Chester or Warco.

Hi guys, I have been looking to buy a nice used smallish mill but nothing so far has really come up and really I want to progress my workshop fit out but the mill needs to ideally go in first.

Just wondered what experience people have had with Chester vs Warco? as some of the machines I have been looking at seem to come out the same factory with a few very basic trim, handle, paint differences etc.

Warco VMC vs Chester 626

Warco GH Universal vs Chester Lux

Warco Super Major vs Chester Super Lux

I have the Chester 626 and have been very happy with it....

Just to add, I also have a Chester 9 x 20 lathe and have had a Chester mini mill...

Of late there has been some maligning of their products.

All I can say is I'm happy with their products and after sales service.

I find them courteous and professional and aim to please.

Just a satisfied customer...

I have a warco vmc mill and couldnt ask for a better machine in the price range,also warco aftersales is second too none

I have no complaints about my Warco VMC, some feel the need for a bit more height from nose to table but so far I don't. Well worth getting a DRO and auto feed if possible. Warco do a variable speed drive version now.

Mike

Have purchased Warco Mills and Lathes for industrial use with no issues at all. Purchased Chester mill for my own use at home. First one supplied rusty, combined metric and imperial leadscrews and indexes. Returned as unfit for use..... Second one supplied - allegedly fully inspected at the UK works by the chief engineer - surface finish no better, motor and control board went with a bang on first turning the supply on........ Got full refund and went elsewhere!

Make your own decision, but if I was in the market again I would go for a green machine!

Graham

I have a small Chester 16V mill and a larger 626. Mine are superb and I have had good service. However, I was able to view and inspect both mills before parting with the dosh. Nicer colour too (in my opinion).

Phil H

Seems a few have had issues with there Chester stuff, the thing I find strange is some of it looks identicle to the Warco stuff but if it's so bad is it just a bad copy coming from a different factory?.

PS Warco do currently have a nice used metric VMC with power feed but ideally the universal or major would give me a little more travel and height.

It is quite a difficult choice between the knee type and square column type. Prices aside the tables are different sizes and speed and clearances differ between them. I think there are also small differences between the two importers models of the same style too. You really need to see them as near as possible together - at the Ally Pally show in the spring.

I have a Chester Super Lux...no issues with accuracy or finish. Also have a Warco lathe....the famed aftersales service has never materialised as all emails have been ignored. Just my experience !

I can't comment on Chester equipment as I have a Warco WM250V-F lathe & a WM16 mill, so far I can't complain. I bought both mine at the 2012 Harrogate exhibition after checking out Warco & Chester stands, I didn't get that 'gut feeling' with Chester equipment as I did with Warco machines, plus I got a reasonable discount with Warco's for buying both machines & stands, plus free delivery. No deal was on offer from Chester's plus they wanted £60 for delivery.
​After sales from Warco was up to my expectations, at first they sent me the wrong machine which also had casting faults, a couple of e-mails, with pics soon resolved it, machine exchanged with no transportation cost to me so...

George.

I have a 290v lathe from Warco and a Super Lux from Chester.

Both are a second try, the first ones having gone back. Initial response from Warco was disappointing (implied I was being an idiot for suggesting the carriage lock should work, the lack of any way to lock the cross slide wasn't ideal and supposedly hardened ways should be harder than cheese), but came good in the end, and the exchange was excellent, they sent one of their guys out fully equipped to remove and replace.

Chester's initial response was better in that they accepted there was a problem immediately, tried a fix then agreed a replacement without argument when it became clear it was fundamentally broken, but was a normal courier, so more faffing during the replacement.

Honestly I couldn't say there was much between them for service.

The Superlux was however much cheaper than the Warco equivalent at the time, assuming the specification met your needs, mainly as it came with DRO fitted, whereas the for Super Major or whatever it was an expensive uk fitted extra.

I did mention at the Warco showroom that I would have preferred to buy from them as local, but couldn't justify the price difference for what was clearly the same basic machine with slightly different spec, just got some shrugging etc.

Dan

And yet more numerous stories that make me buy good British second hand. I wonder if Myford, Boxford, Harrison, Colchester etc had this many returns in their day? I'd be interested to hear from either Chester or Warco what proportion of machines lead to "customer feedback" and what happens to these returned machines. I hope they go back to China but I have my doubts.

Centec 2B

Tom Senior - any

Harrison vertical

Elliot Omnimill

For more money; Deckels and their clones

......

No Warco or Chester in that list....

Chris Trice, wondering how many returns for The Brit household names. I sent two Bridgeport mills back when I was managing a toolroom. The later ones became a bit iffy and could not be sorted on site.

Bit hard to compare the two. If you pay hobby machine prices you would be a fool to think you are getting industrial quality. Go and have a look at 600Group site and look at the price of a new M300 or 10XX Boxford and compare that with a 12x30 Warco/Chester. Even a new Myford will set you back £10k from RDG so can't compare that with a similar capacity 7x ?? minilathe.

You pay your money and you take your choice Would you expect a Rolls to be the same quality as a Dacia Duster?

As a member who has a lathe from Warco and 1 from DSG and a mill from Chester and a K&T as you would expect they are from opposite ends of the spectrum. The Warco Lathe [ GH750 ] now discontinued was bought new in circa 2001and has been a superb buy, never any problem and still performs great to this day. The only thing I have ever had fail was the halogen bulb !!" Did remove the original motor and fitted a 3hp 3p Siemens one running off a Eurotherm 650 drive [ now made by Parker ] . The Mill from Chester [ LUX ] has been a bit more of a pain, Did quite a lot of work to the interface between the Column/ Base/ Head. involving epoxy injection, now far more rigid very easy to get it perfect in the x-y and it will stay where I set it. The nod from front to back is more of a pain, I feel that the head is too heavy for the column [ you will always have a bit of nod but I would be better with a more rigid column] Having said that it has performed reliably since bought in around 2005 and again I removed the original motor and replaced it with another Siemens 3 hp 3p running through a WEG CFW 08 drive. Hope this has been of some help.

Cheers.

My first choice would actually be to buy a used small industrial type mill like you mentioned above, my old lathe was a Harison and it was old but still very accurate and well built. Unfortunately it got put into storage at my uncles farm when we moved and some local kids thought it would be funny to set his barn on fire, so I am also after a lathe as well as the Harison had all the alley parts just melted away in the heat.

.

I have never bought a machine from either of these suppliers, but Raymond's post prompts an intriguing question:

How does the 'quality control' of current supply compare with that of 2001 ?

Note: I am not 'bashing' Warco, Chester, the Chinese, or anyone else; it's just a simple, honest question.

History suggests that 'Market Forces' frequently lead to cost-cutting [and concomitant quality-cutting ?] ...

MichaelG.