I bought a couple of machines from Weiss a few years ago (VM18L and a Lathe) they're pretty much okay. I converted them to CNC and made thousands of parts with them. What you might need to check: spindle bearings, mine ran hot after some time, also how the spindle is assembled - I had to re-assemble mine and put japanese bearings into it since then the machine did not run hot anymore. There's a ring with a U channel, squeezed together by a screw in mine, this needs some lock screw and/or screw glue to keep it in place. also I changed the lead screws to ballscrews. About the Weiss support - they're excellent and provide spare parts quickly. I can fully recommend them. The problem with the chinese collets is some of them have a poor quality and if they get a hit they might be bad permanently (check runout).
Not quite as my experiance of buying a AMA45 mill from Amadeal. Within 3 weeks of use it developed some very strange noises from the gearhead. Having already had a problem with it not being supplied with the correct spindle, MT4 instead of R8 as ordered ( eventually got the correct one supplied ) I decided there was no point in contacting Amadeal to rectify the noise problem. Removed the gearhead and stripped down to check it. Found it was full of cast iron grinding swarf most of which had been painted over, but the swarf that had not was being churned all over the gearbox in the ' oil ' resulting in the bearings running in a sort of grinding paste. Replaced all the bearings, and re-painted the gearbox internals with special paint. Mill is 'OK ' now, but has play between the quill and the gearhead casting, resulting in chatter when taking anything but the lightest of cuts. All in all, a very poorly made product, which I would not reccomend to anyone.
Oh sorry to hear your experience wasn’t good. Was this an ex demo machine? Or brand new? I’ve heard horror stories from most of the uk suppliers however I’ve also heard good things too. I think it’s just luck on how good your machine is when it gets here off the boat from china. In my case I don’t think amadeal even checked it other than making sure it was the correct machine. It was delivered to me almost as soon as it came off the ship from china.
I got an AMA45 too. converted it to CNC & it was OK but not impressed with the finish overall. It seems most re sellers worldwide, just churn out the same old stuff & it's luck of the draw. I wanted to investigate the internals on mine but gave up because I assumed the motor would just lift off to start the process & it wouldn't. Seemed locked onto something & wouldn't lift more than an inch!!!
Hi Lee nice to see you have got your new mill from Amadeal as you said you intended, it looks a great machine,I will be following you closely to see how things progress and everything certainly looks great so far john
Yes, learning lots. Im currently rebuilding the Chinese vice I have as I noticed some squareness issues that didn't appear to be the mill. Hopefully that will fix it, or I will just have to pay for a proper vice.
I got the 25L not that long ago. Was debating going for the bigger machine but actually im really happy with the 25L. For the money these are great machines.
Very happy with it indeed. Mine came with the powerfeed and DRO and I must admit I dont use the powerfeed that often but when I do it does give a cleaner finish. Its a very solid machine though I manage to pretty much cut anything on it, im glad I went with this over the warco machines as I think the R8 system is better and easier to use. I think at some point ill do a CNC conversion on it but for now its great as it is. @@leeceeworkshop
Oh fantastic you got your mill great to see looks amazing! Would you be interested in making a up to date video based on your knowledge and experience. Maybe what you would look to get today in the current market? Also what you would recommend as a mill user? Great videos super helpful cheers
Something to keep in mind when you have milled a part always deburr before you measure or check for square you would be surprised how far off it will measure with the burr left on
Congrats. I have a similar type mill. Try to stay away from climb cutting. It is much more stressful on these types of machines because of the play in the lead screws. You can retrofit your machine with ball bearing lead screws. That will give better results when climb cutting.
Hi. Thanks for the advice. In the little practice I’ve had so far conventional cutting seems the way to go. It just feels like it cuts better and more consistently.
Hi, WEISS is always take care of the quality and now are making more innovation machine. Our company is start from Nanjing by Michael Wei in 2002 who was inspector for machine tools from 1994. In 2008, we built the factory in Nanjing and produce machine tools by ourselves. We are pure Chinese, not German manufacturer. There is German manufacturer with WEISS brand, they are produce machine parts,not machine tools.
