I visited Warco at their showroom several years ago and bought the same lathe. I decided to order the DRO and scales at the same time and couldn’t be happier with it. I’ve made lots of projects on it over the years, my favourite being an electric kart conversion for my daughter. Currently making parts for my drill press upgrade (also Warco). Some examples over on my channel if that is of any interest.
Hi Mark, great video, I have the same lathe (new last Aug) so your series is really helpful. ps I really hope you don't wear gloves anymore . . really bad 👎 as your at risk of losing a finger (or two) !! if the get caught in anything spinning such as the chuck or a part you're turning ! Anyway, anymore exciting lathe projects to share ? Steve
Mark, thanks for the answer and dimensions, if the high point is, as you say, 23cm from the back, it should clear the cupboards, I could always lower the bench. Most of the photos of these lathes are from the front, none from the side, which makes it difficult to judge the dimensions. Thanks again.
Haven't got my WM250v yet but I'm a little disturbed by the lack or oil and the debris on the lead screw and the gearbox! I'll also look at the tailstock. Thanks for the vid
I regret having bought the WM180V since it has no T-Slot system on the crossslide... I'm upgrading it now myself. Now I'd rather go for the WM250V... I also added a 1.5kw motor to it since I max'ed out the 750w motor on it, it still works fine but doesn't have enough power for my application.
@@lewiskent6207 @Lewis Kent Not yet, I have done some modifications to linuxcnc and now it works well for me, the 1.5kw motor also does a good job (so the internal electronics is also removed from that machine). 750w is a nogo. I'm working with 304/416 stainless steel. I might give it away at the end of the year and buy a bigger one possibly. The lathe is doing a very good job (CNC) with G70 and G71 (programming the profile and letting the pc cut the part). Also an individual settable 4 jaw chuck is much better than the self centering 3/4 jaw chucks this machine got me booted with CNC. I just successfully made a floating MTB2 morsetaper today for my mill for tapping.
Does anyone have any idea if there is any difference between engaging the lead screw with the large lever (7:48) or engaging it for longitudinal travel with the small power crossfeed lever (8:42) I've had a 250v for many years but had no idea that the power crossfeed lever was dual purpose and could also engage the leadscrew for longitudinal travel until I saw this video! Both seem to do exactly the same thing at exactly the same speed. WM250v user manual does not mention power crossfeed or show the smaller lever.
Mark, I have ordered a WM250V and want to make a metal bench for it, however I am struggling to find accurate information. The brochure states the lathe is: Length 1250m Width 600mm Height 560mm Please could you tell me the outside measurements of the drip tray and where the 3 holes are in relation to the drip tray. The other measurement I need is how far the swarf tray overhangs the drip tray (at the rear). On another UA-cam video of a Warco lathe (not the same model) it was mentioned the outer lip of the drip tray was lower than the underneath of the drip tray, but on your video you put it directly on a flat plywood surface. Does it "dish down" in the middle with the weight of the lathe or is yours flat? Sorry for all the questions, but it would be nice to get on with making my bench and getting it correct! Thanks. Tony
Mark, have you made a carriage stop clamp for your lathe. I have just made one for my new WM2500V lathe and have some drawings if want them but I do not know how to send them to you.
Hi Mark, I would like to ask for a drawing of the location of the mounting holes from the edge of the drip tray in both axes for the WM 250V lathe.Thanks you.
I am finding your series on your WM250V really useful, I am considering buying one, but according to the published dimensions, it thought it would be a tight fit on my 70cm deep bench which has cupboards 50cm above, projecting 15cm. Looking at your installation video, your bench looks smaller. I am unable to visit the showroom to measure in situ, can you let me know what the depth of your bench is and the clearance needed above? Many thanks
Hi Chris, My bench is 60cm deep which is plenty enough for use, but do be aware that the inverter and wiring are accessed from the rear (PITA). Height wise, given what you've written, you are going to be tight. The top of the lathe (Emergency stop button) is about 50cm from the bench top and in my case is about 23 cm from the wall behind. I trust this helps? Mark
Hi Mark. Thank you for all your videos. Would you buy this again, or rather the WM290V? I'm trying to pick between the two and can't figure out if I should pay for the larger scale factor or stick with something smaller and maybe a bit more accurate.
