Warco WM150

Hi all.

As the potential purchaser of one of the various breeds of mini lathe, which may be just a trifle too big for my current available space, are there any opinions out there on the 'new' Warco WM 150 as compared to a 'standard' mini lathe etc?

Anyone got one?

I dont see the WM150 as a current offering on Warco's site.....?

Not got one but it appears to be very much built down to a price. ie lacking steadies etc (are they even available?) also no half nuts on the lesdscrew as far as i can tell so lots of "knob twiddling" to move the saddle. Both top and cross slides seem inadequately small. Only No 1 Morse head and tailstock bores. The spindle is bored through 11mm (less than half an inch).

Sorry to sound so negative but for a few more pounds you can get a much better and more user-friendly machine with all the bits you need. Is space really the issue? The shorter "between centers" mini lathes are only about 100mm longer than the WM 150.

As Warco say it's a 'budget' machine. It's cheaper than a mini-lathe but as said the lack of half nuts mean rapid saddle moves mean a lot of handle winding or doing them under power.

It also has a very basic top slide, a mini-lathe is probably a better bet for you if you can fit it in.

You probably looked at the 350/400mm mini-lathes.

An SC2 300 type mini lathe (12" between centres) is only 40mm longer than the WM150.

There are still 10" between centres mini-lathes out there if you search really hard, Warco used to sell them until recently. They are cramped once you put a long drill in the tailstock but would be a good solution if you are really short of space. It might be worth you contacting them to see if they still have one 'round the back'.

This is the WM 150 fort those that need to go to specsavers. Looks to be quite a bit smaller than a mini lathe more along the lines of Brian John's Optimum machine

Grrrr.....lol...yeah I was thinking it was a milling machine for some strange reason....Looks a bit like the Sieg C0?

Not much like the one languishing in in the corner of my shed. (Imho).

Edited By V8Eng on 15/10/2017 17:44:53

As I said looks like the Optimum TU 1503V that Brian had. Weiss type machines like Warco except for the paint colour.

J

PS the C0 looks like a copy of a Unimat3

Edited By JasonB on 15/10/2017 17:58:39

Yes there are a lot of similarities.

The C0 has proved quite handy during my trials and tribulations over sensibly sized workshop space.

Edited By V8Eng on 15/10/2017 19:07:00

Thank you chaps for your replies, I'm very grateful. At the moment I have a garage and a hobby room, (converted attic with proper stairs) but the next house move might be quite a bit smaller, so I'm thinking ahead. I've always loved steam, and until now I've made do with reading about stationary steam engines and locomotives, and the odd commercially produced engine, (Mamod etc) but I have saved up and I'm considering my first decent lathe. I have a lovely little 'Adept' in great condition, (it must have had very little use indeed) and it is OK for small bits, but after reading some fantastic old ME magazines from 1945 - 1947 and in particular the beautifully written articles by LBSC, has made me carefully consider what to buy. I'd love a Myford, but they are out of my budget. I have considered the Sherline and Peatol, but I'm wondering how much lathe I can get for my money. The Sherline in particular seems capable of work that belies it's small size. Taking Myford out of the equation it seems to be a choice between 'Small and new, or big and old/worn, or somewhere in the middle and Chinese. Whatever I buy it will have to last a good long time. The recent article in MEW about the chap with his 60 year old Zyto was right up my alley. I love the make do and mend ethos. Something like that would be ideal if I could negate the risk of a worn out machine... I have a pocket full of cash and but I'm taking my time in deciding how to spend it. There's no rush.

Would anyone care to make some suggestions as to what machine may be suitable? Budget is £700 maximum for the lathe, and I expect to set aside regular money for tooling. It really needs to be portable, or manageable for two people but no bigger. Any help much appreciated. If buying new I would have no problem waiting for a show if the right manufacturer was to have a sales stand.

My son carried his Warco mini-lathe upstairs on his own, but calling it "portable" is probably going a bit far, especially as the new "super" model is 2" longer and has a larger chuck. It is a bit cramped, and I would advise if you get one you try to arrange enough space to slide the tailstock off when it isn't needed - your knuckles will thank you. On the headstock end, don't forget that the gear cover needs about 4" clearance to unscrew and slide off as well.

Brian

I was going to make the same point as Brian. I think a mini-lathe from Warco, ArcEuroTrade or one of the other suppliers will do what you want. Get one with a brushless motor if you can.

A minilathe is a bit too heavy for me to lift from floor level on to a bench. Although I've always been a weakling I could have done it in my mid 50's but not now. No problem moving one if you have help, it's an easy two person lift. The lathe has rubber feet and will sit on a table; you don't have to bolt it down, so transportable rather than portable.

Depends of course how fit you are: I think Infantrymen routinely march 20 miles carrying rather more weight than a mini-lathe. In their position I'd be begging an officer to put me out of my misery by shooting me!

Dave

They don't seem to discount at shows any more, some put the prices up to cover the cost of being there. However Warco and perhaps others do have open days if you are near enough, and Warco also sometimes have (their own) machines they have part exchanged when someone upgrades.

I think some of the suppliers have stands at the Midlands ME Exhibition this week (Thurs to Sun).

Link to the Exhibitor list:-

**LINK**

I would agree with S.O.D. you do sound like the archetypal mini-lathe owner!

I can lift my mini lathe on and off the bench on my own without trouble (mid 50's hmm...).

Can I fault it? I wouldn't be doing what I do now if I hadn't bought it! Others will have to judge the quality of what I've done with it...

Neil

I managed to manually shuffle my newly acquired Tom Senior horizontal mill round the garage floor and get it in position single handed last week............I am 63, and the TS is claimed at 432 kg

Crikey, 432 kg. The safety elves would have a fit. At work anything over 25 kg has to be a 2 man lift. (Fire brigade, I work in the tech dept.). It's looking increasingly like some form of mini lathe at the moment. Prices seem to be anywhere from £400 delivered up to over £700. Still, anything has to be a step up from the Adept right? Not that I'm knocking it, I love the little thing. Just wish I had a full suite of accessories!

Oh Dear!

Anything over 25 Kg needs two men? (presumably under 75 also)

Wish I'd known that when lifting my C3 mini lathe in and out of the car to exhibit at local Shows! (And the Worden cutter grinder and the 12" Bending Rolls)

And as for lifting a 4 1/2" bandsaw, and swinging it round?

Sounds like the same theory as that for Bumble Bee flying, but lacking the bit about common sense.

Howard