You've probably found that bar is to hold the spindle. I have vml25. Bar was very poor fit and starting to round out the hole so carefully drilled to 6mm and bought a pin C spanner. Soo much easier to use. I will be interested to see what adjustments etc you make. Nothing wrong with parallels, if its good enough for stefan gottswinter I'm sure it will be fine😊
I've got the same mill. Nice and quiet. I might down gear mine, rarely use 2250rpm and more torque for tapping would be useful. Worth checking the nod. My collum was quite a way out to the table. I epoxied it as per gotteswinter. Then found the head was not square to the collum, shimmed for now but one day I'll sort it out. Needs more than scraping sadly.
Hi. Thanks for the comment. I’ve noticed a tiny amount of nod that seems to fix itself when I turn the head locking screws. Maybe I need to adjust the Gibbs slightly? Will use the machine for a few weeks then re clean, oil and adjust.
What would you consider accurate for a hobby machine? I’ve just rebuilt my cheap vice (video coming soon) it’s much better now and I seem to get around 4 to 7 microns variation across a squared piece of stock. Is that good? Ok? Or terrible?
@@leeceeworkshop good question! I'm a hobbyist so don't take my word on anything... But my mill was really out. To shim my head I'm using something like 0.7mm shims roughly 50mm from the center point of the head.so not trivially out. I'd regard that as well outside of what would be reasonable for a mill at this price.
Thanks. It’s been a great experience so far. No major issues. I plan to get in the workshop and film again soon. I was actually off work for a year last yeah which gave me plenty of time! I’ve now gone back to a day job so have been pretty busy. (I’m a cyber security engineer by trade)
Why are you indicating off parallels? You should always indicate the floor of your work holding device. What happens if you’re reading is dead on when checking across parallels but when you mount your vice and check the floor of the vice it’s.002 off? You just defeated the purpose.
Hi. thanks for the comment. That was just a quick check on a brand new machine to check the traming. The vice itself was fully indicated in. Just not on camera. Infact I’ve now rebuilt the vice for more accuracy. I’ve no idea what accuracy would be acceptable in a hobby machine but after my vice rebuild I’ve got a variance of around 4-8 microns on a squared piece of stock. I think I will just use the machine for a few weeks before re cleaning and adjusting.
Hi Lee, I'm seriously looking at getting myself a mill similar in size to yours. I'd like to know if you went direct to the manufacturer of your Mill or did you buy from a distributor where you are located. Thanks Lee. Mike
Just bigger and more powerful. I decided that was more important than getting the bigger machine and not get the x axis power feed as I can add the power feed later. Bigger is better.
Hey lee those Chinese engine cranes are a bit sharp an nasty but with a 1ton crane fitted with an 8ton ram I managed to lift my warco super major on to its base @ nearly 600kg worrying lift good luck sir!
Yeah the crane is a bit dodgy but I use it to lift my 450kg Chester Lathe so I was (semi) confident it would lift the 250kg Mill. Its done now so I can relax!
I bought a couple of machines from Weiss a few years ago (VM18L and a Lathe) they're pretty much okay. I converted them to CNC and made thousands of parts with them.
What you might need to check: spindle bearings, mine ran hot after some time, also how the spindle is assembled - I had to re-assemble mine and put japanese bearings into it since then the machine did not run hot anymore. There's a ring with a U channel, squeezed together by a screw in mine, this needs some lock screw and/or screw glue to keep it in place.
also I changed the lead screws to ballscrews.
About the Weiss support - they're excellent and provide spare parts quickly.
I can fully recommend them.
The problem with the chinese collets is some of them have a poor quality and if they get a hit they might be bad permanently (check runout).
Not quite as my experiance of buying a AMA45 mill from Amadeal. Within 3 weeks of use it developed some very strange noises from the gearhead. Having already had a problem with it not being supplied with the correct spindle, MT4 instead of R8 as ordered ( eventually got the correct one supplied ) I decided there was no point in contacting Amadeal to rectify the noise problem. Removed the gearhead and stripped down to check it. Found it was full of cast iron grinding swarf most of which had been painted over, but the swarf that had not was being churned all over the gearbox in the ' oil ' resulting in the bearings running in a sort of grinding paste. Replaced all the bearings, and re-painted the gearbox internals with special paint. Mill is 'OK ' now, but has play between the quill and the gearhead casting, resulting in chatter when taking anything but the lightest of cuts. All in all, a very poorly made product, which I would not reccomend to anyone.
