My new lathe a Warco 918

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My new lathe a Warco 918

This topic has 196 replies, 42 voices, and was last updated 22 April 2022 at 07:43 by JasonB.

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4 July 2019 at 08:47 #417271
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
I have been wanting to move up to a larger lathe for some time and if I could afford a new one (which I cant) I would go for a Warco WM280.

So I have had to go for a used machine and I have bought a Warco 918, its 21 years old but I,m quite ok with that. One owner from new and in very good condition, its had a number of quality mods/additions and also converted to 3 phase/VFD drive. It also comes with a wealth of tooling which is a real bonus, cant wait to collect it on Monday.

Will post some pics once I have it home.

Ron
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4 July 2019 at 08:47 #19393
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
4 July 2019 at 09:36 #417274
Plasma
Participant
@plasma
Nice one Ron,

I started out with a warco and managed very well using it to renovate a Raglan 5inch.

The inverter drive sounds good as I have a newton Tesla unit on a smart and brown model L and it's a real boon.

Regards Mick
4 July 2019 at 10:00 #417281
Vic
Participant
@vic
The 918/920 lathes come with a Norton thread cutting gearbox don’t they? Something most other lathes of a similar size don’t have. I had the option of a 920 or a BV20 lathe, the BV20 that I eventually bought has a six speed gearbox rather than slipping belts on the 920. I very rarely cut threads on a lathe so it was a good choice for me. Sounds like you’ve made a good choice though Ron, especially as it’s got a variable drive. Does the WM280 have a thread cutting gearbox?
4 July 2019 at 10:07 #417284
Russell Eberhardt
Participant
@russelleberhardt48058
Well done. I had the Chester version of the 918 for a few years and found it to be a very good machine. The only downside I found was the high minimum speed so the VFD is well worthwhile.

Russell
4 July 2019 at 10:24 #417285
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
Thanks guys,

Yes the lathe does have a thread cutting gearbox and going by a picture the spindle speed range is 100-1800 but that was before the VFD so it will be interesting to find what the speed range is now.

I know nothing about 3 phase/VFD only to say that the VFD is a Jaguar – Cub.

Ron
4 July 2019 at 10:33 #417286
SillyOldDuffer
Moderator
@sillyoldduffer
Like to see a full report on you have Ron. There's a body of opinion that believes Far Eastern lathes won't last, and you have a real older model to explore. Others point out Far Eastern lathes lack refinement and have room for improvement. Sounds as if your purchase has been upgraded by someone who got on with it. What's been done to improve and maintain the machine is interesting, whether the previous owner added features or corrected faults.

I bought a WM280 about 5 years ago half expecting it to wear out quickly or that I'd find it's limitations annoying and want to upgrade to a Western lathe. Not so, no sign of wear, and – so far – it's done everything I want. But that's just my limited experience, the more dispassionate reports from other users of Chinese kit the better.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 04/07/2019 10:35:31
4 July 2019 at 10:46 #417288
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 04/07/2019 10:33:31:

Like to see a full report on you have Ron. There's a body of opinion that believes Far Eastern lathes won't last, and you have a real older model to explore. Others point out Far Eastern lathes lack refinement and have room for improvement. Sounds as if your purchase has been upgraded by someone who got on with it. What's been done to improve and maintain the machine is interesting, whether the previous owner added features or corrected faults.

I bought a WM280 about 5 years ago half expecting it to wear out quickly or that I'd find it's limitations annoying and want to upgrade to a Western lathe. Not so, no sign of wear, and – so far – it's done everything I want. But that's just my limited experience, the more dispassionate reports from other users of Chinese kit the better.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 04/07/2019 10:35:31

Hi Dave,

I collect the lathe on Monday so I will ask about the mods/improvements and why.

Adam (the seller) said the lathe is very good indeed and for instance the lathe bed he said is excellent so after 21 years that has to be a good sign.

I think I remember Jason saying his WM280 is over 10 years old and still going strong.

Will let you know.

Ron
4 July 2019 at 11:09 #417289
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 04/07/2019 10:33:31:

Like to see a full report on you have Ron. There's a body of opinion that believes Far Eastern lathes won't last, and you have a real older model to explore.

It's only 20 years old. Almost new.

My Drummond was already that old when I was born. And it spent WW2 making aircraft parts, so saw more than typical model engineer use.

That's lasting that is…
4 July 2019 at 11:14 #417291
Adam Phillips
Participant
@adamphillips50363
Hi Ron. There is a lot of information on the yarhoo 920 forum that I found very good. If you google 9×20 lathe or youtube there are hundreds of posts. Stephan gotteswinter on youtube did an amazing job on a very similar lathe about 3 years ago

Best Adam
4 July 2019 at 18:52 #417335
Vic
Participant
@vic
Posted by Ron Laden on 04/07/2019 10:24:36:

Thanks guys,

Yes the lathe does have a thread cutting gearbox and going by a picture the spindle speed range is 100-1800 but that was before the VFD so it will be interesting to find what the speed range is now.

I know nothing about 3 phase/VFD only to say that the VFD is a Jaguar – Cub.

Ron

If it still has the original pulleys you may have low, medium and high speed ranges. My wood turning lathe has this as standard but I generally leave it in the middle range.

Chester still sell the 920 and it’s hard to beat for its size if you intend to cut a lot of different threads on the Lathe.

**LINK**
4 July 2019 at 19:09 #417339
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
Hi Vic,

Just checked the photos and yes it still has 3 pulleys and I see the belt on the middle one, Adam did say with the VFD he seldom changes pulleys.

Ron
4 July 2019 at 20:45 #417350
Nick Clarke 3
Participant
@nickclarke3
Posted by Hopper on 04/07/2019 11:09:01:

It's only 20 years old. Almost new.

