dore westbury problem

This topic has 11 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 27 July 2014 at 11:13 by Brian.

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25 July 2014 at 14:01 #158709
kevin hyland 1
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@kevinhyland1
hello all having purchased a dore westbury mill with the intention of improving its condition (was that wise ?),I have discovered that the base casting is very slightly warped. its a diagonal twist that is reflected on both the underside of the base as well as the top ( where the y axis slideway strips and column sit.) I used a small surface plate (not big enough to cover the whole base ) to confirm this…it rocks .my only option I think is to purchase a larger surface plate and tape down abrasive paper sheets and lap it flat, the top being more important the bottom as it will be mounted on a soft wooden base ..This will incur a cost , so to cover all bases does anyone know of a professional machine shop in the northwest who would cater for such a job as this ,that is a resurface of the casting .the only one I know of that advertises in ME is based in the south of England many thanks kevin hyland
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25 July 2014 at 14:01 #23424
kevin hyland 1
Participant
@kevinhyland1
warped base casting
25 July 2014 at 14:31 #158713
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Hello Kevin,

I mounted my base on height adjustable feet which are themselves part of raising blocks so that I could get the machine X Y axis handles above the lip of a swarf tray I made for it. The underside of my base is ground but I really have no idea if those surfaces are parallel with the Y axis guides; machine alignment for bolting down was to get the table level in both axes.

If you build your machine onto the workbench in a similar way, supported at the 4 corners, I think you will avoid the need to do anything else and save quite a lot of effort and expense into the bargain

Over the years I've made some useful improvements to the design, in particular to the key acting on the column for head raising and incorporating a home made thrust bearing between the column and collar which contains that key. It halves the effort in winding the head up and down..

I would be very happy to share these and others with you if you are interested. While you have it stripped down might be a good time to build them in.

Email me wood [underscore] y [at] btinternet [dot] com no spaces and all in lower case.

Kind regards Brian
25 July 2014 at 18:31 #158724
Durhambuilder
Participant
@durhambuilder
My Dore Westbury has a £20 trolley jack permanently mounted under the bench, easy as pie to raise or lower the head.
25 July 2014 at 19:42 #158729
Robbo
Participant
@robbo
Kevin,

I have got both the Mk1 and Mk2 Dore Westbury build instructions and drawings if a look at them would help with the improvement work.

I think Brian's idea of mounting the base on a stronger base using adjustable mountings, or even shimming, will solve your problem unless there is a huge twist.

I am near Chorley, Lancs.

You can send a PM if you wish

Phil

Edited By Robbo on 25/07/2014 19:49:32
25 July 2014 at 20:19 #158732
Andrew Moyes 1
Participant
@andrewmoyes1
Kevin – the machining of the castings as supplied was not very accurate. That was the nature of the beast and you were left either to live with the inaccuracies or correct them as you built it.

I shimmed the column to bring in into square with the base, and put jacking screws in the tee at the top of the column to pull it square while the Loctite set. The most annoying was to spend many hours filing and scraping the steel bar for the ways and scraping them on the base to a surface plate only to apply the saddle and find the two surfaces had been ground at an angle to each other. So I had to make the bars 'wrong' to compensate. Despite all the tribulations, it is capable of some surprisingly accurate work.

Nowadays, I would simply bung it all in the boot and take it to Brian Caddy at Slideway Services in Coventry and within an hour, for a very reasonable price, it would all be true.

Andrew M
25 July 2014 at 21:39 #158748
julian atkins
Participant
@julianatkins58923
hi kevin,

if there is a problem with your 'parts' i would strongly suggest you contact ivan law. whilst forcing the base casting square might be one solution it wouldnt be the ideal solution in my book. i was very lucky in that my secondhand dore westbury was 'spot on' and has produced the most amazingly accurate work over many years.

cheers,

julian
26 July 2014 at 08:34 #158767
JohnF
Participant
@johnf59703
Kevin, I am in the NW and may be able to help see your messages

John
26 July 2014 at 08:57 #158771
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Posted by Andrew Moyes 1 on 25/07/2014 20:19:26:

Nowadays, I would simply bung it all in the boot and take it to Brian Caddy at Slideway Services in Coventry and within an hour, for a very reasonable price, it would all be true.

.

Andrew,

Always useful to see a recommendation

Could I please just check that this is the right firm?

[Coventry PostCode, but Nuneaton address]

Thanks

MichaelG.
26 July 2014 at 16:04 #158812
Andrew Moyes 1
Participant
@andrewmoyes1
Michael – yes, that's the firm. He reground the table and slideways and built up the vees with Turcite on my Tom Senior mill. Did a lovely job. Also recently ground an Abwood vice and a magnetic chuck while I waited. Well recommended.

Andrew M
26 July 2014 at 16:26 #158814
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Andrew,

Excellent, thank you.

I have an old lathe of unknown parentage; which is roughly ML7 size …

Myford [Beeston] ground the top surface for me, but couldn't do the vees.

MichaelG.
27 July 2014 at 11:13 #158859
Brian
Participant
@brian
Kevin

Message me I may be able to help. I have recently cast and machined a new Dore Westbury base ready for a bottom end rebuild.

Brian
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