Oh sorry to hear your experience wasn’t good. Was this an ex demo machine? Or brand new?
I’ve heard horror stories from most of the uk suppliers however I’ve also heard good things too. I think it’s just luck on how good your machine is when it gets here off the boat from china.
In my case I don’t think amadeal even checked it other than making sure it was the correct machine. It was delivered to me almost as soon as it came off the ship from china.
I got an AMA45 too. converted it to CNC & it was OK but not impressed with the finish overall. It seems most re sellers worldwide, just churn out the same old stuff & it's luck of the draw. I wanted to investigate the internals on mine but gave up because I assumed the motor would just lift off to start the process & it wouldn't. Seemed locked onto something & wouldn't lift more than an inch!!!
I bought this same mill thru DRO pros in California . I had the same issue with excess play between the quill.
Our factory only produce varaible speed series machine with brushless motor as well as CNC machine. We don't make AMA45, it is from other factory.
Hi Lee nice to see you have got your new mill from Amadeal as you said you intended, it looks a great machine,I will be following you closely to see how things progress and everything certainly looks great so far
john
Yes, learning lots. Im currently rebuilding the Chinese vice I have as I noticed some squareness issues that didn't appear to be the mill. Hopefully that will fix it, or I will just have to pay for a proper vice.
thanks, ive recently bought a similar mill from Warco, built by Weiss. same process. they work well.
Warco machine never built by WEISS. Please be informed.
I got the 25L not that long ago. Was debating going for the bigger machine but actually im really happy with the 25L. For the money these are great machines.
Yeah that’s a great machine. How is your machine specifically? No issues? I’ve had mine almost a year now and I’m still really pleased with it.
Very happy with it indeed. Mine came with the powerfeed and DRO and I must admit I dont use the powerfeed that often but when I do it does give a cleaner finish. Its a very solid machine though I manage to pretty much cut anything on it, im glad I went with this over the warco machines as I think the R8 system is better and easier to use.
I think at some point ill do a CNC conversion on it but for now its great as it is.
@@leeceeworkshop
sounds ok
Bela máquina, faça bom proveito, parabéns pela aquisição.
Oh fantastic you got your mill great to see looks amazing!
Would you be interested in making a up to date video based on your knowledge and experience. Maybe what you would look to get today in the current market?
Also what you would recommend as a mill user?
Great videos super helpful cheers
Something to keep in mind when you have milled a part always deburr before you measure or check for square you would be surprised how far off it will measure with the burr left on
Thanks. I’ve learned this the hard way already ;)
Congrats. I have a similar type mill. Try to stay away from climb cutting. It is much more stressful on these types of machines because of the play in the lead screws. You can retrofit your machine with ball bearing lead screws. That will give better results when climb cutting.
Hi. Thanks for the advice. In the little practice I’ve had so far conventional cutting seems the way to go. It just feels like it cuts better and more consistently.
Weiss have ball screw type milling machine, you can check our VM28 & VM35 from our website
That is a good looking machine 👍
Thanks! It’s working really well. Been using it almost daily since I got it almost 6 months ago.
It features quite often in my other videos.
Weiss are a nicely made for a Chinese made tooling. Originally the company was started in Guangzhou by a German machine manufacturer..
Yes I’ve found my machine to be excellent. No complaints whatsoever.
Hi, WEISS is always take care of the quality and now are making more innovation machine. Our company is start from Nanjing by Michael Wei in 2002 who was inspector for machine tools from 1994. In 2008, we built the factory in Nanjing and produce machine tools by ourselves. We are pure Chinese, not German manufacturer. There is German manufacturer with WEISS brand, they are produce machine parts,not machine tools.
