Choosing a lthe

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

I am new to model engineering, though not entirely new to metalwork, having built a trials car and a kit car from the ground up in my youth.  Now retired, I want to get into model making (not steam) and have just about decided to purchase a new Warco 918 lathe and accessories.  Before I go ahead and pay the extra to have it delivered to me here in France, does anybody own one and if so, how do you find it?

I toyed with buying a secondhand Myford ML7, but haven’t had any luck on eBay, always being beaten to the final bid or being out-bid!  Should I persevere?

 

Thanks,

John

 

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

[NilochParticipant @niloch]

I have to say at the outset that I know nothing about the Warco 918.  However, I do know that besides Ebay, Myford themselves sell second-hand reconditioned lathes. Shame you can’t hire a small van, drive it on to Eurostar and vist Myford’s open-house  on September 24th to 26th and maybe make a purchase.  See their web site.  Usual disclaimer.

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Niloch,

 

Thanks for the input.  I have visited the Myford web site, more out of curiosity that expectation, but I’m afraid their prices are way beyond my meagre means.  I’ve had enough trouble getting the Warco purchase past the treasurer!

 

Perhaps I should have said at the outset that I have limited funds available!

 

John

 

[DugsonParticipant @dugson]

John

Try this link as an alternative to Myford you might find something of interest, you can ring and talk easily.  http://www.myford-lathes.com/index.htm

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

You need to trawl one or two other muddle ingineering sites John, the same question has been asked so many times for many differing lathes, Honestly, I wouldn’t give a Myford houseroom. Quite exstatic with my Austrian Maxi-Mat, even though some dilly before me couldn’t read English, German OR French and tried to change the speed before the spindle had stopped and took 6MM of the edge of one of the big fibre gears in the head stock.

 

   Back to the Warco, first, NO affiliation whatsoever. Of the companies that first started the Myford rot by importing the then Taiwanese manufactured M/C tool toys for M/E’s back in the 70’s, Warco is one of the surviving names. The original kit was cheap but nevertheless raised storms of complaints from agrieved “bargain hunters” due to the quality, or lack of it. In all honesty, importing vast quantities of Taiwanese sand in the castings and having non-impregnated motor windings was a bit offside, but Warco took the complaints onboard and improved quality items started to come through. Then the Chinese mainland got involved, undercutting Taiwan and hey ho, here we go again, initial crap, then refined, so now we get back to a more stable marketplace.

 

  The 918 is sold by Warco, Axminster and Chester in different colours and slightly different specs so if you spot any other forii describing them, dig in and fill yer boots. Another place to read up on is the “Yahoo” sites where I’m sure there is an owners “Club” Buy what you want TO SUIT YOU, and don’t be steered by snobbery. You only have to look on Fleebay to see what I mean, surprising how much tooling etc. is made specifically for “MYFORD”

 

     Regards  Ian.

[BobParticipant @bob17059]

Hi Niloch

 

Had you considered a second hand industrial lathe rather than a new machine aimed at the hobbyist?

 

I have an old ML7 and more recently aquired an old Smart and Brown Model A toolroom lathe for £500. The S&B came equipped with a good range of chucks, about a dozen imperial collets, taper turning attachment, Norton gearbox etc. It takes up little more space than the Myford, but is much, much more solidly built. Parting off has become far easier and the general quality of work produced is much higher.

 

The downside was having to replace the three phase motor with a single phase motor but again no great problem as I happened to have a 2HP motor to hand.

 

I have been able to use the Myford vertical slide on the lathe cross slide so even the lack of a tee  slotted slide is not too great a problem.

 

Bob

Edited By Bob on 07/08/2009 12:16:29

[Bill ParrParticipant @billparr94227]

Hi John

 

I purchased a Warco 918 lathe some 3 years ago.

I never had trouble getting spare parts for it through Warco.

 

I am amazed by people who choose Myford, as you say they must have more

money than sense!

 

The Warco 918 offers 5″ center height; the Myford 3.1/2″ center height.

 

Bill

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Thanks to all those of you who have replied, both here and by email.  Your thoughts and advice have made me even more determined to place an order.  Can’t wait to start  cutting metal!

 

Best wishes

John Hinkley

 

[NilochParticipant @niloch]

Posted by Bob on 07/08/2009 12:12:57:

Hi Niloch

 

Had you considered a second hand …………………..

 

Bob

Thanks for the advice Bob but the questioner was John Hinkley above.

[mgjParticipant @mgj]

Well I was the one who had more money than sense …. and bought a brand new Myford (some 25 years ago). It is, whatever anyone says, and I have two  Chinese machines, a very good lathe. Like any other machine, one shouldn’t abuse it, but it is absolutely dead accurate. You can turn to .0002″ on diameter routinely with sharp tools, and as she is set, se is turning to 0 taper over 12″. (Something is going to move!). She has the advantage over those on metal cabinets of being set up on a proper marine ply base, so the damping, and hence finish is improved.

