Warco HV mill

New toy, still on a pallet, first impressions...

The table is wound up as far as it will go before a stray bolt head collides with Y slide concertina. Plenty high enough.

If the table was wound all the way back, it would have torn the X axis DRO scale off 5" below this.

It is not ISO30 as is claimed on their web site, it is a much more useful INT30.

I wondered what size the horizontal arbour would be. It came with two, joy unbounded, 22mm and 1".

If you need to turn the head 90 degrees and duck through the garage door, there is a vertical locator pin that needs to be pulled. The pin is threaded so tighten the nut to pull the pin. Lucky guess. Dipping the control panel was tricky, I am not sure why but my son required a 2 lb hammer to reinstate it. The pallet adds 6" to the overall height.

There is a ghastly chuck guard that has a switch to see if you leave it open. The switch connects pins 4 and 7 in the electric box when the guard is closed. This bears no resemblance to the circuit diagram but I will postpone rewiring until I feel sure there are no problems in the overall construction. It looks festooned, in an industrial kind of way, needs sorting out.

More soon

Hello Robin,

I realise it's probably small comfort, but I've found Warco Customer Service to be extremely good. I just wish they'd take a closer look at what they're shipping out and promising their customers.

Congratulations with your new toy, looks impressive. I wish I had room for something similar in my tiny workshop.

Thor

It is not ISO30 as is claimed on their web site, it is a much more useful INT30.

Different names - same animal.

Nice looking machine.

Nigel B.

That looks very substantial. Nice.

Steve.

nice machine have fun with it

Geoff

It is impressive, pictures do not do it justice

The advertised motors were 2hp vertical and 1.5hp horizontal.The actual motors are plated 3hp vertical, 2hp horizontal.

Compared to my old Major the quill is delightfully rigid, I am going to have fun with this. Heck I am having fun and I haven't switched it on yet

It doesn't work. As soon as I press the green button under the lightning bolt the house RCB 30mA trip pops causing SWMBO to moan.

Warco technical support are out

Bloody hell, £6k plus & it blows your RCB.

Tony

From experience with that type of chuck guard I predict it will soon be removed and the centre of the black plastic assembly turned to the closed position so the machine will work without it. It's a legal requirement for industry to have a chuck guard which is why they are fitted. The style you have just catches on things and soon gets broken.

Martin C

I see it has an inverter drive. Have you any other inverter products ( including the washing machine)? The earth leakages could be adding up to trip your RCB.

Rod

Chuck guard is requirement for CE marking and use within a multiple user workplace, what an individual does working for themselves or hobby not a requirement.

Very nice, it looks like a universal mill with a swiveling table. I remember Chester machine tools also offered it, they called it the Model T.

Some examples had a gearbox built into the top of the milling head, and a hardened table.

After searching for RCB 30mA problems I found a link to this very site. On checking I found this mill has a ground connection to the VFD that does not show on the circuit diagram, shall I take it out?

Apparently, Warco's electrician is CoViD isolated and cannot call me back for two days.

I did see the Chester Model T but they don't have any stock. Shame because it has 3 axes on the DRO compared to Warco's 2.

I hear you Howard but there is worse. The handles on the X screw are made like those chuck keys that spring out of engagement the moment you let go

That is to stop them giving you a whack when you are running the power feed on rapid return

Roger at Warco called this morning, I think he may be sending someone to fix it. Can't complain at that. I have already reinstated the super safety chuck guard.

I am wondering if it really needs a 3hp motor. I removed the 2hp single phase from my old mill and replaced it with a 3/4 hp 3 phase and VFD. It went from growl to purr and has never been found wanting.

OTOH, if it ain't broke don't fix it, this monster sized motor might be lovely, if I ever get to switch it on I will find out

Hi Robin,

As I mentioned previously, Warco customer service is very good (in my experience anyway). Hope you get it sorted.

Hello Robin,

I was wondering if you managed to get your mill up and running and what your thoughts are of it?

Warco sent some bod around to fix it. If he had told me they gave him the wrong part I could have saved him 5 hours by fitting it myself, the whole thing was coming apart anyway...

I am well acquainted with Warco brass feed nuts, 0.2mm of backlash means you either climb mill or break your tools when it plays catch up. New screws have already arrived.

It had a glass DRO across the back of the bed and a horizontal spindle nose to rip it off the moment you got careless. There is room to fit the DRO under the bed so that is where it is going.

With a vast array of contactors they managed to connect 2 motors to one VFD, with reverse and rev counters. Everything started out at a nice safe 24Vac but then they added a 240V DRO display and a power feed which drapes a 3 core PVC flex across the front of the machine, all 3 wires connected to mains live.

The machine has enormous potential. I am not complaining, I am having lots of fun fixing it up. Fitting Bellville washers to ball screws for zero back lash, plumbing in an oil pump, CNC'ing it, I will soon get to see the gears that wind the knee up and down. They couldn't get back lash in that nut due to the force of gravity so they put extra slop on the bevel gears to simulate it, hoping for a keyway, expecting a taper pin.

Anyway, no insurmountable problems yet, it is going to be wonderful when I finish it