Lathe Talks - Three Years With The Warco WM 180 Lathe
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- Having now owned the Warco WM 180 for over 3 years, I thought it would be useful to talk about what I've learned. Also, what I think are the most important things to consider when using one of these mini lathes.
Наука
Really useful, practical and sensible advice. I’m so lucky that there are so many Warco owners who share their knowledge
Thanks Mark. glad you found it useful.
That’s a badass looking lathe !! For whatever reason when they are painted those earthy colors they are usually really well made .
Well it's 5 years now and it gets a lot of use and is still going strong.
Some great tips there, thank you for spending the time to share them with us 👍😊
Thanks for the video Alan. Great advice for the beginer. Keep safe and stay well.
This is super helpful for people like me just getting started with one of these. Brilliant.
Thank you. I'm really not trying to put people off these amazing little lathes, just trying to make everyone aware that you do need to know their limitations. Thanks for watching.
An excellent video, very helpful thanks.
Glad you found it useful.
great info Alan for the beginners in this wonderful hobby we do, I've been machining all my working life but you've learned me something about those dc motors, i've never had one as i have a myford and a larger Harrison lathe, but I've put that Cooling fan trick in to my memory bank for anyone i know who has one of these lathes, especially in my model engineering club i attend frequently, Thanks for Sharing
Cheers
Mr f
Thanks. They really are amazing machines. Anyone with experience of full size lathes like yourself will almost certainly have used lathes with AC motors so these things will not have been an issue. As I said in the video, I'm not trying to deter anyone from getting one of these types of lathes. Just thought my experiences would help others out with the issues that I had.
@@RetroSteamTech cheers Alan,
Good useful video Alan. You covered a lot of important points. We tend to take this stuff for granted and not always offer basic information to newbies. Infinitely variable speed is nice, but for real grunt and torque, plus better cooling you can't beat mechanical gearing. The huge range of lathes available covers all needs and budgets these days. I rarely hear people banging on about bigger is better now, as I think most people understand it's horses for courses, same as for most things we buy. Thanks for the shout out. Cheers Rob
Thanks Rob. I hope it's helpful. You don't see a lot of videos covering things like rigidity and speed or the limitations with DC motors. I forgot to mention another little quirk with DC motors, they don't run as fast in reverse. Oh well, might have to make a part 2 🙂 Always happy to give you a mention, I've learnt so much from your videos over the last few years. Cheers, Alan.
@@RetroSteamTech Hi Alan, I was trying to think what got me into collets in the fiirst place, as I viewed them as high end user kit that only first class machinists would use. They always looked intimidating in their canted rack mounted near the tailstock.
It actually happened when I had to cut some gears for my lathe and needed tooling to grip strongly, accurately and be compact. ER was the answer. Then you soon become a convert as they offer so much more than conventional chucks. The big plus is that ER has made it all affordable as well. I'm quite sure that 90% of hobby lathe owners never try them, for whatever reason. So I always try to demystify them whenever possible. Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Hi Rob. That's interesting, I did wonder what got you into them in the first place. One of the things I love about them is that you can hold threads. With model steam engines you often have to make parts that are threaded on one end but need machining on the other. I was looking on Warco's website and they offer one of their lathes (WM 250) with an AC motor, cost you £300 more though.
I think the 'Rob Effect' has happened with that new die grinder. Had a look this morning and it's not shipping until 21/10/2021 now 🙂 Cheers, Alan.
@@RetroSteamTech Wow, you could be right Alan. Mine arrived after about two weeks, which was pretty good I thought. I've used it to cut small stainless steel bolts several times lately and I do think its a tad more powerful than the Hilda. The shielded nose makes you line up the key holes to use, but that's no big deal. Being shielded is a good safety feature when hand holding.
The speed switch is not quite as solid as the Hilda but works OK. As I said in the video, the on/off switch is not as easy to use as the Hilda. The cord is reasonably heavy duty. Overall I'm quite impressed with it. Super pleased to have one back.
Yes, collets work well gripping threads. Not much else can really do that without damage. Also great gripping thin walled tubing without distortion.
Cheers Rob.
Hello Alan,
Fabulous video... very helpful for the potential Warco/Mini Lathe owner...
Take care.
Paul,,
Hi Paul. I certainly hope so. Just trying to pass on my experience with one of these lathes over several years to others. Cheers, Alan.
Great video - I was looking at getting a 180 but now more drawn to a 250V / 290V as the variable frequency inverter overcomes the low speed limitations of the DC models - only down side is the fact I’ll be spending 2-3 times more money on the lathe but I think it will pay off! Plus the extra weight will add stability I’m sure!!
