Warco WM14 mill/drill

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

I have followed previous threads on the smaller variable speed mill/drills with interest, in particular the problems some people have had with overheating motors etc. I have now fitted a computer type cooling fan as recommended in a previous thread and this works well at keeping the motor cool. However, I have noticed just recently that when the speed control knob is at the zero speed position, the motor turns at approximately 90 rpm. Is this a precursor to something 'orrible about to happen to the motor or circuit board? (The cooling fan is wired independently of the circuit board).

Mick

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

[Gone AwayParticipant @goneaway]

Don't worry about it. My WM16 lookalike does the same thing – always has and I've been running it for probably 5 years now. In fact the control knob scale plate says 50/100 at the minimum end so it's obviously supposed to do that.

I rather think it would be harder to design electronics to run it down to actual zero than have a finite minimum speed. And why would you want to go to zero anyway?

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

How do other owners oil the X axis slideways on a WM14 mill drill?

Mick

[Martin WParticipant @martinw]

Mick

I just wind the x-axis to one end then paint the exposed slideways with Slide Way Oil, I use Mobil Vactra 2, then wind to the stop at the other end and repeat. Tranverse the table a few times between limits and wipe off any excess oil that runs off. At the same time I often grease the leadscrew, again any excess grease that builds up at either end can easily be removed.

Cheers

Martin

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Thanks Martin. I have been doing something similar but I just thought that it seemed a bit of a crude method and that I may be missing a better way of doing it. Unfortunately, in order to wind out the table I have to dismantle the DRO and this means that the slideways are not lubricated as often as may be desirable.

Mick

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Mick

I have a Wm16 fitted with a DRO on X & Y axes; I just wind it along as far as the DRO allows then use an oil can with a plunger / pump type handle & a flexible spout, the same applies to the Y axis. I have so far never had the need to use the full length of the X axis; the longest length I have machined to date is the latest model I am working on is the Educational horizontal engine ( similar to simple steamboat engine ) & the front & rear frames are 13-3/8" ( 339.72mm ) long which I have rounded up to 340 mm, so with the working surface of the table being 700mm long I doubt if I will ever get to use the other 150mm available at ea. end ( taking into account length of DRO )

The other way is to fit a one shot lube system onto your machine…if you're feeling flush, so all the slides & lead screws are lub'ed in one go once/twice a week … depending on usage.

**LINK** Usual disclaimer.

or… **LINK**

George.

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

I put some push-button oilers on my version of the mill – 6 of them. It did mean dismantling the mill, putting the parts on another mill, milling the ways to put oil grooves and pockets in, and then carefully putting it back together again.

I also CNCd it in the process. Here's my blog entry with pictures of some of the milling happening: **LINK**

The push-button oilers came from Arc Eurotrade.

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Martin …..I had another look at the mill this morning and remembered that to oil the right hand end of the slideways requires dismantling the right hand end plate/winding handle housing as it fouls the slideway ….in fact comes to a dead stop when wound right in, without exposing the slideways. I suppose that it would be possible to machine away some of the back plate to allow it to pass over the slideways but I am not sure where that will lead me to! This is the difficulty I recall from past attempts. Obviously you do not have that problem? It does seem odd that no better provision is made for lubrication.

Mechman….thanks for the ideas but the one shot seems a bit extravagant for this job and I can do without trying to squeeze even more kit around such a small machine. I think that I am right in saying that the WM16 has a much greater traverse than the WM14 which is less than 12 inches. I now wish that I had gone for the WM16. As the usual good advice goes, always buy a bigger machine than you think that you will need.

John…..this looks like a good way to go if I can get the grooves machined.

Mick

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