 

Having said that, I like the Chinaman too. That too is very accurate (I can turn to .0002″ on diameter, and she’s shimmed up to .0005″ per foot over a metre on taper). While it is not a Harrison, and doesn’t have the feel so I’m told (though I have insered needle rollers in the handles so they run like silk!) its not worn like an old production machine. Nor have I had to spend however long or however £ getting from 1 to 3 phase. Can be achieved, at a cost, but there can be torque problems at low speed with certain set ups. Equally the recent Chinamen (however inferior) are hadly likely to be worn out by the average model engineer.

 

And having said all that, you do get, from a a Chinaman, an awful lot of capability for your money. And if htye are set up and shimmed up, from my limited experience, will turn very straight.

 

 

 

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

Still on the base of its crate because it was too darn heavy for my wife and I to lift it off!  Yes, I finally went and bought a Chinese import.  Looks remarkably like a Warco BV20, but came with a stand and a 3-jaw chuck and precious little else.  By the time I’d added a 4-jaw, fixed steady, set of lathe tools, revolving centre etc, etc – you know how it is-it was still cheaper than the equivalent from Blighty, and significantly so.  I had to go to Caën, about an hour away, to pick it up, but the cricket was on the wireless, so it was quite a pleasant trip.  I still have to cut a few metres off the existing bench so that I can fit it in the garage under a window, so I don’t expect to be using it very soon.  I’ll keep you posted on how it’s progressing.

 

Regards and bonsoir

from

 

John

 

Edited By John Hinkley on 20/08/2009 19:42:09

[Mark De VosParticipant @markdevos71769]

I know this is an old thread but…

Similarly to John, I'm new to hobby machining and like him, there isn't much of a selection of 2nd hand or new lathes in my area (I live in a small town in South Africa). I ended up getting the BV20 too and I'm pretty pleased with it so far. The only real trouble I've had is with the headstock spindle which keeps on working loose (especially when I do facing for some reason) and has to be tightened regularly. I'd love advice on how others deal with this issue, by the way.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with it.

M

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

Hi Mark,

What do you mean with: "headstock spindle which keeps on working loose". Is it the chuck that is coming loose or is it the bearing preload? A photo might be helpful.

Thor

[Mark De VosParticipant @markdevos71769]

Hi Thor,

**********************************
What do you mean with: "headstock spindle which keeps on working loose". Is it the chuck that is coming loose or is it the bearing preload? A photo might be helpful.

**********************************

It is the bearing preload. The rear of the spindle is threaded and there is a spindle lock nut held in place by a flanged washer. This, in turn, pushes up against a disk directly to tighten the spindle (I wish there were a washer between them!). The metal disc itself is quite a loose fit inside the bearing cover plate. When it is loose, the spindle is very loose with both lateral and axial play.

But here's the problem: if I tighten the lock nut up enough to remove axial play, then the lateral play remains. I can see and hear the movement when I wiggle the chuck end.

But if I tighten the lock nut enough to remove both the axial and lateral play, then it is VERY tight. The machine turns but eventually the pressure of the locknut on the spindle disc grinds away the metal on the disk. In the picture the screwdriver points to the raised edge where the wear has taken place. Once the metal has worn away, the spindle is loose again and the process starts all over. At first, in my inexperience, I thought "gee this is a really poor design, but heck, I guess it must be normal".

it's a new lathe, so I don't suspect the bearings. I haven't removed the spindle or the bearings but I've peeked under the bearing covers and there isn't anything really obvious to see there. As far as I can tell, the bearings are ok (??).

So obviously, this is bad, bad, bad!!! As a temporary fix, I've put a rubber washer around the metal disk to improve the fit. This reduces the lateral play of the metal disk and this reduces the lateral play on the spindle substantially. Thus, I only have to tighten the lock nut to remove the axial play and hopefully not put too much pressure on the metal disk.

All thoughts welcome. I'm curious how others have gotten past this really hmm… nasty … design.

(Sorry about the wobbly photos: I was using my phone camera and it was a bit dark.)

best

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

Not familiar with this lathe but seems there is something wrong. Usually there is two end nuts,one for adjustment and one for locking. .What's the grooved diameter behind the nut ? where is the drive to the spindle? Apologies if I've read this all wrong.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

This does not seem right at all. There should be no wear as no stationary parts should contact rotating ones, other than the balls or rollers in the races.

On my different but similarly arranged lathe the set up is that two locknuts on the end of the spindle press a cylindrical spacer against the inner race of the tailstock bearing. A circular cover is fixed over the bearing to shield it from dirt.

From the pictures I think you may have things assembled wrongly. temporarily remove the circular plate held on by three screws. This should go on last and should not be in contact with any of the rotating parts, it is only a shield. If you are adjusting the lock nuts up against this disc instead of the bearing you will have problems – big ones.

Can you post a sharp picture of it with that round cover removed, ideally one end on and one side one?

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 13/06/2014 11:36:27

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