Warco WM180 TEST Cuts

Have you ever wondered just how deep your Lathe can CUT? Well I have tested out the Warco WM180 lathe on both Aluminium and Steel. Pushing the Lathe to the absolute LIMIT.
Surprisingly the Warco WM180 copped really well with the Aluminium cutting:
0.25mm
0.50mm
0.75mm
1.00mm
1.25mm
1.35mm
And finally stopping at 1.50mm. The steel on the other hand didn't go as smoothly.
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And Have a watch of my playlist- It's all about the WARCO WM180
• It’s all about the War...

[@robertkoper3039]

Hi Joe, I have the same 180 now for about 5 years.First just a small tip to get appr 5 cm more distance between centers ...take the threading clock on right side of carriage off!I hardly use the lathe for threading and it takes a minute to put it back.Secondly I always use a center and chatter is reduced a lot and doc can be 1.5 mm in mild steel without any issue.I moved away from carbide inserts and use mainly hss tooling which is easy to grind yourself.I recently put a 150 mm cbn wheel on my grinder and that was such a good investment highly recommend it.Also to get more doc rethink the use of your compound slide.I,like many others,made a block mild steel of appr height of compound slide and this is so much more rigid.Ade made good video on this mine is more crude but works fine.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi Robert This is great advise thank you so much. I will definitely be removing the threading dial that is a good idea. And also I have been considering removing the compound slide I’ll have to have a watch of Ades video again and give it a go when the Mill Finally Arrives. All the best.

[@jonofalltradesmasterofnone832]

Joe You were very lucky the steel didn’t exit the Chuck in your direction with minimum Chuck grip always use a Centre.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thanks for the advise Jon. I should add a disclaimer at the begin of this video no novices were harmed in the making of this video haha

[@dr1verman]

Never move swarf with your fingers, you need,,,,,, for want of a better description an epee sword with the end 90mm bent at 90 degrees (a handle and a 6mm rod bent at the end).

[@dr1verman]

When you get used to the machine (as long as you are holding it correctly), you should be able to take a 3mm depth of cut with sufficient feed to make the chips break into little bits. the noise you heard was bcoz you were not giving it enough cut to take up the slop on the bearings, and would improve the surface finish no end. If you were only holding on that little bit you needed the live centre to steady it. Take it steady, keep learning. :-) Personally, I would have had the jaws the other way round and the stock against the chuck face.

[@machinenutdel6764]

Hi Joe very entertaining video, try changing the chuck jaws to get a better grip, you may find you can go a bit deeper. 4mm max on my Holbrook C10 .A word of warning wont be long now before you get the urge for a larger machine, it happens to all of us ! Regards Del.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thank you for the advise Del, already have the urge but another machine is needed before that just waiting for it to come back in stock.

[@machinenutdel6764]

@@MachiningwithJoe Which machine have you got your eyes on ?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

@@machinenutdel6764 so I’m hoping to get the Warco WM18B milling machine as soon as they are back in stock.

[@machinenutdel6764]

@@MachiningwithJoe Hi Joe, 1700 quid for the Warco mill, just my two penneth rigidity is everything with a milling machine even more so than with the lathe, I know transport and space can be an issue but for that kind of money have a think about a second hand industrial machine you will love them ! and save some money. All the best, Del.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

Looks like the ccmt insert has quite a big nose radius. This isn't very helpful on such small lathes. I go with 0,2mm nose radii on my tools. I guess that's the smallest you can get and it works quite well on my machine. But to be honest, I don't push it that hard:) And if possible better clamp with the "normal" chuck chaws, they have probably three times as much clamping length as the inverted ones, thus clamping much more secure.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Thank you for your comment. I’ve never really considered the nose radius this is something I’m going to have to investigate. And yes totally agree the grip from the normal chucks jaws are so much better.

[@dr1verman]

Having given it some thought, you might want to re-do this video completely, I think Warco would strongly disagree that was the max amount of metal removal. It is not good that you showed the stock coming out if the chuck bcoz it was nowhere near tight enough, you could also have done with some jaws the other way round so there was more to grip on. With the correct surface speed your Warco is capable of rapid stock removal, with a steady cut, if it slows down, then you know the cut is too heavy, you should also be aware that the stock can push back in the chuck. (one of the industrial machines that I worked on and reprogrammed could take 30 amp cuts at 415 volts 3 phase, that is some power.) Considering that I used a standard size (little bigger than your insert, I think about 8mm CNMG, long time ago now) insert in a bigger tool holder. (Also, with correct speed/feed can get nice finish on mild steel) (at least while you are going slower, there is less chance that hot swarf can fly into your eyeball :-) )

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Yes I think I will revisit this video some when in the future. My plan is to go back with some smaller diameter mild steel so I can clamp It better in my 3 jaw. I think after gaining more experience my lathe should be good for 1mm DOC in mild steel.

[@dr1verman]

@@MachiningwithJoe I won't be getting my Warco until I am actually in the Philippines and built my house and workshop (oh, although I will be getting a bigger machine anyway), so I cannot test it out on a hobby lathe, but for maximum safe depth of cut at say, 30mm dia, 90mm out of chuck and holding on full depth to back of chuck in hard Jaws with a carbide insert, if you drop a line to Warco direct to ask them, their answer might surprise you. I had the benefit of a Rolls-Royce apprenticeship where they taught me lots (still learning now). But different in your situation, stay safe, wear your safety glasses (I have no idea what they cost with prescription lenses in, my company pays, but a standard polycarbonate pair are £1 or £2) how much is your eyesight worth, mine is priceless. But do ask Warco what your m/c is capable of at those sizes on mild Steel and Aluminium as you seem to be running same speed for both. Cheers Buddy. P.S. My Daughter says I can be bossy, If you do not agree with me anytime, you must tell me. I am humble enough to receive advice as well.

[@SodiumInteresting]

I wonder how much it would be possible to actually push the limits of these with upgrades and tuning. having the other jaws the other way round might have gripped that mild steel better and using cutting oil lubrication would improve results.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi Thomas, Yeah looking back on this there are several things to improve the DOC I could of done. As well as what you mentioned I should have added a centre as well. Maybe I shall revisit this and try again.

[@bobh7410]

@@MachiningwithJoe It's actually " I could have done" come Joe lad use english not american

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Haha sorry my bad, grammar isn’t my strongest point. Thank you for correcting me 👍

[@Dano2873]

Interesting vid Joe. Out of interest, where do you source your metal stock?

[@MachiningwithJoe]

I mostly buy online through eBay and the stores that I have found to be good are. Steelcitygav and Aluminium_online. Cheap and good quality

[@dr1verman]

Oh, and you broke the cutting edge again, if the swarf is coming off ragged, stop and investigate.

[@dr1verman]

Try to avoid the birds nest, change the depth cut/feed to avoid it. Or, It will get snatched by the chuck and rip all the skin of one of your fingers, or get thrown into your face :-(

[@quadplay2591]

Hope you let the motor cool down between tests, the wm180 dc motor can easily burn out and you won't know its happening until it cuts out.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Hi dude yeah I’ve already had the joys of that happening before so this is this lathes second motor. Still meaning to getting around to fitting an extra cooling fan

[@oldestnerd]

I'm just working on adding a 4th axis to my DIY CNC machine, but I wonder if you have a set of jaws that would allow a better hold on the steel.

[@MachiningwithJoe]

Unfortunately I only have 2 sets of jaws for my 3 jaw and one set of jaws for the 4 jaw. If I use them correctly with the aid of tail support they tend to work well.