Warco GH600

[IRTParticipant @irt]

Found it!

It was stuck under the foot.

That also explains the bolt that was floating about in there.

Edited By Ian Thomson 2 on 02/08/2019 21:44:34

[IRTParticipant @irt]

Posted by brian curd on 02/08/2019 19:18:25:

I don't know what stand version you have but compared with the 280V which had shelves my GH600 stand had two panels filling in between the towers.

Warco must have adopted the 280V cabinet design for the GH600 now. Mine has shelves.

[Jed MartensParticipant @jedmartens56976]

Posted by Ian Thomson 2 on 02/08/2019 21:44:04:

Found it!

It was stuck under the foot.

That also explains the bolt that was floating about in there.

Edited By Ian Thomson 2 on 02/08/2019 21:44:34

Aha! Can't remember where I found mine, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't under the foot. I guess they randomly toss one into every crate before nailing the lid down

[Ray LyonsParticipant @raylyons29267]

It is now many years since I bought my lathe from Warco. I started by assembling the stand, bolting it to the tray. I then turned it upside down and painted the bottom of the columns with two coats of industrial paint. When dry, I cut some pieces of felt from the packing case and stuck these on the bottom plates using a roof adhesive. All this was to protect the stand from rot when in contact with the concrete floor. Since then, I got two pieces of 1/2" plate and made up a frame to support the lathe on casters. I removed the plate between the columns and filled the space with a metal drawer cabinet bought in Lidls and sprayed in the Warco colour the remaining space is filled with a drum and pump for the suds system.

The only niggle I have is the heavy cast iron headstock cover. I fear that it can accidently drop and cause some real damage to fingers. I tried to fit a gas strut from a car but without much success. I now have a plan to build a new cover from aluminum and use a catch to keep it closed.

The lathe is a joy to use and I think that once you get used to the various change levers, you too will start to manufacture large bags of swarf.

An "under the bench" project which i have to do is fit a 3PH motor with controller but I have been a bit slow on that one, mainly because I can not see a simple way to retain the lever controls and safety switches.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The BH600 and it's clones also have the heavy cast iron cover for the Headstock. For changing belts / engaging Back Gear, I wedge it with a big block of wood. Hasn't slipped in the last 15 years, so far. But there is still time!

I made a simple plywood cover for the top. The sides extend above and below, to locate on the cover while hopefully retaining all the Chuck keys, Allen keys,Spanners etc dumped on the top.

Howard

[Jed MartensParticipant @jedmartens56976]

Here it is in place…

Still a bit of work to be done. I'be put some machine feet on the stand so that I can bring it up to a comfortable height. I'm not happy with how high they are. I'm going to put some concrete slabs under the feet so that they are at a minimal height, but still offer some adjustment. Then I need to ensure everything is twist-free.

But I couldn't wait any longer to try it. My first project is a part for a friend's motorcycle stand. It's simple and in aluminium, so a good starter project. Here it is half-done…

I've taken it out of the 3 jaw because I need to flip it. I'll put the 4-jaw on the lathe tomorrow and see how much fun it is getting it to run true.

[IRTParticipant @irt]

I am planning to use these machine casters:

103mm high and rated at 500kg each / 1000kg per 4.

They have a large central rubber foot that screws down.

Probably overkill, but I am going to use 4 on each pedestal to allow for fine tuning the leveling.

They will allow the lathe to be easily moved should the need ever arise.

[IRTParticipant @irt]

There are 2 extra gears supplied in the toolbox:

One marked 64. I guess it goes here:

To cut these threads:

What is the other one used for?

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

Looks to me as if it is the alternative gear for the screw cutting indicator on the apron. Look at the chart on the splashback

Brian

[IRTParticipant @irt]

Thanks Brian.

I have removed the splashback to make lifting the lathe easier, and it is resting currently resting on my workbench face down.

I missed that chart.

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Posted by Ian Thomson 2 on 04/08/2019 10:26:38:

I am planning to use these machine casters:

103mm high and rated at 500kg each / 1000kg per 4.

They have a large central rubber foot that screws down.

Probably overkill, but I am going to use 4 on each pedestal to allow for fine tuning the leveling.

They will allow the lathe to be easily moved should the need ever arise.

Ian, where did you get those castors from? could do with some like that for one of my grinding machines.

Gray

[IRTParticipant @irt]

Hi Gray,

They are off Ebay. I think they are a clone of the originals.

I do not know if I can post links on here, but a search for Heavy Duty Machine Levelling Castors will find them.

