Warco 290V comments n feedback

Hi Guys,

I am in the process of deciding what my first lathe will be, iv read a lot on different makes ect, and have been looking at the Warco WM290V, which seems to have most things required in the construction of a locomotive, before i part with my hard earned cash! I was hoping someone may have purchased said lathe, and could give me some honest feedback, on its pros n cons, im not looking for an all whistle blowing machine, but something that will perform well at a sensible price, and good after sales support

i look forward to your comments in due course

Mark

Hi Mark

Can't help you on that one, The 290V is a new addition to the family so to speak & am not aware of many people having one ... to date ... could be wrong though

Maybe we should include this model within the WM250 & WM16 thread...? I could say that about the 280 as well or are these two different beasts?

George

I 'think' the 290 is basically a larger spindle bore 280.

Nick

I think there are afew differences with the wm290, but thank you for your comments and i shall look forward to your views and recommendations

mark

Hi Mark,

The 290 was discussed in this thread. There is also a thread for the Warco 250 lathes, I don't know if you have read these. I have a 290 lathe myself (different paint work though), it works well for the work I do. I would have preferred a proper Camlock spindle nose, but I guess that means you have to buy a bigger (and more expensive) lathe.

Thor

One more point , theses lathes seem to come in metric or imperial, now im a imperial chap cant grasp metric ect, and most plans and books i own use imperial measurements, the wm290v has digital readout, ok handy if you work in metric, unless its possible to switch to imperial? Anyway, what to order imperial or metric lathe

mark

Mark

If you order a metric machine, it will be more difficult to do Imperial screwcutting, and vice versa.

A DRO on either metric or Imperial will give you complete peace of mind as you will be able to switch freely from one to the other by just pressing one button.

Personally I was brought up with Imperial but I now use metric pretty well all the time. I simply can't understand now why 3.37/64" should make more sense to anybody than 90.88mm, but there you go. To use the Imperial measurement on a DRO you'd need to convert fractional to decimal anyway.

As Nigel says go with the imperial to get the TPI threads you are more likely to use. The DRO will do either at the press of a button but if you have it set in imperial its still is often easier to take of a cut using the handwheel increments so again go with imperial.

It does seem quite a price hike between the 280 and 290. The bigger bore won't cost much different at the time of manufacture so you are paying a lot for a 2 axis DRO to be fitted. May be worth thinking how often you are likely to need the larger bore, if not often then go with a 280 and buy a DRO to fit yourself. If you go down this route get one that has three inputs/two read outs and put a scale on the topslide as its easier to put on a small cut with that than the apron wheel, the right DRO will add the movement of the topslide and carrage and display as one reading.

I've had a 280VF which is 90% the same machine for about 5 years and very happy with it

If I were you I wouldn't be afraid to ring Warco up and fire some questions at them.

Neil

If you can get to Warco they do have an excellent showroom where you should be able to see,play and ask. I have a WM250 and have been very satisfied with the quality and ease of use. I think they exceptional value for money. It is still better than I am...

SteveW

I had a good look at Warco's new 290VF lathe at this years Harrogate show, and as well as having an upgraded inverter drive and motor, it also had one other desirable improvement over the previous model and the 280 that is not mentioned in their brochure.The new version on show had a quick change headstock spindle flange, or rather semi quick change is a more accurate description.

On this new spindle flange the nuts securing the chucks, or whatever, only need to be slackened then a knurled collar turned slightly to release the chuck complete with drive pins and nuts. It's the same system used on some German lathes such as Weiler and Prazimat, and a few 10 inch swing Chinese lathes such as the Sieg C6 and Chesters new DB 10 Super.

This is a lot better than the somewhat tiresome plain spindle flanges found on a lot of lathes these days that require the securing nuts or bolts to be completely removed. The much bigger spindle bore of the 290 lathe also means that it may have larger spindle bearings than the 280 in order to accommodate the increased spindle diameter.

Thor mentioned that he wished he had a Camlock spindle on his 290 lathe, well there is one version of the 290 lathe available that is fitted with a Camlock spindle that was also on display at this years harrogate show. This is the SP 2129 lathe which was being offered by SPG Tools in Hinckley. This also has the large 38mm spindle bore and has a much heftier tailstock with a larger diameter quill, but again their advert for it makes no mention of the Camlock spindle.

The SPG version doesn't have the DRO system or the upgraded electrics but it is around £1000 lower in price, which leaves plenty of room for upgrading it later oneself if required.

