Search Results for 'arc euro'

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Not sure you will find what you seek – in the modern world we live in ! A copy of Arc Euros catalogue might help It has pictures and the prices are fair. The staff are helpful. They have been around many years and are used by many on here – including me ! For the lathe don’t bother with tipped tooling, buy HSS. You can shape or sharpen it easily with a bench grinder, yor may get bundles of used cutters on the bay, 1.5″ or longer and a suitable size for your machine.  Welcome to the party, if you have questions someone on here will be able to help ! Noel.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Experienced machinists avoid sets because they already know what tools they need/  Beginners don’t!  I started out not knowing exactly what I wanted to do or what cutters were needed to do it!   After some research, I bought a set of HSS knives like this from ArcEuro, who also sell them individually:

Of these, the Right Hand knife will get most use, but they all will see action eventually.  All needed immediately if you start by learning all the basic machine operations on test pieces: turning, chamfering, external threading, boring, internal threading, and parting-off.

HSS versus Carbide inserts is another debate.   HSS has many virtues, but it has to be resharpened.  Sharpening requires a £grinding wheel and skill. Some have natural grinding talent, others struggle to get good results even after a lot of practice.  Beware well-meant advice assuming grinding HSS is easy!   Chaps good at grinding HSS have trouble grasping that others, including me, might be clumsy and have a poor eye.

Carbide inserts are pre-shaped, usually last longer than HSS, and are changed, not resharpened.   Inserts have largely replaced HSS for production work because no cutting time is wasted resharpening and re-setting tools.  No skill needed! On the downside, carbide is fussier than HSS in that speed, depth of cut, and feed-rate may all need to be tuned in to the job for best results.  Not a problem for industry who have all the data and powerful rigid machines, but hobbyists often turn unknown metal on a relatively lightly built lathe.  Inserts also come in bewildering variety, and the catalogues assume the buyer is experienced, has selected the insert by feeding known requirements into an application, or has paid for specialist advice.

Fortunately, a fairly small range of inserts cover most hobby requirements.  The range sold by ArcEuro is suitable.  One trick for slow lightly built lathe owners: although the lathe may not be fast, powerful, or rigid enough to get the best out of inserts made for steel, the  sharp uncoated inserts sold for Non-Ferrous metal happen to work well on steel at hobby cutting rates.

The answer to HSS vs Carbide depends on what the lathe is used for.   If the work involves special shapes cut with form tools, then HSS is essential.   I do general experimental work, and find the convenience and performance of carbide works best for me.  About 90% of my turning is done with carbide inserts.  I switch to HSS on special occasions – form tools, and when carbide fails to get a good finish.

One type I can’t recommend are the painted brazed carbide sets:

Issue is they often arrive unsharpened and need a green grinding wheel.   They must be useful for something, but for my purposes they combine the disadvantages of HSS and carbide!

Dave

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Whilst I agree with Bazyle that sets are not the way to go, I’m not sure that used HSS from Ebay is a better option for those starting out, either..

Not every one has a grinder or even somewhere to use one.

If you buy carbide tool holders from a tool supplier, you’ll be more likely to buy a ‘recognised’ form that takes a ‘standard’ insert which will make re-ordering easier, and allow you to select alternative specifications of the same insert to suit different materials and cutting conditions.

Because turning essentially comprises only a couple of basic cutting actions, you don’t really need many different types of tool just to get started.

Here is a well-known supplier’s page of lathe cutting tools – at first glance the choice looks pretty sparse, but the tools here will cover about 90% of turning jobs, and use a limited number of standard insert types.

https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Cutting-Tools/Lathe-Turning-Tools-Indexable/ARC-Indexable-Turning-Tools

For most of my own day to day turning and facing I mostly use a ‘SCLC-R’ holder to take ‘CCMT’ or ‘CCGT’ shape inserts. A 10mm tool holder will most probably take ’06—-‘ inserts (6mm size).

For steel and cast iron ‘CCMT 060204’ inserts are tough and provide a good finish and I’d recommend these for practice if you are just starting out.

CCGT inserts are sharper and are designed for aluminium (but work well on steel), but not so tough and easier to chip.

Best ways to chip an insert are to run the edge of the insert into stationary work, and to rotate the work ‘backwards’ against the edge..

