New turret mill

Hi to all,

I am looking at buying a new turret mill very soon and have short listed the Warco VMC or the Chester 626.

Any advice or recommendations would be gratefully read as I have not had any dealings with either company.

If there are other alternatives to the two already mentioned then I would be ready to look at those as well.

With thanks,

Mike

Hi John,

Many thanks for the response which certainly is a guide in the right direction. As far as tooling goes I have the complete set of ER32 collets albeit based on an MT3 holder but assume that the collects are interchangeable between different MT or R type holders, but perhaps you could confirm this.

At the same time I would be looking at DRO's for all three axis and power feed for the X axis at least and would appreciate your comments on these two accessories.

Best regards,

Mike

Hi Mike

I've owned a Warco VMC for around 4 years now and I've been very pleased with it's performance so far. Why did I choose Warco? Probably because I have other Warco equipment which has been fine - but also that they offer a wide drip tray which is very useful. I would echo the above comment regarding R8 as it's far easier to use than Morse tapers and tooling is readily (and cheaply) available.

Something else that you may wish to consider is a 3 phase motor and inverter drive. This has transformed the machine with speed variation quick and easy, so much so that I have probably only changed the belts a couple of times since I've owned the machine. It also has jog and reverse functions which I use for tapping under power down to around M3. When I purchased my machine I wanted imperial / R8 / 3 phase which is not in the catalogue, but Warco offered to supply as a special order from the factory - it saved me the cost of buying a new motor. This took around 6 months, but was well worth the wait. Add in 3-axis DRO (brilliant) and it's a very handy machine.

On the downside the distance between the spindle nose and table could be greater as long drills and a tall workpiece can clash - this probably also applies to the 626 . I suffered this for around 3 years before deciding to make a 4" raising block - problem solved!

Hope this helps you.

Regards, Roger

Hi Mike

A lot of turret mills have the same castings with almost identical features.

The only differences that i can see on the different brochures are, (apart from price) are the little embellishments that companies like Warco, Chester, Toolco etc do in order to make then unique.

I've had the VM26 model from Toolco for 2 years now and found the accuracy of the machine is excellent for the price paid. It also came with the large drip tray.

One option was, upon ordering, was do i go for MT3 or R8 tooling? and I'm glad that I opted for the latter as it is more robust and easier to break the hold when removing and changing tooling

John

Keep an eye on delivey costs which can be quite a lot and are included in some prices but not all.
Have you used a site search? lots of entries for VMC.
I think there was one big thread last year that was an ongoing comment space for existing owners of this style of mill and had some pictures and advice on moving them. Most particularly that the head is heavier than it looks and one of your over confident tough guy helpers will hurt his back lifting it.
I don't have one but drooled over one a bit at the Ally Pally show.

I have a Warco VMC and are very pleased with it. I went with the R8 quill and find it very easy to change tools but my ER collet chuck is usually installed. I am in the process of fitting a DRO, and power feed is next on the list of improvements. It is simple to remove the knee and head assemblies for installation and two strong people can manage dismantling and reassembly

Mike

Hi Mike I fitted a DRO like the one linked above to my Harrison milling machine and I also bought a decent vice. These two items transformed my milling accuracy. I just wish there was a quill feed on the Harrison, can't have everything though.

Brian

Hi Mike, i have a chester version, good machine, best thing i did was fit a dro and fit a 4" head raiser, not much room under machine without it

Hi Mike

I have been using the Warco version last 10 years and found it to be an accurate and versatile machine. The ability to swivel the head horizontally and vertically has at times been a useful feature. I did out of personal preference change the swivel head securing nuts and bolts as these were of poor quality and soft material, maybe not a problem now. Other than that I have not had any problems at all and have no complaint.

I find it's capacity more than adequate as for example seen here cutting 5-1/2" dis gears using a dividing head meant for a mill twice the size.

I fitted a coolant pump and longitudinal feed (x axis) as a first priority then later a variable speed drive. I don't feel the need for any further improvements and find it a pleasure to use.

Very pleased I went with R8 spindle taper.

Nigel

Gentlemen,

I thank you all for your input and it seems that the general consensus is for any of the three suppliers with final selection being based on delivered price but with R8 fittings and three axis DRO's as a common configuration.

Going the full hog with a three phase motor I think will be just that little bit too much right now.

Once again thanks for all of the advice which is being appreciated.

Best regards,

Mike

Hi to all,

Just resurrecting this thread as I have been lucky enough to purchase a used Chester 626 turret mill with a VFD, R8 and four DRO's, one for each of the three main axis plus one for the quill.

My question is now around the 4" head raiser which was mentioned a couple of times in the original replies.

How important is the raiser and how do I go about either obtaining one or making one, so any advice appreciated.

I am also looking at adding motor drive to the x axis and would appreciate any advice on suppliers of suitable motor drive systems. I had spoken to Chester and they advised an adapter would be needed, though Warco and Toolco drives seem to be a direct fit.

My focus will be in the making of small stationary engines from bar stock as well as the odd Stuart kit, so nothing of any great size though I do envisage using a rotary table with a chuck fitted.

With thanks in advance,

Mike

Hi Mike

Congratulations on your purchase of the 626 - sound like an ideal specification.

As for the 4" raising block - I certainly mentioned it in my reply to your original post. My experience with the VMC was that I needed a raising block - mainly due to the type of jobs that I undertake and the tooling that I use. Would advise that the best approach for you is to live with the machine for a while and then decide if there would be any benefit in adding a raising block.

As for supply, I doubt if Chester can supply - Warco certainly don't. I believe that I've seen a comment by John Stevenson that he makes them, so you may wish to make contact with him. Alternatively, you could always make your own - as it happens, I produced an article for MEW which has just started publication in MEW 215. If you look at the preview for this issue you will see a photo on the front cover.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Roger

Hi Roger,

Thanks for the reply and I took out a hard copy subscription just a few weeks ago so should be able to read your article.

I did see a thread with John's name on it discussing how long it took him to cut the stock for the raising block and I shall have to find it again and send him a line.

Once again thanks for the help,

Mike

...ah! You beat me to it Roger!

Neil