Search Results for 'arc euro'

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Ron's point about buying the biggest machine you can is well made. (Unless specialising in miniature work.) Constrained by space and money, one does the best one can.

Chaps often ask which is the best buy, hoping there's a simple market leader providing a well-made reliable machine with all accessories, extended warranty, brilliant customer service and bargain prices. Sadly, there is no such animal! The machines are similar, UK support is similar and prices vary.

Turning questions upside down is often useful: are there machines that should be avoided at all costs? This too is difficult to answer, but I would duck buying a machine direct from abroad, or from an unknown private ebay seller. It's what happens if you get a dud that matters far more than the asking price, accessories, and optimistic advertising. Safer I think to buy from a UK company who cares about their reputation, honours Warranties, and is bound by UK Consumer Protection Law.

With that in mind, almost anyone would do. With the possible exception of Arc Euro, all the vendors have dropped the ball at one time or another. But I've not had a problem with any of the 5 machines bought from Warco, who sorted out a lost in transit item without demur. Chester seem more likely to get a bad press on the forum, but they get good reports as well. Possibly the number of complaints is related to the number of machines sold. Amadeal also get good and bad reviews: as a smaller company, they're probably more vulnerable to intermittent staff issues. Several others about like Tool Co who don't get moaned about much or at all. But I've no experience of them. MachineMart are a box shifter; good in that they often display machines that can be eyeballed, and provide spares support, but don't expect the staff to know anything about machining. They sell it, you buy it, job done. My feeling is their machines are a bit basic, but I've not used one in anger. People do get results from them.

My biggest regret is not getting into the hobby sooner due to working myself into a lather of indecision. Chaps still say Chinese machines are unacceptably bad, or just a kit of parts. Not my experience. Although my machines aren't as well-finished as a Myford Super 7, which itself is inferior to a heavy expensive industrial machine, they do everything I need, which is what matters to me. And what the flip are all those features for? Many may not matter much.

There are some milling machine features I prefer and others I avoid:

• As mentioned round columns are controversial.
• If I had space I'd prefer a knee mill. Lack of space had me buying a WM18 which has a movable quill: not as rigid, but it's OK
• Steel gears may be better than plastic. The jury is out!
• Brushless DC Motors look to be better. My WM18 has a brushed motor, so far no problem with it.
• In theory R8 is superior to MT and is popular in the US because second-hand R8 tooling is common over there. In practice on a UK hobby mill, I don't think there's any advantage to it, especially if your lathe fittings are all MT! Worse, reported recently were problems with a cracked R8 quill because R8 was provided by boring out an MT spindle, leaving it weak.
• DRO on a mill is wonderful, transforms the machine!
• Big is better because it provides more space for work-holding and allows heftier, more rigid, vices and clamps to be used.
• Powered traverse and Z lift are only 'nice to have' in my book.

All vertical mills can be used as precision pillar drills, and all can do precision filing work – edges, grooves, dovetails etc. But in the latter mode, motor power and machine rigidity matter. A small machine won't be a monster metal muncher, but given time it still delivers results.

Basically, choose the size you need, going big rather than small, check prices for tax and delivery, check accessories included and look for offers, and then go for it. Ask the forum if there's a detail that concerns you: it may not matter at all.

Dave

[Nick HulmeParticipant @nickhulme30114]

Posted by Garry Smith 7 on 02/05/2020 11:55:30:

Thank you Gentlemen I didn’t make myself clear. I have a full set of drills offering the minor point sizes between the 2-3-4 mm etc.

I was asking in relationship to Milling cutters. My preferred supplier is ARC Euro and they only sell milling cutters in the full mm sizes and not in sizes between the 2-3-4 mm etc.

The steam way I want to cut are not holes in the steam chest but are ports ie the size I require is 2.4 mm wide x 9.25 mm long hence my question do I go up a size or down if I only have milling cutters to the whole mm size

If slots required "On Size" cutters we would all end up with an infinite number of cutters, you use the next size cutter down but you cut the slot or pocket to the correct size!

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Gene,

The descriptions provided by ARC are given after consultation with end users in the U.K. and U.S.A.

Sets made by or offered by the links you have given are of their own choosing, made out of their own thinking, or what they have been told by their buyers around the world, or no thinking.

These products are made in India as well as in China.

Perhaps you should read a book like this I am sure you can get it from an Amazon near you.