These a few basic thoughts, it’s a huge subject.. HTH

 

 

 

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Thanks for the encouragement. To update you all, I have just picked it up and it’s now completing a small print of a Eurofighter that the seller started off as a demo. It all seems to be working fine (at least to my untutored eye), and he gave me a few useful tips. He’d already tweaked it to the point where I could just plug and play.

So, now to search out some tutorials, get hold of a copy of Cura, etc.

My daughter has already requested a key-ring, but that might have to wait until I get more filament…

And my wife has already complained about the smell…

Rob

[ChrisLHParticipant @chrislh]

Yes, similar rigmarole for a gardening club bank account. Half a dozen (I have actually lost count) letters threatening to close the account if I didn’t get in touch by phone. On getting in touch I answered, on each occasion, several personal questions to the satisfaction of the perhaps Eastern European interrogator who was difficult (for me who is a bit deaf) to understand. Then new letter and new interrogation with no indication of any communication between old and new inquisitors etc.and so on. Apparently it’s all to make sure that the club is not involved in money laundering. It must be costing Barclays a fortune the way they are going about it just in phone calls and postage let alone the wages of those they have hired to do the interrogating and the money they ought to be paying me for my time they’ve squandered.

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

I am not sure that the Bernado lathes are Weiss, or not all of them anyway. The following is a copied section from a post I made seeking owner views on the Warco GH600 before I deceided to get one & details some of my “research” into who made it :

These machines seem to be available from several European sellers (Bernado Profi 600G, Pauilmot PM3700 as examples ) and the manufacturer would possibly be CJ Machinery. ( http://cjmachine.net/ProductsShow.asp?Probid=1707 ). Weiss do make gear head machines, but they appear to be different to the CJ machine (different spindle speeds & gearchange arrangements). YouTube videos about the Bernado & Paulimot machines noted above also appear to be largely positive. There do not appear to be any other UK sellers of Chinese gearhead machines of this size (250 – 280 swing) other than Warco.

I don’t see any advantage (but do see many disadvantages !) to buying from a European importer of Chinese produced machines post Brexit. Little seems different other than the colour chosen by the importer & what the importer chooses to include as standard equipment, though for the GH600 equivalent machines the European importers don’t appear to offer a single phase version. With the GH600, initially the Warco appears more expensive that the European options, but closer inspection of the various offerings shows that the Warco comes as a complete package with 3 & 4 jaw chucks, faceplate, fixed & travelling steadies & stand, but the European price is for the base machine only – add in everything they show as options to match the Warco spec & the price difference disappears.

Nigel B.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Bernardo are just another european supplier of the same basic far eastern machines, slight variaions in spec between all the suppliers

Looking at the Pro 550-125 which is a WM250V it will cost you more as they want £200 delivery but Warco includes delivery. You then need to allow another £200 or so for 4-jaw, steadies, faceplate etc that warco include in their price. Plus the ebay price is £115 more than Warco to start with!

Also think about what happens if there is a problem getting spares from Germany or worse still if it needs to go back.

Speed spec also varies some have it as the older 70rpm low speed others 30rpm. Bernardo don’t show any overlap between the two speed range sso that would mean a lot more belt changing as 380rpm as the lowest in the high range is rather fast

Hi,

Happy New Year everyone.

I have an arceurotrade  sliding tailstock die holder containing 6 metric and 4 imperial sized holders for different sized die diameters.

I am very happy with the kit except that the ID of the die holders are almost the same nominal ID as the die itself, this leaves no room for slightly expanding the die. Interestingly there is no coned grub screw fitted in the die holders to facilitate this!

I have been reading an article that GHT wrote back in the late 1970’s where he described making a very similar set. However, he measured the dies in his collection and found that the 13/16 dia and 1 inch diameter dies were within a tolerance of 0.000 to – 0.003. He therefore bored out the housings in his kit to around 0.015 (15 thou) larger than the die diameters. Obviously this would create enough “space” inside the holder to allow the die to be slightly expanded if needed. This seems logical. I have also measured the ID of some die stocks that I have that are also slightly larger than the dies I have.

So I have decided to bore out the holders I have in my kit to around 15 thou larger than the die, following the expert advice of GHT.

So my question is though, what is the tolerance of the typical OD of a die (metric and imperial)?, I cannot seem to find this anywhere other than “nominal” sizes.

