Warco VM16

[ivanj]

Has anyone had experience of one of these machines. The spec sounds good vari-speed drive, square column with V guides but I am concerned that the weight is only 216LB. I wonder how rigid it is and whether it would be much of an improvement on a Dore westbury given its lighness.

Ivan

[John Lee]

ivanj said:

Has anyone had experience of one of these machines. The spec sounds good vari-speed drive, square column with V guides but I am concerned that the weight is only 216LB. I wonder how rigid it is and whether it would be much of an improvement on a Dore westbury given its lighness.

Ivan

You are going to get variable advice here Ivan, so here is my bit.. did you mean the WM 16 by the way?

Warco import lots of stuff, usually of Asian origin. The quality from the factories used to be dire, but a combination of them upping the ante, and the importers (Chester and one or two others are an alternative) fixing them up, make them a reasonable option IMHO.

If you have a Dore Westbury, perhaps you can enlighten as to why you are considering this (capacity??), and then a few on here can help more perhaps. It's also MT3 not MT2, so if you have one you will need to retool or mess with adaptors.

You are quite right in your first consideration, rigidity. Sloppy lead screws etc can be fixed, but it's useless if it's not rigid... my twopennyworth

Regards,

John

[Chris Kelland]

Hi Ivan,

I have a WM16, for about 12 months now, what would you like to know?

I got it because of the keyed column, I can lift the head without loosing register. It is also the biggest mill I can get in my small workshop. It is expensive, but you get a lot for your money. Warco backup is worth a lot these days.

Same as any small mill you can do pretty near anything, but you need smaller cuts. Don't forget to lock the quill and keep the head gibs tight and you won't have problems.


Chris.

[ivanj]

Thanks John food for thought. I will look at the Chester site too.

Chris, very interested in your experience of this machine. What is the column made from, is it C I or fabricated and is there much vibration. What about the table, is it possible to get free movement with next to no play? What about the quill bearings, are they really precise, That is the problem with my D-W - it is not bad with small cutters and i have done some good work on it but I do find losing register a real pain. My main concern is rigidity when using larger cutters.

Thanks again and hope to hear more

Ivan

[John Lee]

ivanj said:

Thanks John food for thought. I will look at the Chester site too.

Chris, very interested in your experience of this machine. What is the column made from, is it C I or fabricated and is there much vibration. What about the table, is it possible to get free movement with next to no play? What about the quill bearings, are they really precise, That is the problem with my D-W - it is not bad with small cutters and i have done some good work on it but I do find losing register a real pain. My main concern is rigidity when using larger cutters.

Thanks again and hope to hear more

Ivan

I can't address the first bit, and hopefully Chris will come back and answer you there.

I actually have an Amolco Mill, but am fairly familiar with the D-W as a friend has one.

One of its main advantages is the multi axis flexibility you have. You can actually mill much larger pieces of work than anything of it's apparent size; but yes, the head lowering arrangement is an issue. If you are prepared to sacrifice this a bit, could you not just modify it so that it uses the "standard", if you like, head lowering arrangement i.e a thread and then use keyway in the column and head to maintain register? And you would save a few bob. I am in Yorkshire however, where this is of supreme importance... ;D

I will stick my neck out a bit on the first bit though, and stand to be corrected; but I would suggest that a well built D-W will at least be the equal of most modern imports in respect of free movement with no play and general overall accuracy.
Regards,

John

[Chris Kelland]

Hi All,

The column is fairly substantial cast iron and to date I have had no real problem with vibration, but at the end of the day it is not a big machine. The WM16 is available as standard and long table versions and Warco have one fitted up as a cnc machine.

If you keep all the slide way locks tight you should not have too much trouble. One thing I will say is that looking around the shows both my lathe (Warco 918) and the milling machine are supplied by quite a number of companies, but the standard of presentation is very variable and in two cases extremely rough!

I have nearly finished adding bits to the machine and if I can figure out how I will post a photo.

Regards,

Chris.