When you work with HSS, please do not presume that you are doing it 'the old way'. It is the correct way to learn. HSS is more forgiving for beginners than Carbide. Many beginners loose interest in the hobby after breaking carbide tools…. quickly.

Ketan at ARC.

Edited By Ketan Swali on 05/05/2020 08:48:45

[Fred Bloggs 3Participant @fredbloggs3]

Posted by not done it yet on 05/05/2020 08:01:19:

You have over-looked/missed Arceurotrade in your list of suppliers. I would suggest they are likely the most-recommended supplier of machines, by members on the forum, for machines for forum users (and others, of course).

Briiliant! Exactly what I was hoping to hear! Added to the research list.

FB

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

You have over-looked/missed Arceurotrade in your list of suppliers. I would suggest they are likely the most-recommended supplier of machines, by members on the forum, for machines for forum users (and others, of course).

[Robin GrahamParticipant @robingraham42208]

Posted by Les Jones 1 on 04/05/2020 13:08:28:

Hi Robin,
After reading this thread I have bought one of these scales from Arc Euro.(500mm) I notice from your other thread on the subject that you made an adapter cable. I thought at first that the connector on the scales was a 7 pin DIN but on checking I found the pin layout was different. I assume that you must have found a source for a 7 pin socket to match the scale. Could you please tell me what it is called and where you managed to obtain it. I think I can fit mine to my Seig X3 without having to shorten it.

Les.

Les- my adapter cable was a lash-up. I found a 7-pin female DIN socket in my bit-box which fitted the plug on the ARC scale and wired it to a 9-pin D plug to fit my readout following the pinouts Dave gave in my other thread. I wanted be sure it would work before doing any mods. I can confirm that the pinouts and wire colours given in Dave's post are correct for the ARC scales . I ended up cutting the cable and soldering directly to the new plug, but if you want to make a proper adaptor cable it looks like this should mate with the plug on the ARC scales.

Robin

Edited By Robin Graham on 05/05/2020 00:29:26

Edited By Robin Graham on 05/05/2020 00:31:52

Edited By Robin Graham on 05/05/2020 00:41:53

[derek hall 1Participant @derekhall1]

Well said Neil and big thanks to Jason.

Welcome to all newbies who have joined.

I would also like to thank CUP Alloys, Chronos and Arc euro trade – those suppliers that advertise on this site and give us fantastic support.

I have recently placed orders with these companies and have found them all helpful and friendly. I have received my "bits and pieces" that I ordered with no problems despite the current virus related issues that are currently causing much disruption for us all.

Great job Neil in making us all welcome, well done!

Regards to all

Derek

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

I think that the tools would more usually be described as End Mills (which can have 3, 4 or even 6 flutes ) and can often be used to cut on the side,

Slot drills are centre cutting, but nowadays, End Mills can also be obtained which are centre cutting.

A fly cutter is effectively an End Mill with only one cutting edge.

As far as I can see from the latest catalogue, all these items can be obtained from Arc Euro

Collets on P 16, End Mills and Slot Drills on Pp 28-30, Fly Cutter on P 30, and Boring Head on P 37.

Howard

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Posted by Gene Pavlovsky on 04/05/2020 16:14:56:but would be nice to get more in-depth information from the experienced folks around here And I'd like to know more details than a product description gives, like is there any extra grinding to do after buying a ready-made set, like rounding some noses for example, honing with honing stones or sandpaper?

Edited By Gene Pavlovsky on 04/05/2020 16:15:10

These HSS types like the ones in your picture can be used straight out of the box. The cheap brazed carbide type like these require some honing before use.

Ketan at ARC.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Does the supplier not know? always pays to use one who can tell you what the sets contain

Edited By JasonB on 04/05/2020 16:05:06

[Richard Taylor 16Participant @richardtaylor16]

Posted by Ketan Swali on 04/05/2020 13:53:58:

Richard,

Do you mean C1-131 from this page?:

**LINK**

Ketan at ARC.

this one yes according to manual should be the correct spec so will see as your showing concerns it may not fit but as I'm going by what the manual says I can only try

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Or do you mean C2-29 from this page?:

**LINK**

Ketan at ARC.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Richard,

Do you mean C1-131 from this page?:

**LINK**

Ketan at ARC.