My Drummond was already that old when I was born. And it spent WW2 making aircraft parts, so saw more than typical model engineer use.

That's lasting that is…

A callow youth I suspect! My Drummond.was 12 years old when my Dad was born – and I'm no spring chicken either – mind you at present it is under the bench awaiting the fitting of a replacement saddle that amazingly I found on *Bay.
5 July 2019 at 12:49 #417446
Lathejack
Participant
@lathejack
I have always had a soft spot for the Far Eastern made 918 and 920 lathes, they have been produced for many years and offered by many suppliers with some examples being quite well made. Early version were made in Taiwan, but I'm not sure if yours at 21 years old is made in Taiwan or China.

The 918 was based on the earlier Austrian made versions of the Emco Compact 8 lathe, in Emco language Compact means basic. So when I was a lad I was always impressed with the 918's addition of a Norton type quick change screwcutting gearbox with 9 feed rates with a row of 9 little cup oilers sat on top.

Plus the 918 also has a longitudinal power feed built into the apron, so you can quickly flick from a fine feed to a thread pitch and back again, and only need to engage the leadscrew thread for screw cutting.

Edited By Lathejack on 05/07/2019 12:50:44

Edited By Lathejack on 05/07/2019 12:51:44

Edited By Lathejack on 05/07/2019 12:53:23
5 July 2019 at 13:10 #417455
Nick Clarke 3
Participant
@nickclarke3
Deeply envious Ron –

When I wanted to upgrade my lathe earlier this year the Chester version of the 920 was my first choice, but it was out of stock and no delivery date was set, it was really too big for my workshop and something else I use would have had to go (ditch the drill press and just use the miller for example) and the price premium over the SC2 I finally decided on, which is large enough for my present needs, finally tipped me towards that.

Enjoy,

Nick
5 July 2019 at 17:46 #417518
Nick Clarke 3
Participant
@nickclarke3
Sorry typo – should read SC3
7 July 2019 at 08:15 #417673
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
Thanks guys,

Very early start in the morning, 400 miles round trip to Buckinghamshire to collect but I,m sure it will be worth it.

Ron
9 July 2019 at 10:39 #418008
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
Well it was a long day yesterday, 400 miles to collect the lathe and we wont talk about the M5 & M4 roadworks…..

Anyway the lathe is home, in the shop and on the bench though I have to fit the tray and riser blocks. For 21 years it is in really good condition, the bed is like new and it runs very nicely indeed, also very quiet with the VFD drive. I am going to need a few days to run through it all but it will be interesting to see how an older "Chinese" machine has stood the test of time but first impressions are really good.

The lathe comes with a lot of tooling (picture below) including a Burnerd 6 inch 4 jaw which is in great condition so thats a bonus.

The lathe and tooling cost the price of a standard mini lathe, which I think is a real bargain.
9 July 2019 at 10:46 #418009
Nicholas Farr
Participant
@nicholasfarr14254
Hi Ron, looks a nice buy you have there.

Regards Nick.
9 July 2019 at 10:50 #418011
mechman48
Participant
@mechman48
WOW! looks like you got one hell of a buy there Ron, especially with all those accessories; I like the look of the compound slide spindle extension, would be interested to know what other mods have been done. Well spotted Ron.

George.
9 July 2019 at 11:17 #418016
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
Thanks guys,

George, there are a few mods I will let you know once I check through it all.

To be honest when I phoned having seen the ad in classified I couldnt believe it was still for sale, I think the ad was 5 weeks old. Maybe not many would consider an old machine, unless its British of course but anyway I,m glad they didnt.

Ron
9 July 2019 at 12:19 #418023
Andrew Tinsley
Participant
@andrewtinsley63637
Hello Ron,

Looks as if the lead screw drive has been modified to give you reverse. The 4 bolt mod seems to have been done as well.

I modified a 920 for a friend and I incorporated a Gibralter tool holder. That stopped a lot of the tool movement! The VFD mod also gets you well below 100rpm, so screw cutting isn't such a nightmare.

Nice one ,

Andrew.
9 July 2019 at 17:01 #418056
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
Hi Andrew,

Yes the lead screw has been modified to give reverse and a well made heavy duty 4 bolt compound mount/swivel base added. It seems as though adding the 4 bolt mount is the first mod people do to 918/920 lathe. The lathe still has the low, medium and high pulley combinations and checking with a digital tacho the low is 49 – 357 rpm, the middle is 85 – 940 and the high 96 – 1849. The bottom end speeds can be turned down a touch more but I set them to what I thought would have some decent torque. To test I tried quite a heavy cut with the low setting of 49rpm and there was no indication of a stall, so thats promising.

What does surprise me is the spindle drive belt is only a 5mm Polyflex but it obviously works fine.

Ron
10 July 2019 at 08:05 #418124
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
As well as the Burnerd 4 jaw the lathe also came with the original Chinese 7.5 inch slim style 4 jaw which apparently is not good. What is good however is the casting is very true, I put it up and clocked it and the face is good to 0.001".

So I am thinking rather than chuck it into a corner never to be used and being a slim style it could be a good candidate for conversion to a face plate. The jaws could be sliced horizontally giving one parallel and one stepped clamp from each jaw, it would mean making up some shouldered fixing bolts/nuts but that should be easy enough. A couple of mounting slots could be milled into each quarter of the face and one or two tapped fixing holes.

Worth a go I think.

Edited By Ron Laden on 10/07/2019 08:11:36
10 July 2019 at 09:29 #418140
Ron Laden
Participant
@ronladen17547
The lathe in its final position mounted on the riser blocks and tray, I,ve lost some bench space but it is the obvious place for it to live.

I will gain back a bit of bench when I sell the mini lathe, not keeping both so will put it in the classified,s.
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