# warco variable speed lathe



## kendo (Dec 28, 2009)

Hi Guys
      I have been toying with the idea of getting a warco wm 280-F variable speed lathe. As it has metric & imperial screw cutting capabilities also it has reverse for left hand screw cutting.plus many more features.
I believe Weiss produce the same lathe. Does anyone have any experience of these lathes, ie are they good or poor quality? Or any other pro's and cons i should be aware off.
Any input from you guys greatly appreciated.
          Cheers Ken


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## Maryak (Dec 28, 2009)

Ken,

I am very happy with my Chinese origin lathe, only comment I have is the claimed thread cutting both metric and imperial. If it has a metric lead screw, the imperial threads, (in my case), are only approximations in the finer pitches, with the change wheels supplied. 

If this is important to you check out the attached error chart.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards
Bob 

View attachment Hafco Change wheels.pdf


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## Jasonb (Dec 28, 2009)

I've had a WM280VF for about 18months now and am generally very pleased with it. They, like most of the other far eastern machines are a little rough around the edges but the quality of work that can be done on them is very good. Its also a quiet machine when running.

Like most variable speed machines they can lack torque in the lower speeds when you start to machine larger diameters, I had a couple of 9" iron castings for my traction engine and a depth of cut of more than 0.025 would start to stall the motor. Having said that I could run at a faster speed than my prevoius Emco (Austrian quality) lathe so the job was no slower. Chucks can be a bit fiddly to change if you have fat fingers.

The power cross feed is very handy and I would not consider another lathe without it. I was cutting a 1/4"x16 square thread today which came out nicely, have not done any metric threads on my imperial machine so not sure how far off they will be.

Pete on here has one of the Weiss machines. There are a couple of other suppliers that do a version of this lathe in the UK, just watch as some don't include 4jaw, faceplate and steadies in the price like Warco do

Couple of pics of it in action











Jason


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## kendo (Dec 29, 2009)

Hi Again
       Thanks Jason and Bob for your replies,they have been a great help.
One of the reasons which made think about Warco,was the fact their lathes come with the extras such as four jawed chuck, face Plate and so on.
Nice to hear from someone who has a warco and is pleased with the quality of work it can produce.
I will be getting in touch with warco just after the New Year and placing my order with them.
May even Post some pics of the ceremonial un-crating Ha Ha.
Love the pictures posted and what looks like the Steve Bedair's radius cutter,
something i will hope to make myself soon.
  Once Again cheers guys, and would like to take this opportunity to wish you
      A Very Happy New Year and All the Best For The Future
                     Ken Thm:


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## GrahamC (Dec 29, 2009)

Good day Ken,

I don't have a Warco lathe and I am not sure what Jason refers to "as big thumbs making chuck changes a bit fiddly" as I don't know how the chucks are mounted on this particular lathe.

If the chucks are mounted the same way as they are on my lathe ( a Busy Bee 10x22 size which is similar to the Warco you mentioned) and they are held on with 3 socket head bolts rather than on a threaded register, then my solution to this fiddly bit about changing chucks can be seen here:

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2372.msg24948#msg24948

I replaced the socket head bolts with some shop made bits and now instead of taking 15+ minutes of fiddling and usually a bit of cussing, I can now change chucks in less than 5 minutes.

I had a look at Warco's web site but didn't see any info on how the chucks where mounted but it does like a good choice for a lathe and in many respects quite similar to mine. Before I bought this lathe I spent some time looking closely at one of the typical 9x20 size lathes and the one I bought. The 10x22 size lathes are literally twice the lathe the 9x20 are. I have seen much very good work done with the smaller ones but I realized that I would not be happy with the smaller 9x20 and since I didn't have the room for the larger 12x36 size lathes the 10x22 was the obvious choice.

I like your Avatar. Is that your bike?

cheers, Graham in Ottawa Canada


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## Jasonb (Dec 29, 2009)

The chucks fit in a similar way. They have three M8 studs in the backplate and use nuts & washers to retain them onto the flange. Grahams method would not be possible as there is only about a 10mm space between headstock and the back of the flange so you could not fit bolts in.

The bigger issue is that the chuck backplates register on a 10mm long parallel spigot and are a very firm fit particularly on the 3jaw. You have to use the 3 nuts to effectively jack the chuck of by turning then one or two flats at a time against a brass packer. I can manage the nuts OK as I have small hands but actually removing and pulling the replacement chuck on is what takes the time. I assume the 3jaw is made a bit tighter as this is the one that needs to be concentric, and it is quite true for a 3jaw.

Pic of the spindle nose, lathe stripped to make it lighter to get up onto the stand





Jason


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## GrahamC (Dec 29, 2009)

Yes indeed Jason, that looks like a pretty tight space to try and get my big fat fingers into.

Sounds like changing chucks is something you don't want to do very often or at least makes you think far enough ahead to plan your work to minimize the changes.