[John Lee]

chriskelland said:

Hi All,

One thing I will say is that looking around the shows both my lathe (Warco 918) and the milling machine are supplied by quite a number of companies, but the standard of presentation is very variable and in two cases extremely rough!

Are you prepared to name names Chris? The standard of presentation may well be an indication of how much preparation and checking they have undergone also. It would be good general information not specific this machine.

Regards,

John

[Garry Coles]

Hi Ivan
Yes I have owned the WM 16 for about 8 months now, and am very pleased with it. The varible speed is a must and the digital depth readout on the vertical axis is so handy. As for the weight, 216lbs I had to take the bloody thing to bits to get it up onto my bench. When it's bolted down, I think the sturdiness of your bench will be of more concern than the weight of this machine
It seems to be a good smallish machine. I am currenlty building a 3 1/2 G loco using it. Also when I use it with a MT2 drill chuck it becomes a very accurate pillar drill.
I think I paid about £800 ish with freight. I would fully recommend it for the model engineering.
Good luck
Garry

[Chris Kelland]

Hi John,

I agree completely with Garry's comments. The one bad machine was from Arc Euro, whilst mechanically it may well be OK I found that overall it looked shoddy. Example, the motor casing had been welded together (as they all are) but at the end of the weld a piece of MIG wire had been left to cut my fingers on. Arc Euro also have dual pricing on their machines, I wonder what effect this has on warranty?

I went to several shows with another club member who was also in the market for a medium sized mill. We spent a lot of time just looking and twiddling and asking ' foolish questions'.

Time and time again Warco machines looked better and the staff had all the answers. We ordered 2 machines from Warco and both machines have performed well with no problems other than the factory had not included the imperial drawbar with either machine. Roger Warren (Mr Warco) had 2 made up for us until the factory supplied replacements. I have no connection with Warco - just a satisfied customer.

Regards,

Chris.

[John Lee]

chriskelland said:

Hi John,

I agree completely with Garry's comments. The one bad machine was from Arc Euro, whilst mechanically it may well be OK I found that overall it looked shoddy. Example, the motor casing had been welded together (as they all are) but at the end of the weld a piece of MIG wire had been left to cut my fingers on. Arc Euro also have dual pricing on their machines, I wonder what effect this has on warranty?

I went to several shows with another club member who was also in the market for a medium sized mill. We spent a lot of time just looking and twiddling and asking ' foolish questions'.

Time and time again Warco machines looked better and the staff had all the answers. We ordered 2 machines from Warco and both machines have performed well with no problems other than the factory had not included the imperial drawbar with either machine. Roger Warren (Mr Warco) had 2 made up for us until the factory supplied replacements. I have no connection with Warco - just a satisfied customer.

Regards,

Chris.

Ahh thats interesting Chris. Arc Euro offer dual pricing because one is as shipped to them, and one is a "preparation" service where they say it is stripped and degreased (the packing grease), then adjusted so all runs as it should and any faults sorted.

I hope this was a "preprep" machine, but amazed that they would put it on their stand if it was.

I had to smile a bit though and sort of agree with Ivan, a 218lb nachine is really nothing, although for one person with presumably no lifting facilities it is a bit of an issue in a home workshop. I have a friend with a Bridgeport (lucky sod!) and that was a crane in job! But for "our" size it sounds like a nice piece of kit.

Thanks for the info about Warco, I've got an traditional type model engineer workshop with a Myford and the like, but if I ever need some bigger kit it's good to know where to start looking.

Regards,

John

[Noddy]

I'm still in the market for a small mill, the info here is really interesting, especially the differences between the "clones". Can't add experience, but hear say has it that Warco variable speed circuitry is more reliable than the far eastern original.

Just had a month working with a chinese manufactured drilling rig (for rock drilling) it worked, but worked a whole lot better when the guys checked the gear oil and actually put some in! apart from packing grease it was dry!

[ivanp]

what milling machine did you purchase in the end?
i am looking for a machine and its between x3 or wm16
regards
ivan