Hi Valentin, the general advice is buy as big as you can. There won't be any difference in accuracy between the 280/290. I definitely would go with inverter drive. Good luck 👍
@@markshomeengineering5243 thank you for the reply Mark! I think they are both inverter, the 250 and 290. The main diference is for the auto feed, the 290 has a separate screw. And the HBM model I found has a quick conmnect tool holder. So the price diff seems more than justified. But it would be double to the initial budget :))
thanks man, got lot of info, but you forget to try differend speed A,B,C so you set gear for the thread, let's say 1mm pitch, and then got 3 more speeds from speed you set with the gear?
Hi, You get a choice of three threads for each timing gear combination. One at 2:1, one at 1:1 and one at 1:2 so for the example you quote 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 2.00 mm pitch. Great ratios for turning but might have been better to have given a 1.5 multiple rather than x 2 for threading. They missed a bigger trick though, there's a gear ratio that could have been in the box that would give a very good conversion to imperial TPI threads. BobUK.
I have the Warco WM280V and for the most part is pretty good. It will make accurate things, you just have to take your time. It won't make massive cuts, but the hobbyist has the time. I recently made eccentrics for a miniature traction engine ua-cam.com/video/BBPIF1u_ke0/v-deo.html and they came out spot on. Best investment is the DRO. That alone saves a lot of time as I watch it go to 0 at the end of the cut rather than relying on the hand wheel dials. Easy to fit. I also got the quick change post, however i'm not overly pleased with it. Feel cheap and the tool holders are a bit pricey. Would have preferred to buy the ones used by proper lathes. Only real criticism is the rigidity is poor if you push too hard. Parting is a nightmare. I invested in a decent parting tool and it will bind up and stall the rotation if pushed too hard, or chatter like mad if you go steady. I generally hacksaw off the part.
Motor upgrade. I have a wm240 the original motor is rubbish. I got a 1.5kw 6pole 3ph (1000rpm) and vfd, with xpa pulleys. I have about 100x more torque and can part tough material at slow speed no risk of stalling.
@@LoremIpsum1970 Motor was Thornhill www.ebay.co.uk/sch/thornhill2015/m.html but they dont have it listed now, TEC 6 pole 1.5kw, and vfd was inverterdrive.com, optidrive e3 2.2kw.
I was taught to either tighten the jaws closed or have stock in them. The reason given was that if jaws are in place but not engaged with the scroll they can fly out at considerable speed. If someone had been turning a large diameter piece of work they may have left the jaws disengaged from the scroll.
Probably Jonn, because we don't all live in America. Beyond that there are many reasons: Cost; size, weight, age, wear, power (3phase), metric/imperial, covenience, spares, etc......
@@markshomeengineering5243 I bought a 1938 Sheldon lathe last week. Single phase runs on 110. Spindle bushings not bearings. 1938 was a longtime ago. I bought it for $375.00. A friend helped get it home with his lawn mower trailer. I put a tarp under it and painted it with diesel and let it sit to get the gunk off. Next day wiped it down and oiled everything. Ran some parts for my kinetic wind sculptures that I build. The cross slide has slop in it but I am told that can be adjusted very easily. The compound is nice and tight. No slop. The parts that I ran came out very good. The bronze bushings could be replaced but for what I do it machines close enough. Being a 1938 year this lathe could be made almost new again very easily because it is so simple to start with. But I do understand what you are saying. The Ching lathes are ready to go. Put them on a bench plug them in and they are ready to go. When they get bad just go get another one. People that are working out of a garage at home wouldn’t have room for my lathe. I feel so lucky that I found a lathe that has the bushings instead of bearings. On the smaller Ching lathes the deal breaker for me is that I need to make a bore in each end of molly filled nylon 1-1/8”. I use a standard drill bit to do that and it is so easy on the Sheldon lathe. The little Chinese lathes will not handle a drill bit of that size
I have 2 old English Myford lathes, great machines from the 1950s. I would like a bigger lathe such as a Colchester that can handle both imperial and metric threads in one machine without having to set up change wheels. Why bother with US made stuff when there's better English machines available ?
