Any experience of the Warco GH Universal Mill?

Alf hi,

I bought an R8 Warco Super Major a few
months ago although have only just set it up and started to use it. My
experience with the company was first class, the machine was delivered with no
fuss at the arranged time; one additional item I ordered was incorrect but this
was changed within a few days at no cost to me. Everything works fine “out of
the box”, however one has to remember which part of the market you are in. The
machine is functional rather than pretty but nevertheless appears accurate and
very solidly built. All axis operate smoothly with minimal backlash. I am not
too impressed with the handwheels as they have some 3mm movement between the
locating sectors and seem to rely on the grub screw to provide the drive, not
ideal. The machine is quiet and smooth in all speeds but the table power feed
is a bit of a fiddle to set correctly. The mill cuts very well and within my
needs as a model engineer does not lack power. At the moment, only lubrication
has been required although I will readjust the gibs after a few more hours of
use as they settle in. While the headstock oil still appears like new I will
change it when I do the adjustments. The cover on the vertical dovetail is not,
I feel, likely to last very long but I guess time will tell.

Sometime in the future I will change the
motor for a 3 phase one with VFD to reduce the lowest speed a little.

There are a few things I would have done
differently of course as well as some that identify that it was not the most
expensive machine in the market. The scale that shows where the head is
positioned is akin to a wide steel rule screwed to the side, very vulnerable
and gets in the way of the Z axis locks. The handwheels I have mentioned and the
warning label on the side (wear gloves when cleaning as sharp edges may cause
injury) is very apt, I guess smoothing out the rough edges costs money and
doesn’t add to the functionality. These are very minor gripes however and all
in all I would recommend this type of machine to anyone who can handle the
weight and has the room. Mike has identified the weight of the head and he is
not kidding.

I had looked very hard at the 626/VMC type
machine which are very good value but in the end the limited table travel and
height below the spindle put me off. I also looked at the 836/WM20 type mill
and would have bought one if I could have justified that amount of money on a
hobby machine.

I spent time looking at these type of machines
with three major importers and had friendly and helpful advice from all of
them. The final decision was made on availability, work envelope, standard
equipment and total cost when delivery etc was included. This mill was bought
to replace a Bridgeport during a downsizing exercise so I am used to reasonable
machinery. Neither machine would hold a candle to the Huron and Ajax mills I
used in my youth. The total spend for machine, power feed and 3 axis DRO was
considerably less than a decent vice and rotary table would have cost for one
of those new.

Edited By KMP on 18/11/2011 21:50:56

Edited By KMP on 18/11/2011 21:52:39

No. 3 on head weight. Rig up a strap before tilting. I took the one on my Chester version over to about 20° shortly after installation and it almost escaped. Took a fair bit of grunting, groaning and impressive verbals to get it back. Naturally I dropped the spanner for the locking bolts too. In those days I was quite happy to lift a hundredweight or more from floor to bench or more.

I went the other way to KMP and moved up to a Bridgeport. In the home shop, where drowning in coolant or being buried in swarf spoils the fun, maximum metal removal rate and safe cutter size comes out pretty much the same. The really big difference is when setting up work. The combination of big square head, small table and spindle coverage limited to a little over half the table Y-axis width makes life much harder from both visibility and elbow room considerations. For obvious physical reasons these, along with machine stiffness, are inescapable compromises for any machine seriously smaller than a Bridgeport. You need to take a very careful look at the compromises of particular layouts before buying, table size isn't everything, visibility on the aforementioned 626 type being far better. I went round many laps before deciding on the square column one!

Edited By Clive Foster on 18/11/2011 23:54:55