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi Robin,
After reading this thread I have bought one of these scales from Arc Euro.(500mm) I notice from your other thread on the subject that you made an adapter cable. I thought at first that the connector on the scales was a 7 pin DIN but on checking I found the pin layout was different. I assume that you must have found a source for a 7 pin socket to match the scale. Could you please tell me what it is called and where you managed to obtain it. I think I can fit mine to my Seig X3 without having to shorten it.

Les.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Soon after I got mine (a good length measured off by ‘arm’s length’ I was at Arceuro and asked if they had a stainless steel scribe (as a ‘scratcher). They didn’t but Ian (I think) quietly handed me a cheap freebie stainless 150mm ruler for the purpose of ‘scratching’. Perfectly adequate for the job but don’t actually used it for that, as I found a piece of stainless rod and ground a spike on it.

My little metal bender will not cope (easily) with anything above about 4mm thick – if more than about 20mm wide, so the ‘welding kit’ sometimes comes in handy for larger sections of aluminium and often useful because the ‘bend’ doesn’t have a curvature (so cut to length without having to calculate the extra for a bend)🙂. Nothing has broken yet.🤞🏻

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hello Roger,

I have an SC4 and find it a very good lathe, but I have yet to come across a milling machine attachment that really measures up against a standard bench mill for any lathe.

I'm sure you will get a great range of suggestions, but one way of saving money might be to look at getting the stand alone base for the SIEG X1 mill head and column fitted to your machine. The X1 was actually quite well though of as a small mill.

I know Arc Euro have discontinued the SX1L mill, but they may have these in stock.

Another option would simply be getting a good X-Y table (new or second hand) or even a broken machine and making a suitable column mounting bracket/adaptor.

Neil

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by ChrisB on 02/05/2020 21:41:10:

…I tried reducing depth of cut and use a finer feed selection but with same result, chuck side is close to mirror finish, tailstock side looks like a multi-start thread.

Out of frustration I cranked up the speed to 1500rpm with a shallow 0.1mm cut and the problem with surface finish disappeared – mirror finish all through the whole length. Not happy tho, I hate blue stringy swarf which does not break off. I was using a TNMG carbide insert which I normally use without any problems at all.

Most probably I was doing some or a lot of mistakes – I wonder…

Chris

Personally, I'd be pleased with that, well done!

The multi-thread problem at the tail-stock end is likely due to movement; it doesn't take much to spoil things. Maybe a steady would have helped.

However increasing speed and depth of cut is often a very good idea with carbide. There's some combination of tool-shape, surface cutting speed and feed-rate that works best with the material being cut. There's no guarantee in a limited home workshop that all four can be satisfied at the same time. HSS may be easier because it works well at slower speeds than carbide, but grinding the tool is your problem!

With one exception, I've always found steel pipe difficult. Sticky and often gritty as well, yuk. Looking up Schedule 80 pipe on The Engineering ToolBox I see ' intended for mechanical and pressure applications. Can be used in steam, water, gas and air lines. Suitable for welding and forming like coiling, bending and flanging.' So, in choosing suitable steel for making Schedule 80 pipe, machinability isn't a consideration at all; they don't formulate it to be precision machined.

Certainly not impossible to turn nasty steel pipe in a lathe, but finding the sweet spot may be a right fiddle. Provided the finish was OK I'd put up with unbroken blue stringy swarf, but increasing speed again above 1500 rpm would probably spray chips. Like as not though, increasing speed would spoil the finish, making it necessary to repeat the fiddling stage again.

I find carbide insert catalogues difficult to navigate. What I need is an index that goes straight to the point: 'For sticky mild steel as used in Schedule 80 pipe, select Insert XYZ'. They don't do that! Instead, giant tables full of information I don't understand. If the professionals don't know what to buy, insert makers offer a service where you tell them what you need to do, and their expert makes a recommendation. Unfortunately this is for big spenders only, not the chap with a lathe in his shed who buys inserts off ebay. For ordinary purposes the simplified range of inserts sold by ArcEuro and the other Hobby Suppliers are suitable for machinable metals, but they're unlikely to be ideal for tricky materials like pipe.

Congratulations! Effective result achieved in tricky circumstances, I'd be smug for at least week.

Dave

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Handwheels should be availoable from most importers.

Arc Euro and Chester offer handwheels, and would be surprised if Warco could not be able to supply.

Just measure the shaft diameter and length of engagement and then you are ready to start looking for a wheel of a diameter that takes your fancy. If it involves a key way, measure that as well, to add to your specification..

