I’ve just had an issue with my WM250 lathe. Peter from spares emailed back within the hour and a new part was in my hands two days later. Warco customer service is legendary.
For close on 40 years I used a small G clamp in the flat way of the bed as a carriage stop mainly because I haven't got a round tuit but now after seeing how simple it is I need to make a proper one before I do the shuffle act.
Hi Ben, I would love to get a Bridgeport but due to size and weight I wouldn’t be able to get it into my shop and wouldn’t leave much room. Maybe one day 👍
With the oil drained, now would be a great time to seal that leak in what I assume to be the oil level sight glass. That dark trail on the side of the machine is speaking to me 😉 Good luck
I’m going to say the ‘mud’ in the gearbox is what caused the failure not the other way around. Here is Australia I’ve repaired many hafco machines which are the local brand equivalent to like Grizzly and I think these Warco machines. Nearly every Chinese machine I work on you end up cleaning that sort of brown or black sludge out of the gearboxes. It’s usually any combination of casting sand, grinding dust, swarf and paint all ground in with the oil, it usually even persists after several oil changes if you didn’t tear down the machine previously to clean it. Unfortunately nothing really gets cleaned on cheaper machines, we had a radial drill that literally had 5mm of sand in the bottom of the gearbox oil and then clumps of casting sand just painted over. 😬
Hi Techno0908. I have a hafco HM46 mill and have just cleaned out the gearbox and replaced the (cheap) bearings. I would appreciate some (paid) help to refit the gearbox. I am in Rockingham (Perth) WA. Are you anywhere near Perth and interested? Ken
The smoke was coming out the quill bore and that is separate from the gear box. Clean and flush out the gear box and it probably fine. I bet the top quill bearing is going bad is the problem. The tram issue is fixable. design problem with the round column mills. The belt drive unit have a reasonable weight distribution on the top side. the gear drive machines have all the weight on one side of the column. I corrected the tram on mine with a nodding donkey rocker on the top of the column, one end connects to the top plate between the motor and arbor nut, the other end has a weight hung off the rear balancing the motor gear box out to where the tram is with in 1/2 thousandths, and it makes raising the head assembly much much easier since the weight of the motor, case and drive train is all counter balanced
I´d say diesel is a good detergent. Fill up the bugger with it and flush out the grime. There might be an oil pump buried in there, check for that. Rotating by hand then seems like a good idea. The bugger need to be clean to see what´s going on, find the source of magic smoke, replenish it, yeah? And keep the shop warm, diesel works better 20c and up. Good luck, Kind Regards
Might be time for a bridgeport or similar. Pallet shipping in UK is pretty reasonable with places like speed shift I went from a centec 2a to a bridgeport. The bridgeport was actually far cheaper Inc installing a touch dro.
A couple of suggestions. Smell the motor to see if it smells of electrical burning. If not, have a look to see if water/coolant has gotten into the gearbox. Difficult to tell from the video but it looks as if the oil has formed an emulsion.
I don’t see what this would have to do with the motor. The smoke was coming from the quill. The motor is all the way at the top, and is a TEFC, so it’s sealed.
Sorry to see your magic smoke was let loose! REgarding the part you're working on, a couple quality of life suggestions. I would have swapped the 2, cap head bolts with guide pins and instead make 1 threaded hole in the center, then either create a bolt with a knob, then you won't need to hunt for a tool to adjust. Same for the grub screw, good idea but could use a knob instead of an allen key.
Ordure occurs, as they say, and nearly always at a time when you’re already behind schedule because of other things happening in your life some of which may also have been ordure that occurred. Assuming you get your mill fixed, I think you should aim at a quality of life upgrade to a more capable mill of some kind. All of this - the carriage-stop project, the repair, the new mill? - will make good copy from the viewer’s PoV, though, from where I’m looking, big messy repair videos and shiny new machine vids are generally more interesting than carriage stop projects.