My kit includes holders for 16 mm dia, 20 mm dia, 25 mm dia, 30 mm dia and 38 mm dia. My kit also includes the imperial set, these being 13/16″, 1″, 1 5/16″ and 1 1/2″ dia. holders. Sorry to mix up imperial and metric, but am I right in assuming that any housing to contain any dia should be slightly larger to accommodate any adjustment i.e. “expanding” the die? (I am talking about “split” dies here).

I am going to modify the holders and replace the fitted cup point grub screws that are ineffectual in expanding the die and fit coned stainless steel grub screws that engage in the “split” in the die for the purpose of “wedging” (expanding) the die.

Interestingly, GHT in the same article, had 4 die adjusting grub screws at 90 degrees around the holder, instead of the more traditional 30 – 0 – 30 degrees, one of these grub screws was coned the other 3 were cup point and simply used to compress the die slightly.

Any comments would be welcomed.

Regards to all

 

Derek

 

Bit of a retorical question, but I thought it might be useful information for a prospective purchaser.
Some years ago, before getting my current mill, I purchased a used Seba 6″ horizontal / vertical rotary table. It was a bargain buy at an amateur radio rally. Fast forward to this week and I need to make a 115mm diameter hole for a cooling fan in a aluminium panel. This is for an electronics project and the panel is from a 4U half rack case that I’m repurposing. Having aquired a mill (from ARC Eurotrade) last year it seems a no brainer to use it and the rotary table to cut the hole. But would the large 6″ table fit on the little SX1-LP mill? And second can I rotate the 240mm x 130mm panel through 360 degrees with the center of the hole offset to one side?

The answer is yes, I can.

The plate and thin ply backing are held to the table by screws in the fan mounting locations (105mm square) into nut plates in the rotary table T-slots. I made the plates a little long and they fouled the table clamp screws. It was easier to remove the clamps than shorten the plates and re-align everything. The rotary table centerline is on the center of the mill table.  The only problem I had was the aluminium was a bit soft and stuck to the cutter so I used lubricant. I also made the initial cut inside the requred diameter and then finished with a light cut. I need to get a MT2 center to make alignment easier. A good learning experience for me being first use of a rotary table and a lot easier than chain drilling and filing.

Robert.

Does anyone know of stockists for Seig C6 parts.

Both Axminster and Arc Eurotrade seem to have little on no stock.

I’m specifically looking for a saddle leadscrew and back nut.

 

TIA

 

 

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Test post = appears forum is losing my posts!

In answer to Samuel, Titanium Nitride improves the wear resistance of HSS, and drills coated with it last longer.

Whether the extra life shows up depends on how the drill is used.

In a production setting, drills are used repeatedly on the same material at the same cutting speeds etc.   In these conditions, the advantage of particular types of HSS, Cobalt, Carbide, TiN and other coatings are obvious.

Home and jobbing workshops operate drills under wildly different conditions many of them unkind to drills, driven by a manual operator who probably doesn’t optimise cutting.   I use the same mid-range drills on wood, tinplate, work-hardening stainless, Aluminium, Copper, Brass and mild-steel, with and without cutting fluid.  Although I’m more careful when accuracy is needed, the sheer inconsistency of general purpose drilling makes it very difficult to judge if TiN is an improvement or not.  It should, but…

Another problem is the variability of drills.  Being stamped ‘HSS’ doesn’t mean it is!  And there are counterfeits, factory rejects, and ‘bargains’ that are too cheap.  Tool-steel drills and inexpensive grades of HSS that do a reasonable job on most woods blunt quickly on metal.  Whether it’s worth an amateur spending big money on drills designed for production work is up to the individual.    In my case, mostly not, because I buy drills to make holes and am happy if they do so without costing a fortune.  I avoid cheap and buy from Tracy, Arc Euro and similar; they usually manage .  I have some Dormers for special occasions.

Anyone able to answer these engineering questions:

• How many 20mm deep holes in EN1A should a 10mm twistt drill produce before it has to be sharpened?,  and,
• How much does each hole cost?

Dave

PS Good idea I think for beginners to start with a set of 0.5 increment metric drills (or 1/16th inch in Imperial), but thereafter to buy drills in the required size when needed.  In practice I guess most workshops drill a smallish sub-set of hole sizes, and might never use some of the drills in a set.

[jaCK Hobson]

On jaCK Hobson Said:

 

I drill a lot of half-hard steel. I have a bulk pack of Erbauer from screwfix I got so I would always have a ‘new’ drill’ for this… it didn’t work so well.