@@juddhadley8778 I live in Texas and lathes are hard to come by here. Last week I bought a 1938 Sheldon lathe for $375.00. A step up from the 618 Atlas lathe that I started on. It is able to turn and bore all the parts I need for my kinetic wind sculptures with remarkable accuracy. Really I feel blessed to have found this lathe for such a good price. It is better than decent lathe for what I need to do but I do understand that it is not good enough to run parts for a space shuttle. The small atlas is a good lathe but I can’t bore the nylon bushings with a big bit. Just too small. Good luck in your search for a lathe.
Must be a great feeling unboxing a brand new lathe :-)
I visited Warco at their showroom several years ago and bought the same lathe. I decided to order the DRO and scales at the same time and couldn’t be happier with it. I’ve made lots of projects on it over the years, my favourite being an electric kart conversion for my daughter. Currently making parts for my drill press upgrade (also Warco). Some examples over on my channel if that is of any interest.
Cheers, I've subscribed to your channel, great videos 👍
@@markshomeengineering5243 OK great. Welcome to the channel !
Hi Mark, great video, I have the same lathe (new last Aug) so your series is really helpful.
ps I really hope you don't wear gloves anymore . . really bad 👎 as your at risk of losing a finger (or two) !! if the get caught in anything spinning such as the chuck or a part you're turning !
Anyway, anymore exciting lathe projects to share ?
Steve
Mark, thanks for the answer and dimensions, if the high point is, as you say, 23cm from the back, it should clear the cupboards, I could always lower the bench. Most of the photos of these lathes are from the front, none from the side, which makes it difficult to judge the dimensions. Thanks again.
Let me know your email Chris and I'll send a picture of the side elevation of mine.
Mark
I’m not sure how to send you my email without it becoming public.
Haven't got my WM250v yet but I'm a little disturbed by the lack or oil and the debris on the lead screw and the gearbox! I'll also look at the tailstock. Thanks for the vid
I was thinking the same. Did you get a WM250 in the end, and was it in a state similar to that shown in the video?
Great vid. Great to see the stripdown, I'm always undecided which model to get 240, 250, 250v ...
Get the biggest you can. You will come across a job where it's too small 🙂
WM250 without a doubt !
@@steveneighbour6094 Thanks for the reply, got down to two (pros/cons?) Warco GH600 or WM250V?
@@markshomeengineering5243 Thanks for the reply, got down to two (pros/cons?) Warco GH600 or WM250V?
Nice vid, I'm considering one of these as an upgrade from my Warco WM 180, could do with the extra capacity now the 250V has
I regret having bought the WM180V since it has no T-Slot system on the crossslide... I'm upgrading it now myself. Now I'd rather go for the WM250V...
I also added a 1.5kw motor to it since I max'ed out the 750w motor on it, it still works fine but doesn't have enough power for my application.
@@mrechbreger is the 180 for sale?
@@lewiskent6207 @Lewis Kent Not yet, I have done some modifications to linuxcnc and now it works well for me, the 1.5kw motor also does a good job (so the internal electronics is also removed from that machine). 750w is a nogo.
I'm working with 304/416 stainless steel.
I might give it away at the end of the year and buy a bigger one possibly.
The lathe is doing a very good job (CNC) with G70 and G71 (programming the profile and letting the pc cut the part).
Also an individual settable 4 jaw chuck is much better than the self centering 3/4 jaw chucks this machine got me booted with CNC. I just successfully made a floating MTB2 morsetaper today for my mill for tapping.
@@mrechbreger great stuff, sound great. Let me know if you decide to part with it for an upgrade 😀
Does anyone have any idea if there is any difference between engaging the lead screw with the large lever (7:48) or engaging it for longitudinal travel with the small power crossfeed lever (8:42) I've had a 250v for many years but had no idea that the power crossfeed lever was dual purpose and could also engage the leadscrew for longitudinal travel until I saw this video! Both seem to do exactly the same thing at exactly the same speed. WM250v user manual does not mention power crossfeed or show the smaller lever.