Howard

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by John Pace on 29/04/2020 19:11:49:

Hi Michael
My Mitutoyo is not so good on battery life as that but carries on working
showing the B sign and gradually the display fades ,the caliper above
the Mitutoyo i think was from Arc euro is a good caliper but the battery
life is very poor ,the other two also cheapy's have much the same fate.
The micrometers you can't turn off they go into a sleep mode which
drains the battery …

John

My pet theory is that poor battery life is caused by a combination of condensation and cheap calipers being very voltage sensitive. Measuring my various digital calipers showed they all consume about the same constant current when switched 'off', less than 10 microamps. Whatever causes the problem, it isn't being left 'ON'.

Energizer quote a capacity of 130mAH for their CR1632, that being measured at 19mA for 684 hours, taking the cell from 3 down to 2V. At 10 microamps, a CR1632 should last many years in a caliper apart from life limitations l due to internal decay, hence best before dates.

However, my cheapo Lidl caliper fails long before the cell is truly flat! A drop of 0.5V is enough to stop it working.

Also, cheap calipers are poorly sealed against moisture. They are much more vulnerable to condensation than a quality caliper with an IP rating.

So I suspect a little used cheap caliper kept scrupulously dry will get much better battery life than the same caliper well used in an ordinary workshop. The posh calipers are sealed against condensation and I guess their smarter electronics get more life out of cells by being less fussy about low volts.

Just a hypothesis – needs to be tested!

Dave

[Garry Smith 7Participant @garrysmith7]

Thank you Gentlemen I didn’t make myself clear. I have a full set of drills offering the minor point sizes between the 2-3-4 mm etc.

I was asking in relationship to Milling cutters. My preferred supplier is ARC Euro and they only sell milling cutters in the full mm sizes and not in sizes between the 2-3-4 mm etc.

The steam way I want to cut are not holes in the steam chest but are ports ie the size I require is 2.4 mm wide x 9.25 mm long hence my question do I go up a size or down if I only have milling cutters to the whole mm sizes.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

3/32” on the plans possibly means that a 1/8” drill was considered too big or, more, likely too risky.

I just looked at the prices on the Arceurotrade site. Even with postage one is not talking a fortune! Even for several at a time for the standard length drills.

As Hopper says, these drills will come in handy sooner or later. I pick my drills for pilot holes for instance. I would rather wear out a size I have several of than use one which is the last on my inventory.

I buy one set and replace small drills, as they are almost considered as consumables – I don’t expect them to drill to size after a quick sharpening.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Old Mart –

The modern advert…

I followed that link too, and yes, first appearance suggests it is for a wood-working machinery stockist.

Then a tantalising glimpse of a metalworking lathe in the pop-up pictures led me to explore the site further. The Italian company sells metal-working equipment too, including a range of lathes from something akin to the small ones from Axminster and Arc Euro, to industrial size and scope.

So I don't think our intriguing chucks are necessarily just for wood-working bits.

[John PParticipant @johnp77052]

Hi Michael
My Mitutoyo is not so good on battery life as that but carries on working
showing the B sign and gradually the display fades ,the caliper above
the Mitutoyo i think was from Arc euro is a good caliper but the battery
life is very poor ,the other two also cheapy's have much the same fate.
The micrometers you can't turn off they go into a sleep mode which
drains the battery ,the inch sizes here are easy enough the set to zero
but the the other three in the set have to be reset with a standard to read
properly which is a right pain ,the larger batteries last a very long time.
Having all of these and having to have batteries in them about 10 or 11
batteries adds up ,the AAA s are cheaper in the long run and don't interfere
with the operation of the calipers.

John

[Andy StopfordParticipant @andystopford50521]

Assuming it doesn't have a screwcutting gearbox, you'll need some extra changewheels – the gear train at the left hand end of the machine is likely set up to give a fine feed rather than for screwcutting.

Which changewheels you need depend on what threads you wish to cut, but the following link lists a typical selection:

https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machine-Spares/SC3-Mini-Lathe-Spares/Super-C3-Change-Gears

To learn more, see these articles:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/latheparts/page6.html

http://www.lathes.co.uk/latheparts/page14.html

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

I have built one recently for my Warco milling machine.

I used these from ARC :

**LINK**

I made the circuit on veroboard using an Arduino nano , an HC05 Bluetooth module and 3 micro usb breakout boards.

Stuart