Good drills were a revelation for me. I save a few for this duty and regularly touch them up by hand and it works well enough. So I conclude the base metal is the most important thing to buy. But a new Dormer split point is sublime.

I get the handy pack that includes metric tapping sizes. Very useful:

Dormer A094413

 

 

 

They are cheaper at ARC Linky

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

 

….

Michael –

I might have guessed “Legal” is some archaic size used in the USA, presumably nowhere else, just to be different! I take it lawyers in “Europe and some other countries” use A4 sheets, not US “Legal”. I wonder how a US court would handle a case in which one side is from a nation that uses only A4 paper, if it demands seeing the original documents.

I didn’t realise it comes in 4 lengths, too. I can understand Canada also using these, but I see Japan uses yet another entirely. I suppose in time all three countries will go ISO, grudgingly.

“Europe and some other countries”…. it says. Many Americans apparently think “Europe” is a single country, and they don’t realise that virtually all other countries now use ISO systems as a matter of course.

When I tried that print, the American-designed printer decided it was loaded with “legal” size paper – same width as A4 even if the lengths  are different. It did not ask me to select the size.

.

I looked at that link about .dwl files…..

I take it you knew I’d not understand it! 🙂

………

 

I think you’ve sussed the Legal business, Nigel

… I can’t help regarding your printer’s predilections, but I would definitely suggest that you train it to do your will

.

The significant point about the dwl file is that it is only produced to enable ‘collaborative working ‘ [something which I have never done, in CAD at least]
My own experience of Autocad was confined to its DOS versions, and I only ever scratched the surface of TurboCad.

I doubt if I will be able to contribute anything more; so I just wish you well on the difficult journey … I truly admire your perseverance !

MichaelG.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

DC31k –

I don’t want clumsy work-rounds. Using CAD is hard enough for me as it is.

Individual rulers did occur to me but it makes a very messy situation. An assortment of randomly out-of-scale drawings with their own rulers is inconvenient, awkward to use, risks confusion, and is just bad practice. You can’t print templates, nor can you print paper layers.*

If the CAD package and the printer each allow printing to a set scale – 1:1 or 1:[other integer] – I need know how to link them so they can.

When Victorian and Edwardian designers produced scale drawings, they used integer scales and stated the scale on the drawing, sometimes with a rule too, but the scales were never random.

Printing to scale on my HP printer works for original and imported drawings in Alibre. It should work in TurboCAD, but isn’t and that’s what I want to solve.

….

Michael –

I might have guessed “Legal” is some archaic size used in the USA, presumably nowhere else, just to be different! I take it lawyers in “Europe and some other countries” use A4 sheets, not US “Legal”. I wonder how a US court would handle a case in which one side is from a nation that uses only A4 paper, if it demands seeing the original documents.

I didn’t realise it comes in 4 lengths, too. I can understand Canada also using these, but I see Japan uses yet another entirely. I suppose in time all three countries will go ISO, grudgingly.

“Europe and some other countries”…. it says. Many Americans apparently think “Europe” is a single country, and they don’t realise that virtually all other countries now use ISO systems as a matter of course.

When I tried that print, the American-designed printer decided it was loaded with “legal” size paper – same width as A4 even if the lengths  are different. It did not ask me to select the size.

.

I looked at that link about .dwl files…..

I take it you knew I’d not understand it! 🙂

………

*Manual drawing often uses translucent sheets in physical “layers”, for example to trace a component onto an assembly drawing, or test clearances.  I thought “layers” in CAD is the equivalent, but I’m probably wrong there.

I see Alibre uses Layers. I leave that to the experts.

TurboCAD has “Layers” and “Blocks”. Either both are for copying parts of drawings; or the Layers are for pre-formatting lines and Blocks are for… I don’t know.

The Layers tool invites setting different line types (outlines, centre-lines, dimensions, specific parts, etc)… but the drawing automatically ignores most of that.

So often, I use only Layer 1 for everything and format the lines separately anyway. While copying a sub-assembly and placing the copy accurately, in TurboCAD, is very laborious and difficult, even in 2D.

(Does Alibre Atom allow setting line formats for the elevation drawings?)

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

One that is not such a cheap set Forgive me ‘as Jasons photo’ was intended to imply ‘looks like’ but obviously failed and two it was taken to illustrate the use of a tap guide in my series in MEW and my book so needs to be taken in context with the text. Taps were also supplied by ARC Euro Trade who sponsored the articles in the mag that formed the basis of my book so they got used for the photos. Thankyou, so now I know why the tap wrench is there. I only posted to let Bill know that there may be another way round his issue if only for metric

Machine taps be they spiral flute or spiral point can still be used by hand not only for their swarf clearing capacity but also to save time backing off and/or following up with a 2nd or plug.