Thank you. If I had the space I would definitely gone for the WM 250V. Good luck with whatever you decide on.
Good advice on motor cooling am sure to follow
Thanks. As I said in the video, I'm not trying to deter anyone from getting a mini lathe, just trying too make them aware of some of the limitations.
I too prefer 4way toolposts. I use inserts, so the height of the tool does not change. I spent time milling packing pieces for each toolholder, so it is simple to change tools and get the right height every time. Low speeds- looks like making a belt low speed drive might be a useful modification. More torque, too.
The 4 way toolpost are fairly cheap for the Warco, so I just bought a couple of extra ones which means I have the main 6 tools that I use on hand all the time. Yes, removing the DC motor and speed controller and fitting an AC motor with a VFD is on my 'to do list'.
I am tempted to get a VM180 brushless version as my first lathe, are these capable for working with 5 inch gauge locomotives building and repairing or should I wait and go bigger?
A brushless version is definitely preferable and the WM180 is a great little lathe. Yes for the size of parts on a 5" gauge loco the lathe would be ideal.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi, I've had my WM180 for a year now, and gradually getting to grips with it. Thanks for the useful advice and mods, is there a downloadable pdf or something for your speeds and feeds table and equation? Did you do a video or drawing for the insertion of locking screws on the compound and cross slides? A bit more detail would e very much appreciated! Thanks
Hi Richard. It really is a great little lathe. A pdf for the equation and speeds is available here www.dropbox.com/s/a7j6hwuwf9az2qd/Milling%20Cutter%20RPM.pdf?dl=0 . I didn't do anything to cover the fitting of the lock screws because it really is quite easy. Just remove the slide from the lathe, mark a line through the centre of the holes for the gib screws. At a convenient point along that line drill and tap another hole for the locking screw. Cheers, Alan.
@@RetroSteamTech Many thanks for that, a very helpful video
I have updated my motor to 1200W, and replaced the cross-slide with a T-Slot cross-slide (self made). Still the belts have to be replaced and I want to use a ballscrew on the cross-slide. Oh I'm using it as CNC.
The original WM180 is way too weak.
Gday Alan, yes they do have there limits but what can be achieved is amazing, you really can do precision work and keep to tight tolerances, Ade proves this all the time, Rob all so does amazing work on his machines, I’m thinking of getting an ER 40 collet chuck for my lathe, definitely worth it I think, great to here your thoughts mate, Cheers
Hi Matty. They are great machines but you do have to be aware of the limitations. Definitely go for the ER 40 collet chuck, I use mine all the time. I don't have a full set of collets as many are duplicates size wise of ER 32 collets. I just got 5 or 6 between 20 mm and 30 mm. Cheers, Alan.
Do it Matty. You will never look back. The bolt up type give feedthrough that the Morse taper/draw bar ones don't. So think about that aspect. Drawbar is quicker to fit and remove but bolt up has more capability with long stuff. The chucks are generally more expensive, but worth it. I have both and bolt up is a clear winner IMHO. Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Also Matty, just like to point out that neither Rob or I have shares in the companies that make collets 😂🤣😂
@@Xynudu my spindle is a D1-4 so that’s even easier
@@MattysWorkshop Well you have no excuse not go that way ;)
Really want one of those little lathes if I had room
Well it is only 70cm long and you can get even smaller ones.
The burnout with these motors on these lathes is pretty common. Here in the States, and in some Asian countries, the same equipment is sold under the Precision Matthews label. So between those and the Warco owners I’ve seen on RUclips, four have had their motors blown out. That’s actually a lot, because for everyone you’ve seen, many more have had problems too. Both companies (or the actual Chinese manufacturer) are replacing the brushed motors with brushless ones in their new machines because of these problems. Those new motors are also more powerful.
Yes the brushless motors are definitely an improvement, less heat and as you say more power. Since I've fitted the temperature gauge I've not had any problems as I can keep an eye on it . I may still replace it with an AC motor and a VFD at some point.
@@RetroSteamTech well, you know your motors. But I’ve installed a bunch of VFDs. A problem I find is when people use a regular three phase motor with them. It’s ok if you’re not using the setup for speed control, but just for single phase to three phase conversion, where you have belts, gears or a variable speed mechanical drive, as my main lathe has. But if you are using it for speed control, you really need to use a matched inverter ready motor. If it’s a drill press with intermittent starts and stops, mostly stops, you might be ok. But for a lathe, with long heavy cut times, it will be a problem down the road. Same for a mill, which I’m converting now.