Hello Lee, I think a US supplier of the same range of lathes is 'Precision Matthews' - they get good reviews. Rob.
No, we never supply to Precision Matthews. We have our own stock in USA and sell directly to the users with good cost.
You've probably found that bar is to hold the spindle. I have vml25. Bar was very poor fit and starting to round out the hole so carefully drilled to 6mm and bought a pin C spanner. Soo much easier to use. I will be interested to see what adjustments etc you make.
Nothing wrong with parallels, if its good enough for stefan gottswinter I'm sure it will be fine😊
Hi yes I have the same problem. The hole is rounded out so will need to drill it at some point.
I've got the same mill. Nice and quiet. I might down gear mine, rarely use 2250rpm and more torque for tapping would be useful. Worth checking the nod. My collum was quite a way out to the table. I epoxied it as per gotteswinter. Then found the head was not square to the collum, shimmed for now but one day I'll sort it out. Needs more than scraping sadly.
Hi. Thanks for the comment. I’ve noticed a tiny amount of nod that seems to fix itself when I turn the head locking screws. Maybe I need to adjust the Gibbs slightly? Will use the machine for a few weeks then re clean, oil and adjust.
@@leeceeworkshop glade to hear yours is accurate 👍 suspect mine was a Friday afternoon job!
What would you consider accurate for a hobby machine? I’ve just rebuilt my cheap vice (video coming soon) it’s much better now and I seem to get around 4 to 7 microns variation across a squared piece of stock. Is that good? Ok? Or terrible?
@@leeceeworkshop good question! I'm a hobbyist so don't take my word on anything... But my mill was really out. To shim my head I'm using something like 0.7mm shims roughly 50mm from the center point of the head.so not trivially out. I'd regard that as well outside of what would be reasonable for a mill at this price.
@@leeceeworkshop I'd be VERY happy to be in single digit microns. That's surface grinder territory!
Very nice mill. I’m jealous. He he
Thanks. It’s been a great experience so far. No major issues.
I plan to get in the workshop and film again soon. I was actually off work for a year last yeah which gave me plenty of time! I’ve now gone back to a day job so have been pretty busy. (I’m a cyber security engineer by trade)
@@leeceeworkshop wow. Clever then. He he. Yeah I know how difficult it is to juggle between work and making videos. It’s fulfilling however.
Why are you indicating off parallels? You should always indicate the floor of your work holding device. What happens if you’re reading is dead on when checking across parallels but when you mount your vice and check the floor of the vice it’s.002 off? You just defeated the purpose.
Hi. thanks for the comment.
That was just a quick check on a brand new machine to check the traming. The vice itself was fully indicated in. Just not on camera.
Infact I’ve now rebuilt the vice for more accuracy. I’ve no idea what accuracy would be acceptable in a hobby machine but after my vice rebuild I’ve got a variance of around 4-8 microns on a squared piece of stock.
I think I will just use the machine for a few weeks before re cleaning and adjusting.
Were can a buy this mill nice machine
Hi Lee, I'm seriously looking at getting myself a mill similar in size to yours. I'd like to know if you went direct to the manufacturer of your Mill or did you buy from a distributor where you are located. Thanks Lee. Mike
Hi Mike. I bought mine from a local supplier in the uk called Amadeal. Here’s the link. www.amadeal.co.uk
Is your table/bench anchored to wall? I notice it's very narrow,could be dangerous with very heavy machine atop.
Hi. I custom built the bench. It had to be thin to fit in the garage. It’s solid and has wall anchor points. The machine isn’t moving anywhere.
What made you change from vl25 to get the vm32
Just bigger and more powerful. I decided that was more important than getting the bigger machine and not get the x axis power feed as I can add the power feed later. Bigger is better.
Hey lee those Chinese engine cranes are a bit sharp an nasty but with a 1ton crane fitted with an 8ton ram I managed to lift my warco super major on to its base @ nearly 600kg worrying lift good luck sir!
Yeah the crane is a bit dodgy but I use it to lift my 450kg Chester Lathe so I was (semi) confident it would lift the 250kg Mill. Its done now so I can relax!