You do also have to be careful when using the spiral flute taps in blind holes that you don’t hit the bottom when power tapping, so doing it by hand can be safer. Unless of course you have rigid tapping on your CNC which will stop at the required depth.

60rpm is a bit tame, the SX2.7 is limited to 500rpm in tapping mode but I find 200-250rpm OK for steel and you get time to react and reverse the tap before it gets drawn in too far.

Btw the bold is not meant to be shouting and only to pick out my reply.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

One that is not such a cheap set and two it was taken to illustrate the use of a tap guide in my series in MEW and my book so needs to be taken in context with the text. Taps were also supplied by ARC Euro Trade who sponsored the articles in the mag that formed the basis of my book so they got used for the photos.

Machine taps be they spiral flute or spiral point can still be used by hand not only for their swarf clearing capacity but also to save time backing off and/or following up with a 2nd or plug.

You do also have to be careful when using the spiral flute taps in blind holes that you don’t hit the bottom when power tapping, so doing it by hand can be safer. Unless of course you have rigid tapping on your CNC which will stop at the required depth.

60rpm is a bit tame, the SX2.7 is limited to 500rpm in tapping mode but I find 200-250rpm OK for steel and you get time to react and reverse the tap before it gets drawn in too far. This is M6 into a 5mm hole in steel

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Might just be easier to get a tapping guide that can do both, this one has a reversable male/female end

[File Handle]

On File Handle Said:

I guess by mentioning using a spreadsheet above I might have been implying buy the cheapest, far from it.

Keith

It is a good idea to do a spreadsheet, Keith.

On File Handle Said:

I have seen some suggest that you should treat buying a Mill or Lathe etc as an item that you will write off after a number of years, I seem to remember 5 being suggested. But being a Yorkshire man I like to get my monies worth out of things. That is the bit that is really hard to determine, how long will spares be available.
Keith

That is a good point Keith.

The 5 years suggestion is mainly based on the user. So how long is a piece of string: factors: light use/heavy use/outgrowing original needs/ability.

Regarding spares, there are various observations to be made here:

1. We started selling SIEG machines around 2004. From then until now, we have carried a good range of spares for their machines, be they for machines which we have discontinued, or current, or some other SIEG machines which we don’t sell, but for which the parts are the same. These can be found in machine spares section on our site: LINK . However, we do not sell all parts for all SIEG machines.

2. We only sell SIEG machines. We do not change from one machine manufacturer to another, so the spares we sell will fit SIEG models as specified. Some of our competitors will change factories based on price or relationship with SIEG or new factories, especially for products they think are generic (but not necessarily), for example fixed/travelling steady for mini-lathe, or certain parts for mini-mill or bigger. We don’t suggest any compatibility of spares for machines made by factories other than SIEG. SIEG spares for SIEG machines. NO electrical spares compatibility with non-SIEG made machines.

3. SIEG have plenty of distributors around the world. Their main production is for the U.S. market which has the highest consumption of SIEG machines. So spares for SIEG machines are more easily available for new and old machines. Here is a list to their distributors LINK

There are a few ‘own brand’ machines sold by companies such as Machine Mart – mini-lathe and mini-mill (but not the combo), which are also machines made by SIEG.

Generally, to the best of my knowledge, mechanical spares for SIEG made machines are available for 10 years plus after a model is discontinued by SIEG, depending on how popular the machine is. So even if a distributor stops selling a SIEG machine, I would suggest that probability of spares availability for a good period 10 years+ is high, because very few models have been discontinued by SIEG, even if a distributor has stopped selling certain models. For example: ARC has stopped selling brushed motor models of SIEG machines over time (even though some distributors still sell brushed motor models), but we still maintain a range of spares for those machines which were sold by us.

4. Electrical spares availability: Certain control boards have been discontinued by SIEG – generally around 5 to 10 years after last production of a machine fitted with such a control board. Other than an upgrade/improvement to an existing control board issue, Control boards have usually been changed to meet with new regulatory requirements, eg. lead free. For very old dead control boards, you will usually find someone on a forum somewhere who has managed to replace dead components (such as MOSFETS) on an old board. So information is available for certain obsolete boards on forums. Others have replaced obsolete boards with conversions to 3-phase motors with inverters.