Yep, machining, machine repair. Doesn't much matter. Go ahead and dig into it. What you find may help someone else out. Even if you find it to be beyond repair it will be a learning experience.
looks like you made the same mistake i did... it took me three tear-downs when adjusting spindle bearings before realising that taking the quill out FIRST helps? that it actually DOES come out at all? sigh... just undo the feed mech, be ready to catch it... watch that spring when releasing it... that top bearing/splined gear with the circlip is a bugger to reinstall otherwise, lol... pays to throw new spindle bearings in and sort that out on the bench. dah! and my money is on the upper spindle bearing being the cause of the smoke, its sealed up and thats the only way the smoke could come out of the drift-slot... if you can be bothered, try angular contacts rather than the taper rollers... lot quieter. as for mud in the box... meh, mine sat semi-covered in the rain for years, was the howling of rusted bearings that had me opening it up... yummy :) once it started needing a push to start spinning, i knew it was time to call it quits... i doubt your box bearings are bad, but theyre cheap, and whilst its in pieces, why not? can see if anything else is suss at least... word on the street is to use hydraulic oil... "non detergent, non-foaming"... i actually just re-used my old stuff, threw the pot on the stove and boiled the water/soap out until it resembled oil again... if you can call that dark brown waxy stuff the chinese throw in there "oil"... i swear its the dregs from when they make their "sewer-grease"... anyway, dont use motor oil, apparently. pffft. oil is oil! (or is it? see above!) throw a magnet on the drain plug if it doesnt have one... one day i might replace the missing sight-glass and throw fresh oil in... and consider remaking the second shaft that has a stinking big crack running down its keyway. factory defect, was obviously ground in that condition...
Perfect, awesome setup, neat lathe.....
Thank you.
I’ve just had an issue with my WM250 lathe. Peter from spares emailed back within the hour and a new part was in my hands two days later. Warco customer service is legendary.
Yeah can’t remember his name but when I have dealt with the spare parts team in the past at Warco they are great.
Good to see you back, but so feel your pain. Hope the mill fix is not too difficult. 👍😀
Thanks Andrew glad to be back and making content it is a pain but keep your eyes peeled for todays video 😉
welcome back
glad to see you still lurking
Thank you glad to be back 😁
For close on 40 years I used a small G clamp in the flat way of the bed as a carriage stop mainly because I haven't got a round tuit but now after seeing how simple it is I need to make a proper one before I do the shuffle act.
Glad my video has convinced you to make one, always a great feeling machining your own tools.
Time to get a Bridgeport style machine Joe!! Considering one myself!!
Hi Ben, I would love to get a Bridgeport but due to size and weight I wouldn’t be able to get it into my shop and wouldn’t leave much room. Maybe one day 👍
With the oil drained, now would be a great time to seal that leak in what I assume to be the oil level sight glass. That dark trail on the side of the machine is speaking to me 😉
Good luck
I’m going to say the ‘mud’ in the gearbox is what caused the failure not the other way around.
Here is Australia I’ve repaired many hafco machines which are the local brand equivalent to like Grizzly and I think these Warco machines. Nearly every Chinese machine I work on you end up cleaning that sort of brown or black sludge out of the gearboxes. It’s usually any combination of casting sand, grinding dust, swarf and paint all ground in with the oil, it usually even persists after several oil changes if you didn’t tear down the machine previously to clean it. Unfortunately nothing really gets cleaned on cheaper machines, we had a radial drill that literally had 5mm of sand in the bottom of the gearbox oil and then clumps of casting sand just painted over. 😬
Hi Techno0908. I have a hafco HM46 mill and have just cleaned out the gearbox and replaced the (cheap) bearings. I would appreciate some (paid) help to refit the gearbox. I am in Rockingham (Perth) WA. Are you anywhere near Perth and interested? Ken
The smoke was coming out the quill bore and that is separate from the gear box. Clean and flush out the gear box and it probably fine. I bet the top quill bearing is going bad is the problem. The tram issue is fixable. design problem with the round column mills. The belt drive unit have a reasonable weight distribution on the top side. the gear drive machines have all the weight on one side of the column. I corrected the tram on mine with a nodding donkey rocker on the top of the column, one end connects to the top plate between the motor and arbor nut, the other end has a weight hung off the rear balancing the motor gear box out to where the tram is with in 1/2 thousandths, and it makes raising the head assembly much much easier since the weight of the motor, case and drive train is all counter balanced
I´d say diesel is a good detergent. Fill up the bugger with it and flush out the grime. There might be an oil pump buried in there, check for that. Rotating by hand then seems like a good idea. The bugger need to be clean to see what´s going on, find the source of magic smoke, replenish it, yeah?