I made a bandsaw stand earlier in the year to see how good they are, and they worked well. It is a pain to wind the feet up and down so they are not a solution for anything you expect to move regularly, but for a machine that you may have to move occasionally I think they are ideal.

[Jed MartensParticipant @jedmartens56976]

Posted by brian curd on 10/08/2019 17:21:54:

Looks to me as if it is the alternative gear for the screw cutting indicator on the apron. Look at the chart on the splashback

Brian

Thanks for that Brian, I'd spotted that the spurious gear (as opposed to a spur gear) had 48 teeth, as referenced by the splash-back diagram, but it also referenced a 42 tooth gear, and I had no idea where that was. The threading indicator explains it all (unlike the diagram, or the manual)

Cheers

Jed

[IRTParticipant @irt]

I have had a good week…

Steel for bases arrived:

The bases were made and bolted to the cabinet.

Covers and guards were removed and steel was clamped under the lathe for lifting handles.

With help, the lathe was then lifted onto the cabinet:

It is good to see it on there.

 

I also purchased some grub screws and nuts to replace the bolts that hold the chucks on. Now there is no guessing which hole to use and fiddling with allen keys. Much easier.

Edited By Ian Thomson 2 on 11/08/2019 13:40:06

[Jed MartensParticipant @jedmartens56976]

Nice work with the base. Puts my concrete slabs to shame 😀

[IRTParticipant @irt]

In the absence on a proper manual….

How many oil points can owners of the GH600 lathe count?

I make it 15 including the one on the chuck. Have I missed any?

I was going to use way oil in these for lubrication unless there is a good reason not to?

Also putting this onto the gears as it seems sticky enough not to fly everywhere too much.

[IRTParticipant @irt]

A bit of an update in the casters: The lathe is now in the final position with feet wound down.

I have adjusted the feet to remove twist using a cheap Engineer's level.

If I push the lathe backward, there is a very slight wobble on the rubber feet – probably to be expected.

It is very little movement, and the lathe appears to return to no twist when I stop pushing.

I will evaluate over the coming weeks if this has a noticeable effect in use.

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

I am sulking You have more than me ( 13). and a bigger handle on the gear change . I agree , the manual is a waste of paper. It spends some of its Time discussing the speed control potentiometer !! At least the manual that came with my Warco Major clone made me laugh. It started with "Please not to be installing the complex machine in the sunshine place "

Warco say that their headstock oil is fine including the gearboxes and apron .

Brian

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Probably translated by the same person who wrote that "It is raised by a water buffalo" aka Hydraulic Ram!

Not unique to the far east.

Many years ago, a German made pencil sharpener operator manual said "Sharp points, unobjectionable upon pencils are"

Howard

[IRTParticipant @irt]

While you are counting your ball oilers, can you find the cross-slide lock?

Is it at the bottom of that hole on the left hand side of the cross slide?

I tried poking in one of the supplied allen keys and it didn't reach the bottom.

If it isn't there, where is it?

[Jed MartensParticipant @jedmartens56976]

There's a cross-slide lock??? I found the compound lock, but I didn't realise there might be one for the cross-slide (stop laughing, it's my first lathe). If there is, the combination of a lock and power feed spells trouble…

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

Cross Slide lock should be on the right hand side , Three cap heads , Counting in towards the bed the first two are for the apron the third , closest to the bed it the lock. Turn it with the allen key. Well that's the theory .Mine tightens up does not enough to firmly clamp the slide !

Also note that I have advised Ian and Jed to remove the screw at the end of the cross slide feed screw. It acts as a stop to prevent the slide winding off of the thread but it forms a hard stop. The system has no shear pin on this axis . The gear on the feed screw is held in place by a roll pin . I considered changing it for a shear pin but felt that the shaft diameter was a bit small to drill out for a larger diameter pin.

Brian

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

Brian is Brian of very little brain ( again )

The cap head locks the carriage not the cross slide . Th comment about the lack of a shear pin on the cross slide feed still stands

[IRTParticipant @irt]

I would hope there is a lock.

I think there are loads of opportunity for disaster. Wouldn't this be a similar risk to the lock on the carriage?

My guess: this is it, but it could be a backlash adjustment:

I would have expected it to be on the other side though.

I will investigate tomorrow, unless someone knows?

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

Just done some measuring . The blind hole shown is JUST above the level of the top of the dovetail so even if it went through and was tapped it would not lock anything. It would however act as a drain for any cutting fluid going into the left hand T slot since it opens out into it before going deeper in .

Brian

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