventry as well and also a newbie. Had a lot of work sorting out a workshop and plenty of trips to the tip but up and running now. Only previous experience I had was 45 years ago for one year. My dad was a turner at rolls so I suppose it's in my blood.

All the best

Brian

Thank you for the Welcome!

I think making space is the hardest part of any job at home. I only have a 3 meter x 3 meter shed to work in. I also have 2 motorbikes that live in there as well!

It's why I'm working out a decent workbench first. Once it's finished I'll be ready to think about the lathe. The current workbench design is a 1500mm x 600mm skeleton,15 stringers of 25mm x 3mm box. With a drop in 700x600 3mm plate over the centre. The stringers are set to take a vice or bench grinder in 3 places and the vice can be slid all the way front to back. The whole top will fold flat to the wall by removing the front leg pins. I'm at the stage now where to top is fully welded, and I'm thinking about how to make the legs function the way i want them to. I have the design in my head so it's just a matter of realising that in metal.

I recon I have a space of about 450mm x 1200mm. So I'm hoping to be able to get something like the weiss/warco/chester wm250/DB10s. I need to do a lot more digging about first to be sure of the model and electrics. I have seen several threads all relating to the motors and control gear on those lathes been sub par. But for the price and with the power cross feed I think it's something i could work with. I need to spend a few hours looking at pictures of the PCB's and working out if there is anything special like micro-controllers that would stop me been able to DIY fix most of the problems.

As for the tip, I hate that place! We just save up the junk and hire a skip for the day.

As for projects, I actually want to build an airsoft sterling machine gun with a full airsoft gearbox. So 30 rounds a second full auto on 6mm BB's. It's probably not what this forum is geared to dealing with, but the scale is right!

You might try Coventry model engineers for a bit of help and advice.

Hello Blake,

I lived in Coventry for several years, I worked at Brandon Marsh.

I think the most complex chip on most of these control boards are quad comparators/op amps.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 14/04/2017 21:00:01

Neil Wyatt if that's the case then the PCB's should be fully repairable. RS should stock the components and the operation parameters will be done with PCB components rather than programing. I was fully expecting a programmed chip to be on there at some point that was a known point of failure.

Either way I'll have a good browse of the PCB's and the after market ones to see what modifications have been made. And if those mods can be done to an original board. It might be something ridiculous like the addition of a few TVS diodes to clean up any current spikes from the motor getting back to the boards and frying FETS. Or Using a big FET to act like a motor switch relay. Either way that style of low level electronics is well within my reach.

I'm also going to look into the delta inverter/ac motor setup warco are selling to see if it's worth the extra. The lower speed and increased torque might be beneficial, but only if it's a quality motor with good magnets.

I'll also have a look for the Coventry Model Engineers. I'll get in touch before I buy anything as it might be the case that a local has a machine available that would suit. I don't really want a short machine and don't have the space for a full bed so I think the chances of finding something in the sweet spot second hand is going to be hard, Especially with PCF. I'm also wanting the option for a bolt on mill and I know the Weiss has that as standard on most models.

I'm not in a great rush to buy, I'd rather have done 2-3 months reading reviews and knowing the short comings of the model I pick, rather than going in blind and then realising I've made a mistake. I'm also Northern (come from York), So parting with cash is a religious experience!

Edited By Blake Nesbitt on 14/04/2017 23:05:41

Welcome to the forum.

I also recommend joining the Coventry Model Engineering Society. I've been an active member for about 20 years and, although I'm definitely not a club type person, joining it was one of my better decisions. There's a wealth of knowledge and experience available, if you want it - it's never forced on you, and there are no cliques.

Edited By Gary Wooding on 15/04/2017 10:31:48