And keep the shop warm, diesel works better 20c and up. Good luck, Kind Regards
Might be time for a bridgeport or similar.
Pallet shipping in UK is pretty reasonable with places like speed shift
I went from a centec 2a to a bridgeport.
The bridgeport was actually far cheaper Inc installing a touch dro.
Hi Barry I would love a Bridgeport but I just wouldn’t be able to install one/ fit one in my workshop.
*NO HOODIE AROUND THE MACHINES!* Those strings are lethal, and then your family will have to deal with your mangled body :(. Safety is no joke.
👍😎👍
That’s a pain mate 😏 Hopefully you can find out what’s wrong and get it sorted. Would be great if Warco could help you out too 👍
A couple of suggestions. Smell the motor to see if it smells of electrical burning. If not, have a look to see if water/coolant has gotten into the gearbox. Difficult to tell from the video but it looks as if the oil has formed an emulsion.
I don’t see what this would have to do with the motor. The smoke was coming from the quill. The motor is all the way at the top, and is a TEFC, so it’s sealed.
Yeah it is not the motor and this mill lubricates itself from a splash system and also does not have any form of coolant use.
Sorry to see your magic smoke was let loose! REgarding the part you're working on, a couple quality of life suggestions. I would have swapped the 2, cap head bolts with guide pins and instead make 1 threaded hole in the center, then either create a bolt with a knob, then you won't need to hunt for a tool to adjust. Same for the grub screw, good idea but could use a knob instead of an allen key.
Great idea it isn’t too late for me to change the design so think I will go with your suggestion that will it is tool free to tighten.
What happened! Fill us in😂
Get a bridgeport
I had that exact model mill drill. mill drills are a big pain in the ass
Yeah the round column is a pain. I do like the power and torque multiplier that comes with the gearbox.
Ordure occurs, as they say, and nearly always at a time when you’re already behind schedule because of other things happening in your life some of which may also have been ordure that occurred.
Assuming you get your mill fixed, I think you should aim at a quality of life upgrade to a more capable mill of some kind.
All of this - the carriage-stop project, the repair, the new mill? - will make good copy from the viewer’s PoV, though, from where I’m looking, big messy repair videos and shiny new machine vids are generally more interesting than carriage stop projects.
Now that totally, completely, absolutely sucks for you.
We do like watching machine re-building/restorations though.
Yep, machining, machine repair. Doesn't much matter. Go ahead and dig into it. What you find may help someone else out. Even if you find it to be beyond repair it will be a learning experience.
looks like you made the same mistake i did...
it took me three tear-downs when adjusting spindle bearings before realising that taking the quill out FIRST helps? that it actually DOES come out at all? sigh...
just undo the feed mech, be ready to catch it... watch that spring when releasing it...
that top bearing/splined gear with the circlip is a bugger to reinstall otherwise, lol...
pays to throw new spindle bearings in and sort that out on the bench. dah! and my money is on the upper spindle bearing being the cause of the smoke, its sealed up and thats the only way the smoke could come out of the drift-slot... if you can be bothered, try angular contacts rather than the taper rollers... lot quieter.
as for mud in the box... meh, mine sat semi-covered in the rain for years, was the howling of rusted bearings that had me opening it up... yummy :) once it started needing a push to start spinning, i knew it was time to call it quits...
i doubt your box bearings are bad, but theyre cheap, and whilst its in pieces, why not? can see if anything else is suss at least...
word on the street is to use hydraulic oil... "non detergent, non-foaming"... i actually just re-used my old stuff, threw the pot on the stove and boiled the water/soap out until it resembled oil again... if you can call that dark brown waxy stuff the chinese throw in there "oil"... i swear its the dregs from when they make their "sewer-grease"...
anyway, dont use motor oil, apparently. pffft. oil is oil! (or is it? see above!)
throw a magnet on the drain plug if it doesnt have one...
one day i might replace the missing sight-glass and throw fresh oil in... and consider remaking the second shaft that has a stinking big crack running down its keyway. factory defect, was obviously ground in that condition...
shit happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oops, that's not good.
Intro 🤣
Haha glad someone commented on the intro 😀
That looks nasty. Hope it's just a bearing
Yeah fingers crossed it is a bearing.