Mark, I have ordered a WM250V and want to make a metal bench for it, however I am struggling to find accurate information. The brochure states the lathe is:
Length 1250m
Width 600mm
Height 560mm
Please could you tell me the outside measurements of the drip tray and where the 3 holes are in relation to the drip tray. The other measurement I need is how far the swarf tray overhangs the drip tray (at the rear). On another UA-cam video of a Warco lathe (not the same model) it was mentioned the outer lip of the drip tray was lower than the underneath of the drip tray, but on your video you put it directly on a flat plywood surface. Does it "dish down" in the middle with the weight of the lathe or is yours flat?
Sorry for all the questions, but it would be nice to get on with making my bench and getting it correct!
Thanks.
Tony
Hi Tony,
If you can let me have an email address I can send you a picture of the relevant page in the manual.
Mark
Thankyou for that im in the market for a lathe and every little helps Ive subbed so will watch your other stuff too thnx
Mark, have you made a carriage stop clamp for your lathe. I have just made one for my new WM2500V lathe and have some drawings if want them but I do not know how to send them to you.
Thank you Philip, but I do have a carriage stop. 👍
Hi Mark, I would like to ask for a drawing of the location of the mounting holes from the edge of the drip tray in both axes for the WM 250V lathe.Thanks you.
I am finding your series on your WM250V really useful, I am considering buying one, but according to the published dimensions, it thought it would be a tight fit on my 70cm deep bench which has cupboards 50cm above, projecting 15cm. Looking at your installation video, your bench looks smaller. I am unable to visit the showroom to measure in situ, can you let me know what the depth of your bench is and the clearance needed above? Many thanks
Hi Chris,
My bench is 60cm deep which is plenty enough for use, but do be aware that the inverter and wiring are accessed from the rear (PITA).
Height wise, given what you've written, you are going to be tight. The top of the lathe (Emergency stop button) is about 50cm from the bench top and in my case is about 23 cm from the wall behind.
I trust this helps?
Mark
Nice Lathe many Enjoy
It does look like a handy we lathe how are you getting on with it, please.
Hi Mark. Thank you for all your videos. Would you buy this again, or rather the WM290V? I'm trying to pick between the two and can't figure out if I should pay for the larger scale factor or stick with something smaller and maybe a bit more accurate.
Hi Valentin, the general advice is buy as big as you can. There won't be any difference in accuracy between the 280/290. I definitely would go with inverter drive.
Good luck 👍
@@markshomeengineering5243 thank you for the reply Mark! I think they are both inverter, the 250 and 290. The main diference is for the auto feed, the 290 has a separate screw. And the HBM model I found has a quick conmnect tool holder. So the price diff seems more than justified. But it would be double to the initial budget :))
thanks man, got lot of info, but you forget to try differend speed A,B,C so you set gear for the thread, let's say 1mm pitch, and then got 3 more speeds from speed you set with the gear?
Hi, You get a choice of three threads for each timing gear combination. One at 2:1, one at 1:1 and one at 1:2 so for the example you quote 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 2.00 mm pitch. Great ratios for turning but might have been better to have given a 1.5 multiple rather than x 2 for threading. They missed a bigger trick though, there's a gear ratio that could have been in the box that would give a very good conversion to imperial TPI threads. BobUK.
@@bobuk5722 thanks
Hi Mark. What oil did you put in the gearbox?
Hi, I just threw some motor oil in. Whatever, I had to hand.
Cheers, Mark
I have the Warco WM280V and for the most part is pretty good. It will make accurate things, you just have to take your time. It won't make massive cuts, but the hobbyist has the time. I recently made eccentrics for a miniature traction engine ua-cam.com/video/BBPIF1u_ke0/v-deo.html and they came out spot on.
Best investment is the DRO. That alone saves a lot of time as I watch it go to 0 at the end of the cut rather than relying on the hand wheel dials. Easy to fit.
I also got the quick change post, however i'm not overly pleased with it. Feel cheap and the tool holders are a bit pricey. Would have preferred to buy the ones used by proper lathes.
Only real criticism is the rigidity is poor if you push too hard. Parting is a nightmare. I invested in a decent parting tool and it will bind up and stall the rotation if pushed too hard, or chatter like mad if you go steady. I generally hacksaw off the part.
Motor upgrade. I have a wm240 the original motor is rubbish. I got a 1.5kw 6pole 3ph (1000rpm) and vfd, with xpa pulleys. I have about 100x more torque and can part tough material at slow speed no risk of stalling.
