The problem facing you is that I doubt anyone has bought and used both of these machines as they are direct alternatives. If you do find such a person listen to them! Otherwise ignore any apocryphal gossip!

My only contribution would be to say that I have the SC3 400, bought from Arc Euro and am very happy with it, but as for the Warco I can't comment.

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 28/08/2020 23:23:43

There are a few videos posted on youtube by folk who use a Warco 180.

One regular subscriber is 'Ades Workshop'

Adrian is very helpful and will happily reply if you message him.

Heres a link to a video of him maintaining a WM180 which I sure you will find informative

As Nick says you won’t find many people that have used both machines unless they returned one for some reason and bought the other.

If that were the case, I somehow doubt that the first machine would get a good review – unless there was an exceptional reason, other than fault, for that return.

Also, not average – maximum diameter is more important than the average, I would have thought? Many are happy with the 3 1/2’ myfords but I prefer my 5” centre height because I make most things in full size (12” to the foot scale).

Do obtain the full specs to compare things like spindle bore, swing over the cross slide (I think my LJ may have had more swing over the cross slide than my 5”, for instance). I don't know if the motor power of the Warco is input or output power, but Arc always quote output power – so worth checking to be sure if that concerns you.

Acccessories can make a difference, too. I don’t have a travelling steady with my lathe (I used the one with my previous lathe just once) but I do use a fixed steady quite often. Even the size of a fixed steady may need checking – I have two (one original and another (which I modified to fit my lathe) but the latter is marginally larger than the OEM item, so I’ve kept both.🙂 Availability (and cost) of a stand might also be a consideration, either at the time of purchase or later (delivery costs might be different).

But, at lthe end of the day your purchase will be a compromise. Accept it and just get turning!

The worst possible motor to put on a lathe is the Universal AC/DC type, yet they're useful on tiny lathes spun at high speed.

Second worst motor is the AC Single Phase motor. Complicated, with run and start windings, capacitors and maybe a centrifugal switch. They vibrate, have poor starting torque, and can't be speed controlled. Their advantage is they run straight off domestic single phase electricity. Despite a shower of disadvantages, this type of motor has given satisfactory service on lathes and other tools for decades.

The first 'good' motor for a lathe is the brushed DC type. Good torque characteristics. The disadvantage is the brushes wear out, as does the commutator. Eventually. Run in 'let the tool do the work mode', brushes last a long time and are easily replaced. Same motor pushed hard by an angry gorilla in a hurry will soon burn out; the brushes overheat and the commutator and windings take a thrashing. Get the motor hot enough, and magic smoke will appear, or the controller will pop!

For many years the best motor for a lathe was a 3-phase AC motor. They are considerably simpler, more robust, smoother and more reliable than a single-phase motor. There are no brushes to wear out. And they can be speed controlled with a VFD, which also solves the problem of getting 3-phase electricity into a home-workshop.

Relative new boy on the block is the brushless DC motor. Close relatives of the AC 3-phase motor rather than a brushed DC motor. Not really DC at all – they're poly-phase motors driven by DC pulses produced by an electronic controller. They have excellent characteristics.

As a rough guide, I'd mark single phase 4/10, brushed DC 7/10, 3-phase 8/10, 3-phase+VFD 9/10, and brushless 10/10. They're all OK.

Duty cycle! An industrial machine costs between 6 and 30 times more than a hobby machine. Part of the extra cost is spent on the motor, which will be generously rated for hard continuous work in a production environment. Hobby machines are rated on the assumption that they will work relatively gently with time to cool off between cuts. It's what most amateurs do: take a few minutes setting up in the chuck, then a cut, pause to measure, then another cut or reset the job etc.

It is easy to overwork a hobby machine particularly if the operator is a bad-tempered gorilla in a hurry! (Surely not, hobbyists are all gentlefolk, striving for precision and finish, not rough hackers.)

My rule of thumb is to 'let the tool do the work'. Rather than force cutters through metal I set depth of cut, feed-rate, and rpm to suit the material and the machine. By ear, the machine is run so I can hear the motor is working short of labouring. Must never sound distressed. If a lot of metal is being removed, I pause to let the motor cool down.

How much can be expected of a hobby machine depends on the model. Mini-lathes are relatively delicate. In contrast my WM280 has a fan-cooled 1500W 3-phase motor that I've never got warm. The 1100W brushed DC motor in my WM18 is more vulnerable to abuse so I take more care with it. So far no problems. Easier to damage a small machine than a big one, but never forget hobby machines are what they are.

Conclusion: if the goal is a bomb-proof motor, you need an industrial machine. Otherwise brushless and 3-phase have an edge over brushed motors, in that order but they all need to be treated with respect. As they will all do hobby jobs, I wouldn't agonise over the motor. Note the single-phase motors I consider inferior to brushed DC haven't significantly reduced the ability of Myford owners to do good work over the last 70 years.

Dave

Cost saving. The slots are usually cast, on hobby grade machines. Or at best quickly cleaned up with a large diameter rough cutter. It's easier/cheaper to cast larger slots and leave them unmachined or rough machined. The back surface is often rough cast anyway, so you need to use a large flat washer under the bolt head or nut anyhow.

One trick is to lay the faceplate down face-up flate on the bench and mount up the job, all clamps and all bolts and have it nipped up roughely in position before transferring to the vertical position on the lathe for final truing up. Size of the slots makes no difference then.

Old mate here has an innovative approach to a quick change faceplate. Love it. Also his use of old bent-leg calipers to measure a bearing hole to a precise fit. A lost art in most places.

Edited By Hopper on 15/08/2022 12:49:22