Ketan at ARC

[File Handle]

On File Handle Said:

At present the ArcEuro machine prices seem to have reduced since the last time I looked. Perhaps the previously higher prices reflected added expense of getting them due to COVID.
When you try to compare specs and the cost of the necessary extras it gets complicated, a job spreadsheets were built for.

Post COVID, all costs including shipping increased for a while.

Post COVID, demand slowly reduced. Competition from ‘unknown’ factories increased via direct and in-direct unregulated marketplace platforms for machines – especially lathes with misleading marketing, offering very low prices for products with low specification.

At the same time, U.K. competitors (other than Axminster) started offering machines using marketing language suggesting features similar to SIEG Brushless machines which we sell, or better, at lower prices.. In my opinion as a seller I consider this to be borderline misleading involving use of words such as SUPER, input power WATT figures being used as output power WATT figures, motor types and combinations to suggest better performance than the product may be, distance between centres, spindle stroke, table size and travel, etc…

As a combination of above factors, sales of SIEG brushless motor machines dropped heavily – in particular the SC2 and SC3 mini-lathes.

Every day we handle calls from beginners or new people who enter the hobby who wished they had a better understanding of the product they had purchased at a very low price, in particular the mini-lathes purchased through unregulated marketplace platforms.

There is no suggestion being made here that SIEG make the best machines. All I am saying is ARC knows the machines we sell, with understanding of specifications we state, along with the limitations. Comparisons should be made for like with like, and if a beginner fails to understand the differences, they should ask respective sellers pre purchase and make up their own mind. There is a distinct lack of this taking place.

ARC holds a lot of stock for the SIEG Brushless Motor machines it sells. We have to sell them.

Combining all of the above factors with the ‘cost of living’ crises has resulted in a squeeze on profit from reduced prices.

Ketan at ARC 🙂

[File HandleParticipant @filehandle]

At present the ArcEuro machine prices seem to have reduced since the last time I looked. Perhaps the previously higher prices reflected added expense of getting them due to COVID.
When you try to compare specs and the cost of the necessary extras it gets complicated, a job spreadsheets were built for.

[jaCK HobsonParticipant @jackhobson50760]

If I had to recommend one machine to you without knowing any other details I would punt on the SX3 from ArcEuro https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Milling-Machines/SIEG-SX3-Mill/SIEG-SX3-HiTorque-Mill. Why? Quite compact for capacity, and Z wheel out front, down low.

However, I got the slightly bigger mill with power feed. I really like power feed! AND add DRO (even better than power feed).

You just missed 15% off Warco, so I’d wait until their next ‘deal’ if I wanted the WM18. Amadeal have something similar but I don’t know which it is.

 

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Not stupid at all. Arceuro actually sell gas strut kits for their SX2 mills, which I believe is the next size down from the 16B/SX3.

Rod

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

I have bought machines from Warco and found the support to be good.

My contacts with Chester, about a machine, on the whole have been disappointing

Have only bought tooling from Arc Euro, but found face to face, on telephone, or E mail, excellent relations.  My preferred supplier, and most accomodating.

They supply machines from Sieg as do Chester and Axminster, (And Machine Mart but poor technical backup. My advice FWIW – avoid) but all three will offer different packages for the same machine, and therefore different prices..

Howard

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

As John says without knowing the sort of things you want to do with the mill it will be impossible to suggest a size.

Also look at Warco and ARC, Warco can be got to by the advert at the top of the page and ARC  Here, also 20% off anything you buy to go with it this weekend.

[Vic]

On Vic Said:

I was under the impression that Andrew is a professional machinist…

No idea why you would think that; I am not a professional machinist. My only formal qualification is O-level metalwork; otherwise I am largely self-taught. I am a professional engineer, but my main area of expertise is electronics. I have made extensive use of my workshop over the years to make heatsinks and casework to support my design work in the area of power electronics and battery management systems. But that is not the same as being a full time machinist.

Personally I never rated bogstandard. He was gratuitously offensive to me on this forum when I was posting in a thread on testing the EMG endmill grinder sold by ArcEuroTrade. My impression was that he was unable, or unwilling, to consider anything other than his own view.

Andrew

NB: Getting this post done has been a bit of a marathon, plus one restart due to hitting the wrong button.