@@Mark6E Where did you get the 2hp motor and vfd from?
@@LoremIpsum1970 Motor was Thornhill www.ebay.co.uk/sch/thornhill2015/m.html but they dont have it listed now, TEC 6 pole 1.5kw, and vfd was inverterdrive.com, optidrive e3 2.2kw.
@@Mark6E Thanks Mark. When did you upgrade...and didn't you make a video
@@LoremIpsum1970 No video of the upgrade, but it was last March, milling videos are the first using it.
I would have been kicked (thrown) out the workshop by my boss if I ran a chuck with loose jaws.
That's not one I've heard before pj. Mind you, it's nearly 40 years since I was taught 😁
What's the reason?
I was taught to either tighten the jaws closed or have stock in them. The reason given was that if jaws are in place but not engaged with the scroll they can fly out at considerable speed. If someone had been turning a large diameter piece of work they may have left the jaws disengaged from the scroll.
@@pjm2498 Oh stop frettin' - he's got a chuck guard on the machine ;)
@@pjm2498 You mean someone might sneak into his private workshop and turn large items on his lathe without his knowledge?
The bounders!
@@markrainford1219 🤣🤣
I have my late Dads Myford and Boxford Lathes No way I would get rid of them they will have to pry them from my cold dead hands ;-0
excellent film. pity about the soundtrack (awful)
Filestation
Why do people buy these cheap imported lathes when there are many older American made lathes on the market?
Probably Jonn, because we don't all live in America.
Beyond that there are many reasons: Cost; size, weight, age, wear, power (3phase), metric/imperial, covenience, spares, etc......
@@markshomeengineering5243 I bought a 1938 Sheldon lathe last week. Single phase runs on 110. Spindle bushings not bearings. 1938 was a longtime ago. I bought it for $375.00. A friend helped get it home with his lawn mower trailer. I put a tarp under it and painted it with diesel and let it sit to get the gunk off. Next day wiped it down and oiled everything. Ran some parts for my kinetic wind sculptures that I build. The cross slide has slop in it but I am told that can be adjusted very easily. The compound is nice and tight. No slop. The parts that I ran came out very good. The bronze bushings could be replaced but for what I do it machines close enough. Being a 1938 year this lathe could be made almost new again very easily because it is so simple to start with. But I do understand what you are saying. The Ching lathes are ready to go. Put them on a bench plug them in and they are ready to go. When they get bad just go get another one. People that are working out of a garage at home wouldn’t have room for my lathe. I feel so lucky that I found a lathe that has the bushings instead of bearings. On the smaller Ching lathes the deal breaker for me is that I need to make a bore in each end of molly filled nylon 1-1/8”. I use a standard drill bit to do that and it is so easy on the Sheldon lathe. The little Chinese lathes will not handle a drill bit of that size
I have 2 old English Myford lathes, great machines from the 1950s. I would like a bigger lathe such as a Colchester that can handle both imperial and metric threads in one machine without having to set up change wheels. Why bother with US made stuff when there's better English machines available ?
@@juddhadley8778 I live in Texas and lathes are hard to come by here. Last week I bought a 1938 Sheldon lathe for $375.00. A step up from the 618 Atlas lathe that I started on. It is able to turn and bore all the parts I need for my kinetic wind sculptures with remarkable accuracy. Really I feel blessed to have found this lathe for such a good price. It is better than decent lathe for what I need to do but I do understand that it is not good enough to run parts for a space shuttle. The small atlas is a good lathe but I can’t bore the nylon bushings with a big bit. Just too small. Good luck in your search for a lathe.
@@juddhadley8778 I have been told that at one Sheldon lathes were made in England. Mine says Chicago Illinois though.
nice vid .crap uneccessary music
Fair shout Simon, I dropped the music from my videos a while back now.
Cheers, Mark
Horrible music
Why listen to the music if you didn't like it? There is a mute button.
@@westers1514 Because there might be important speech or sounds effects?
@@DepakoteMeister It's obvious there will be none of those as he explains what he's doing via the written word.
@@westers1514 That would only be obvious if all humans were 100% predictable. In reality they are anything but.