Still, looks like a pretty nice lathe.

cheers, Graham


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## jimmyocharlie (Dec 30, 2009)

if you are going to need power at low revs, go for a DC motor rather than an AC one.

Sieg now do their C6 lathe with both types, the difference will be a lot at low speed


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## Jasonb (Dec 30, 2009)

The Warco does have a 1000w DC motor.

Its only on large diameters which you need to run at lower speeds that it can be stalled, at 1" dia it will take a 0.100" depth of cut in steel.

Jason


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## AlasdairM (Dec 30, 2009)

Re - changing chucks and face plate on Warco lathes

I have the Warco BV-20 lathe, and found it a real pain to change chucks/face plate, as the 3-jaw, 4-jaw and face plate all used the caphead screws which were very fiddly to take out and put in, in the incredibly limited space.

I followed what others have done (I cannot remember which sites in particular, but it seems quite a common thing to do) and simply cut the heads off some M8 bolts of a suitable length and fixed these to the chucks and face plate - I used cyano but others may prefer loctite. A suitable size washer and hex nuts finish the job.

Now putting on the lathe or taking them off is a piece of cake and takes only a minute or so, rather than 5+ minutes.

Pictures below hopefully show what I am babbling on about!!

Regards, A

PS am pleased with my choice of machine as well.


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## GrahamC (Dec 30, 2009)

I first tried the threaded stud method on my chucks too. I was always dropping the nuts and washers when changing out chucks and then I had my better idea.

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2372.msg24948#msg24948

The one thing about the studs and nuts solution is that you can't lay the chucks down flat on their back side. That is how I store my chucks and face plate in small cupboard. I tried on their front face too and the studs stuck up and where getting the way. 

It looks like the BV-20 has about the same amount of room to change between headstock and back side of the spindle as on my lathe.

Bottom line is that whatever works - works. So you can just get on with the job at hand and not get lost fussing over the simple task of changing out a chuck or face plate.

cheers, Graham


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## pete (Jan 8, 2010)

Guess I should throw my 2 cents in about the chuck changeing issue, I bought a WM280V-F lathe after a few pms between Jason and myself, I can't speak about how the new models of this lathe are equippted and sold by Warco as mine was bought thru Garrant Machinery in Quebec. My spindle nose is a bit differnt than Jasons, It is arranged exactly like the Sieg C6 lathe. This uses studs fastened to the chuck backplate, With mine I can run the nuts onto the studs by a few threads then slide the chuck onto the spindle nose, On the rear of the spindle nose flange there is a rotateing ring with clearance holes for the nuts plus slots machined up to these holes that are clearance size for the studs, Once the chuck is mostly onto the spindle nose you rotate this ring a partial turn, Then tighten up the nuts, This fully seats the chuck onto the spindle nose, As Jason has said the chuck backplates are a pretty tight fit on the spindle nose so once the nuts start pulling the backplate onto the spindle I only make a partial turn for each nut till the backplate is fully seated onto the spindle, This ensures that the chuck is pulled onto the spindle squarely. My 3 jaw has a slightly looser fit than Jasons as I can just wiggle it off the spindle nose by hand and would assume this will get a bit easier over time. I have also owned a Sieg C6 and the 280v-f is a far better lathe in every way, It's well worth the money IMO.

Pete


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## kendo (Jan 8, 2010)

Hi Pete
      Thanks for your input, you have all been a great help. Since this post i have spoken to a few people who have warco lathes, and the generel consensus is 
they all seem happy with their lathes,with very few complaints.
So all being well, i will be ordering mine hopefully at the end of the month.
Once again thanks to everyone i will keep you posted on my progress

             My Best Regards
                  Ken


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## johnthefish (Jan 11, 2010)

Ken. I've just got a Warco 250,delivered just before Christmas. Haven't got it out the packing case yet but it looks very good.
If I might advise you to be patient and wait til the Harrogate show in May (or show near to you) you will get it a lot cheaper. I got £150 off the 250. 
John


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## Jasonb (Jan 11, 2010)

And if you can't wait that long you will hopefully get a discount at Ally Pally in a couple of weeks. I got £100 of mine by asking if they would match the show price when I went to see it running at their warehouse.

Jason


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## kendo (Jan 11, 2010)

Hi Jason and John
        That sounds like a good idea. I suppose i could hold on a while.
        But you know what its like when your chomping on the bit to
        get started, sometimes its hard to be patient especially when
        the money is burning a hole in your pocket lol.
        I suppose i could use the time to save some more cash for some
        extra goodies.

                 Ken :big:


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## pete (Jan 11, 2010)

Ken,
LOL, You better enjoy this short time period that you have money "in" your pocket, That will be a strange concept after you buy your lathe.

Pete


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## kendo (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi Pete
      Your not kidding lol i will have to beg the foreman at work for more
      overtime, boy is the wife gonna love me.  :big:

                  Ken


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