WARCO WM-250 lathe family and WM16 mill – 001

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

According to my 250 Warco manual the belt is designated as… part # 19… 7M730… Gates 730.. Warco ref # 321101

Hope this is of use to you.

George

[john kennedy 1Participant @johnkennedy1]

Thanks George,that confirms it then. If you look in my photos you'll see that the way I have the motor positioned I will need a longer belt than Warco could supply. Think I might have another look at re siting the motor and make the belt a bit shorter. Thanks .. John

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Hi, not posted for a while I've been playing with my 250v-f lathe and all going well. Finally got round to buying a WM 16 Mill after lots of searching larger or different mills, anyway unboxed it today and Warco exchanging the stand and machine tray for me as they were a tad damaged. I've checked the grizzly download PDF manual as per the link from George and noticed that they recommend using lifting straps round the head of the mill. I have an engine crane so no problem there, I'm a little concerned about the suggested strap location, was thinking more around the base etc etc,wondered if anyone had lifted their mill on the cabinet with straps shown in the grizzly position?

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Hi Mike,
Lifting from a high point on the machine maked the load more stable. If you lift it from the base it is much more likely to topple over.

Les.

[Trev TParticipant @trevt]

Hi Mike…

I lifted my WM16 onto it's stand with an engine crane and used a lifting strap which was passed under the base. To stabilise the lift I used a smaller strap around the head of the mill, trapping the lifting strap underneath it, making the lift very secure.

Trev T

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

I lifted my mill onto its stand thus… 1 engine hoist.. + 1 -1 ton sling.. job done!

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Thanks Les, Trev and George, nice pic George, very useful advice from all, Ill be lifting mine after Christmas, Ive got the anchor bolts for the concrete floor so nearly there, I was originally just a little concerned about the weight of the mill hanging on the head suppose it's my age.

Actually I'm about to make another posting regarding the new rear tool post and mounting plate I recently bought from Warco, it's a heavy piece of engineering and works well, suppose now I've got the mill I could make one!!!! but for the price what more can I say!!!!!

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Look forward to pics of your rear tool post.. intrigued about ' it's a heavy piece of engineering'… would like to see it set up..

Happy new year to all forum members.

George.

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Ok George maybe I was tad over exaggerating the heavy bit! But it is quite substantial lump, when I get the WM16 cabinet fixed to the floor and the mill mounted I'll post some pics of the rear tool post.I also bought the parting off blade/holder which works well albeit with a little shimming to set the tool height. I had a damaged swarf tray with the mill but Lindsey at Warco arranged a rapid swap out I've been very impressed with all I've been in touch with at Warco.

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Heck the IPad spelling not too good today And Echo George's best wishes for the new year

Edited By Mike Harris 3 on 05/01/2015 16:54:46

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Hi. George and anyone else interested in the rear tool post for the 250-vf lathe, well I've got the pics but a slight Ipad software problem which I'm working on!!!!! The Ipad crashes when I try to load to my album anyway I'll fix it!!!!!

Actually I'm puzzling on using the drill chuck which came with the WM16 mill or using an er25collet chuck and a correct size collet. The reason being on my drilling machine which has a drill chuck mounted on an arbour on an R2 spindle any jam say on break through of the drill results in the drill chuck slipping on the arbour and as there's plastic gears involved I thought good safety device.

I was therefore thinking the same principle may apply to the WM 16, is it better to use the drill chuck and hope it slips on the arbour if a jam occurs, I'm always over cautious when drilling anyway, just wondered on your thoughts

I

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

The drill chuck supplied with the mill is the one to use… you need to check whether the draw bar thread in the end of the arbor is either 3/8" imp or 10mm… use the drawbar to secure the drill chuck into the spindle MT.. my chuck came with 3/8" imp thread, fortunately Warco supplied both versions of the draw bar, I have since bought a 0.5 – 8mm chuck & a J2 /MT2 arbor with a 10mm thread specifically to use on my mill therefore keeping the metric drawbar in situ & all my collet chucks are metric thread anyway.

Don't get into the idea that a chuck slipping on the taper is a safety factor per se.. albeit tapers will slip ( hence the safety idea ) they are primarily for driving through friction & any slippage indicates that the taper needs to be firmly pressed against its mating partner, or you are putting too much down force onto the drill/cutter.. not good… again this will force the tapers to match, but if they are not spotlessly clean & no burrs etc…. or the tapers have some damage on the faces….?. If drilling you should be following the drills cutting action through the material with only firm pressure, the drill will let you know if it's drilling correctly, or when it's not, providing you have the correct speed for the size drill.. & plenty of lubrication. Any slippage on tapers will invariably damage the mating tapers, don't ask how I know.. I am presently building up a set of small drills for Brass /  Aluminium where I take the cutting edge off with a diamond hone.. stops the 'grabbing' effect…  pls excuse the granny & eggs implication.. unintentional .. promise.. just wish to help… I'm sure others will offer other advice too… looking forward to pics of rear t/post.

George.

Edited By mechman48 on 07/01/2015 11:08:46

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Thanks George I can always rely on you for informative answers, actually the supplied drill chuck and the er25 chuck fit the supplied draw bar threads I've had both mounted on the drawbar so all is fine, Warco also supplied the imperial drawbar which may come in handy sometime regarding the drilling press I never tapped the drill chuck firmly home on the arbour or even stuck the assembly in the fridge etc so providing I had a light touch on the handles no problem anyway thanks again all points noted

[D.A.GodleyParticipant @d-a-godley]

I am contemplating purchasing , either a Warco 250 or the 280, but would very much appreciate the imput of someone with knowledge and experience, who would enlighten me as to the benefits , if any , of the 280 having seperate leascrew and feedshaft, compared to the 250 , where these functions are reduced to a single shaft.

