Milling attachment for Warco wm290vf

[Brian Boyle 1Participant @brianboyle1]

I am thinking of buying the milling head that fits on the back of the 290vf lathe.

Has anybody got one. what are the disadvantages compared to the full wm16 mill?

[Brian Boyle 1Participant @brianboyle1]

Any opinions?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Small size table and lack of any fine feed along the X axis would be the two main drawbacks.

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

lack of any fine feed along the X axis

Surely the normal lathe carriage feeds are available ?

Remove the lathe chuck to avoid getting caught by it, select a suitable carriage feed and direction, engage the half nuts (or feed shaft if applicable) & run the lathe spindle to feed the carriage under the separately powered milling head. What would normally be considered the lathe Z axis would become the milling machine X axis.

Still have the small table & lack of rigidity normally associated with a "proper" milling machine, though.

Nigel B.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

That's OK for power feed but unless you have the ability to stop exactly at the end of a non through cut then you are faces with how to move the carrage a small measured amount, carrage handwheel dial is only good for 0.020" divisions and does not have much feel for putting on a couple of thou cut or touching off on an edge. This is where a handle on the end of the leadscrew and a 1thou div dial helps like you can find on a Myford or My old Emco for example.

Edited By JasonB on 23/10/2020 18:25:49

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

I had a milling head on my SC4.

The powerfeed was great, but simply not solid enough.

I ended up selling it and putting the money towards a "proper" mill.

Jim

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Correct me if I'm wrong here.

You save £300 and gain power feed, but-

Assuming you have to take the topslide off, you still get a tiny table with 2? short tee slots and you have 50mm more height/leverage before you can mount anything compared to the WM16.

I would expect it to chatter like crazy.

[Cabinet EnforcerParticipant @cabinetenforcer]

You would need a DRO or the x-axis on the leadscrew will drive you potty. The table size is a masive compromise, and you can't realistically keep a vice mounted either.

I think the only reasons to buy one are either a very specific usage case which fits in the machines envelope, or having no space at all for a mill, as I think it is probably slightly better than using a vertical slide.

I seriously considerered getting a milling head for my 280 but I knew I would just get frustrated with the compromise and stuck out for a mill, it was the right decision.

[Brian Boyle 1Participant @brianboyle1]

Thanks for your thoughts guys. It looks like a proper mill is the way to go.

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