@@melgross My knowledge is mainly of DC motors, you obviously know far more about AC motors than I do. Everything that I have read or watched on the subject suggests that as far as lathes are concerned AC motors are a better option. Either with gearing or a VFD. Thanks for the information on AC motors, I'm always up for learning more about these things.
Good video. I'm surprised you are working in your kitchen? I see the dishes and sink.
Hi James. Thank you. Yes , my workshop once was my kitchen. More efficient use of the space, it gets far more use as my workshop than it ever did as a kitchen! Thanks for watching. Cheers, Alan.
I know i am late to the party but what parting tool did you settle on? Do you have a link by any chance please?
No problem Dan. The parting tool came from RDG Tools, if you do a search on their website for "1729" you will find it. It's called "Small Pro Parting System (9mm shank)".
@@RetroSteamTech thank you. I have trouble finding anything on their website! Did that need shimming to get to the right height?
@@danjames443 Yes it did need shimming. I have found that old feeler gauges make great shims for these small 4-way tool posts.
I like brushless DC motor in my Warco super mini lathe. :)
Did you not contemplate replacing the compound with a solid riser block? I've contemplated getting the WM180, mainly for its small-ish size. So, thanks for this video it's been very informative, and along with Ade's vids, I think I've decided it's better to extend the workshop a bit to fit a larger lathe rather than fit the lathe to the shop. I just have to save up the cash for a WM 250V, not too heavy and at twice the price it's still doable. 👍
Yes I did think about it but I do tend to need to make tapers occasionally and the compound is very useful for those. AC motors with VFDs are definitely better for lathes so the WM 250V would be my choice if I had a larger shop. Good luck with your workshop and whatever lathe you end up with.
@@RetroSteamTech thanks, and just my luck to need to do this now with a shipping crisis and rise building material costs...maybe next year? lol
Would be interested to see a more in-depth solution to the WM180 motor premature failure modification you made.
I used a cheap oven thermometer with a stainless probe from Amazon ( www.amazon.co.uk/ThermoPro-Thermometer-Stainless-Step-Down-Countdown/dp/B018Q77AR4/ ). Strapped the probe to the body of the motor using cable ties and made a simple bracket to hold the display. The display has a magnetic back so it's easy to mount on the lathe.
@@RetroSteamTech your response is much appreciated.C an you expand on the fan mod and it’s power source. That looks to be a great solution to keep things cool.
@@robespsquared6703 The fan is a standard 12V DC PC case fan such as ( www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071WLX5JZ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_8 ). I made a power supply for it but you could easily use something like this ( www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-Appliances-keyboard-Speedport-Radiowecker/dp/B07WFY5JGQ/ref=sr_1_4 ).
@@RetroSteamTech Thank you. Much appreciated. Great video on the Warco by the way.
Does the cooling fan direct the warm air away from the motor or cool air towards the motor.
Thank you.
sure wish you had shown gear change for threading
I don't do any screw cutting on my lathe so I'm not the best person to ask. Ade, over on the RUclips Channel 'ADE'S WORKSHOP' did a great video on that subject ruclips.net/video/cL6hINYjd5U/видео.html .
What is this new metal you talk about, allaminumin
Very rare, only available in the UK and Australia 🤣
Warco changed to a brushless motor but now they are stopping selling this lathe.
They changed to a brushless motor sometime ago now. According to their website the lathe is still available here in the UK.
C'mon Al! Let's see the steam engine collection on display!
I should do a collection video sometime, there are rather a lot of them though! I do have a page on my website dedicated to each engine here www.alspcs.com/Steam.html if you are interested.
HI WHAT IS ROBS CHANEL CALED? REGARDS R.
Rob's channel is called Xynudu, you can find it here ruclips.net/user/Xynudu .
@@RetroSteamTech THANK YOU
Good Video, in the market for a mini-lathe to bevel segments of 2" sch 40 pipe, - You talking about overheating motors etc was just the information I required. Thanks ! They are doing one that comes with an installed DRO which I quite fancy.
This thing is quite liftable right ? 40kg or something like that ?
Thanks, glad you found it useful. Yes, you can get it with a DRO already installed, I think it's more like 70kg but if you remove the chuck, toolpost and tailstock then it's manageable.
@@RetroSteamTech Cheers dude, gona keep an eye on your channel, love all this workshop stuff.