Myford owners reading this and feeling unwell are excused from taking part , but thanks for reading it.

[joneParticipant @jone]

Hi, I've had a 240 for just over a year now, and I'd definitely go for the 280 if starting over.

It's just a chore swapping change wheels between thread cutting and power feed each time (in a perfect world I'd like a screw cutting gearbox, but I think just having the second shaft would go a long way).

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

On the 280 & 290 the leadscrew and feed shaft are both driven by the same set of gears on the banjo so it makes no difference, you still need to change from a gear train that gives a fine feed to one for threading and then back again.

Only advantage of having teh two is that the leadscrew and nut won't get worn as it only comes into action when screwcutting. Really need to weigh up how often you are likely to be screwcutting.

J

[joneParticipant @jone]

Posted by JasonB on 20/01/2015 16:53:39:

On the 280 & 290 the leadscrew and feed shaft are both driven by the same set of gears on the banjo so it makes no difference, you still need to change from a gear train that gives a fine feed to one for threading and then back again.

Oh! Thanks for clarifying that, not as useful as I'd previously thought then..

On a somewhat related note, the 240 is advertised as having a left hand threading facility, but I've never worked this out. I can't see how I'd physically fit an additional idler into the gear train without some modifications. Has anyone done this on the 240?

Thanks, Jon.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I thought it already had a pair of 40T gears that acted as a tumbler reverse or 40 T on the spindle and a second 40 T as the tumbler

Edited By JasonB on 20/01/2015 19:56:26

[joneParticipant @jone]

Just been outside to check again and you're right. Not sure how I'd missed them before, but on closer inspection, I see there are actually three tapped holes near the spindle. By using the other two holes I can get both plastic 40T gears in place. Couldn't see for looking I guess… Thanks!

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

If you are reading this George I believe I have cured the oil leak from my WM250 saddle gear box. I removed the drain plug from underneath and wrapped a few twists of PTFE tape round the threads approx. 48 hours ago and it looks like I have a fix. Hope your leak is as easy to cure on your WM250.

Rik

PS. Had to find an answer as I am changing from oil coolant to soluble oil and I did not want to get quantities of oil in the mistic.

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Hi Rik congratulations on fixing the oil leak, I'm interested on why your switching to soluable oil? I went the other way I changed from soluable oil to neatcut the main reason being I never seemed to be able to remove all traces of the oil from the ways, evrytime I moved the carriage traces of oil would follow. I don't bother now I'm using neatcut I'm just hoping it adds to rust protection of the lathe. I'm using one of the "Safer !!!!!!" Oils so no residual smell

Hope you don't mind all the questions, bet your going to make me worry about the use of neatcut!!!!!! I

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Thanks for the update Mike will keep this in mind when I service mine in the summer. Intrigued in your hint about ' mistic' I assume this is a fine spray coolant system..do you have any dwgs of set up?

Cheers

George

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

George it was me with the mistic. Its what we used to call the soluble oil / water mix years back when I was working in the tool room. Lathes and mills used milky stuff but grinders used a clear solution, either way it was all known as mistic. Using the term outside of a tool room or machine shop could cause puzzlement – think druids and shamans.

Another common term used for soluble oil / water mix is "suds" but unlike mistic "suds" is not used when referring to grinders which only use mistic

Mike – I am swapping to soluble oil after two years of using "Neatcut" because I have relocated my workshop to new and bigger quarters which unlike my old workshop are double glazed, insulated and heated (and yes George, it is VERY cosy). Rust now is no longer a problem so using cutting oil to prevent it is no longer necessary. I prefer mistic anyway as it is less messy. I used to wear thin vinyl gloves when using cutting oil for health reasons but the oil would rot up to four pairs a day. I intend to continue wearing them but I don't think mistic will have the same effect. Bear in mind that I was using the oil pumped so there was a lot sloshing round.

I have just finished moving contents from the old workshop and lots of kit has had to be cleaned from oil and clinging swarf so I shall not regret its passing.

Whilst on the subject of mistic, in one place that I worked long ago the capstan section setter was a little old Geordie who loved his crusty cheese roll at morning tea break. When the hooter sounded tea break end he would remove his teeth and wash them under the mistic flow on one of the lathes then blow'em out with an air line – honestly, I'm not joking! Funny thing was he only ever did this on one particular blokes capstan.

One day we were having a laugh about it and I asked Geordie why he only ever used Rodneys machine to dunk his dentures. He gave me a pained look and replied "Hygiene of course" —— and he meant it !

Rik

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Apologies Rik; did apologise via my tablet earlier on this p.m. but it seems that what is written & posted via tablet doesn't synchronise with web site on pc… can any techno geeks explain..? I can well remember 'Suds ' when I did 'my time', as you say a milky substance that if I didn't wash off splashes on my hands after mixing /topping up a batch used to give me a rash… maybe just me. I still have half a litre of a later product 'Cetus 9'.. green stuff that could be used neat or mixed, plus half a litre of some 'red stuff' which I have used neat, other coolant I use is WD40 for ally on my lathe & mill as I'm sure a lot of other members also use.

George

[Mike guitarParticipant @mikeguitar]

Thanks Rik on info I'm only applying cutting oil with brush and that leaves quite a residue so understand where your coming from, it does take quite an effort to clean the machine down. I also wear vinyl or even latex gloves to keep the stuff off my skin, unfortunately my garage/workshop isn't as good as yours or George's insulation wise I've given quite a lot of thought towards improving it maybe if I could give the machines a rest I might get round to it!!!!

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