Toolco and Amadeal also offer versions of the 280 & 290 lathes. The detail spec and included accessories can vary between suppliers.

The design of the Chinese made 280 & 290 lathes is based on the German made Wabeco D6000 lathe, with the same heavy build and large, wide guideways on the bed. But the Chinese versions are also a bit more sophisticated with powered cross and longitudinal feeds from a separate feedshaft, and simple quick change gearboxes.

I have no connection to any of the companies mentioned, other than that of a customer.

Edited By Lathejack on 29/08/2014 23:53:40

Edited By Lathejack on 29/08/2014 23:56:46

Hi Lathejack,

I understand I bought my 290 lathe a year too early, wonder what changes the 290 will get in the coming year.

Thor

Hello Thor.

It is usually Sod's law that as soon as I buy something that has remained unchanged for years, the next batch will have an upgrade at little extra cost, if any.

When the 280 lathe first appeared on the UK market, I think it was Warco that first offered it, it did not have any power feeds other than engaging the leadscrew thread for longitudinal feeds as well as screw cutting. Chesters version, the DB11, remains like this and is getting a bit old hat. When the 280 appeared with a separate feedshaft for power cross and longitudinal feeds it didn't cost that much more than the earlier model.

Earlier this year I was all set to visit SPG to buy their Camlock 290, as a second lathe, well third really! But at the last moment they emailed me to say that the factory had made an error with the last batch and sent machines without the Camlock, just the plain flange type instead, so I abandoned the purchase of one.

I contacted them recently and the Camlock version will be back next year, in time for the Harrogate show, so I might try again.

As for future changes to the 290, well I know they claim to have high torque throughout the speed range, but if they could just squeeze in a back gear, and a gearbox with more than three feed rates...and...and.

I'm thinking about a WM290V myself, and am planning to go to the exhibition in a couple of weeks to see one, but I'm wondering whether the 290V is robust enough for its larger spindle bore. While looking at an Opti BF46, I also had a quick look at their 38mm bore lathes, and IIRC they were over 400kg for a similar bed length! Is there enough metal in the WM290V's head castings for its larger spindle and 1.5kW motor?

Hi Joe

i have this week taken delivery of Wm290, and from what iv seen sofar, I am impressed, although I havnt run the machine as yet, as I'm halfway installing it, I'd say it's well capable of most tasks, I will forward my opinions when I get it operational , and boy! It's heavy! One further thing hats off to warco for there customer service, and sales team,I can't fault them, was a pleasure to deal with them

mark

I can't really see why the rest of the machine needs beefing up just because its got a larger spindle. You can turn the same dia work with same depth of cut & feed with either bore machine it just means you can fit a longer length of it down the spindle

Go to the next size up Warco say the 12/30 and that also weighs 500kg but you are really jumping up into the next size range of lathes much like the Optimim range

.

Hello Mark,

Congratulations on your new purchase. I hope and am sure you will have countless hours of pleasure from it.

Heavy.! - Well I would not want one dropping on my toes that's for sure. But many would consider it a paperweight. But being realistic it's ideal for 'model' engineering.

I would highly recommend that when installing it you use a precision level ASAP and make sure all four foot points are taking load or you will twist that bed.! Beg-borrow-steal one as it will also reduce vibration when you put the machine under load. Cast iron on a lightweight bed such as the 290 will flex and bend more than you think if it's not set up properly.

But most importantly have fantastic enjoyment from it this weekend.

Regards, Nick

Fair enough - I was just worried that boring a bigger hole in the same size castings as the 280V might not leave much metal in them...

May be a different casting, hard to tell without looking inside at the size of the bosses where the bearings fit, last time I looked inside my 280 from what I recall taking 12mm more off the dia would maybe only loose 25% of whats there.

May be worth a look at the Blue machining site as they have been doing the bigbore for a couple of years and have a read of the posts there.

Hi

well just about to place wm290 on its stand, but as you may well know, the stand does not have any machine mounts to level it, so I purchased some machine mounts from warco, the fixed type, with a plastic round foot, I intend to place lathe onto theses resting on a washer n bolt to allow for adjustment, the problem now is, theses mounts are dam slippy on stand, and as they are in a sense floating on stand, I'm concerned that the lathe is going move over time, I have thought of sitting them on rubber pads, in an attempt to a rest this, it would make levelling fairly straight forward with this setup, option 2 is bolt it directly to stand, but then shimming it is going to be almost impossible, anyway your suggestions would be welcome

cheers

mark