Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

A place for the discussion of garden railways and any garden style/scale portable and/or indoor layouts
User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by GTB » Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:42 pm

Like you, I first turn the wheel profile parallel with the topslide clamped, which minimises chatter when turning the root radius. I then turn the taper using the topslide, as there's no chatter if the tool is sharp and isn't trying to form a radius.

The Colchester Triumph 2000 I had in the mech lab would have easily turned steel wheels this size in one operation by plunge cutting with a form tool. The mini lathe would be hard pressed to do that in graphite filled nylon......

Regards,
Graeme

User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by GTB » Wed Jul 17, 2019 1:11 pm

Oily Rag wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:57 pm I don't like giving up but I want to get back to modelling again and have negotiated a deal with one of the better quality suppliers for a much higher quality lathe.
I sometimes wonder how many mini-lathes are sitting around rusting, due to quality issues that the average aspiring ME can't overcome.

What brand and model lathe have you decided to buy?

Having spent 40 yrs working in a QC lab and running it for about half that, I don't pin much faith in an ISO 9001 certificate on the boardroom wall. My view is much the same as whoever wrote the last para of the Wikipedia entry on ISO 9001.

All it really demonstrates is that the company has a documentation system for how they produce their particular brand of crap. British Leyland would have had no problem getting certification, but they still wouldn't have produced a decent car, let alone a Rolls-Royce........

Regards,
Graeme

User avatar
-steves-
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2412
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:50 pm
Location: Cambridge & Peterborough

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by -steves- » Wed Jul 17, 2019 5:30 pm

I could be wrong but I think the Warco WM180 is actually made by weiss (a chinese company) as are a lot of lathes that are just rebadged. I think the one you have is actually this one http://www.weiss.com.cn/products_detail ... d=210.html and they are incredible lathes. I have the 250 version and I love it, but mine is from Amadeal although he openly admits where they come from and they just badge them up for him and paint them in his preference of colours, which happens to be blue and white as it's their standard colour. They even give you the spare remaining blue and white paint for any touch ups that are required.
The buck stops here .......

Ditton Meadow Light Railway (DMLR)
Member of Peterborough and District Association
http://peterborough.16mm.org.uk/

User avatar
-steves-
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2412
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:50 pm
Location: Cambridge & Peterborough

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by -steves- » Wed Jul 17, 2019 5:54 pm

If you had been stuck for help lifting it I could have popped up one day and lent a hand, would have given me the chance to learn lots of things from you as well :D :thumbup:
The buck stops here .......

Ditton Meadow Light Railway (DMLR)
Member of Peterborough and District Association
http://peterborough.16mm.org.uk/

User avatar
-steves-
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2412
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:50 pm
Location: Cambridge & Peterborough

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by -steves- » Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:03 pm

Oily Rag wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:00 pm Thank you Steve. You would be welcome anytime here when you are in the area.
I may well take you up on that offer at some point :thumbup: Cannock is where I sometimes go mountain biking, so it's not the other end of the planet ;)
The buck stops here .......

Ditton Meadow Light Railway (DMLR)
Member of Peterborough and District Association
http://peterborough.16mm.org.uk/

User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by GTB » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:51 pm

Oily Rag wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 4:58 pm Its a WARCO WM180. It is very competively priced and is the same specification as the OPTiturn 2004 at a better price.
The spec looks good, much the same as Optimum without the price premium for the extra 10mm of centre height. Interesting that Warco test and measure each machine before delivery.

The only Weiss distributor in Oz doesn't bring in the smaller size lathes, so the choices here are basically Optimum and Seig.

Regards,
Graeme

User avatar
Palmerston
Trainee Fireman
Trainee Fireman
Posts: 194
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:56 pm
Location: Southest of The Netherlands

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by Palmerston » Thu Jul 25, 2019 4:57 pm

Oily Rag wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 5:47 pm You are correct Steve. The Warco model is manufactured by WEISS. They make all the OPTIMUM badged lathes which are allegedly doctored in Germany before sale and it is claimed they have German engineering supervision on site. Plus there is a WEISS in the Netherlands doing the same items. Its all a bit of a tangled web really. In actual fact there are few manufacturers as such much of it badging.
Well everyone can order a container full of whatever machinery or products from China with badges and colours of your choice. We could even label them as "Garden Railway Forum" This is the so called "private label".

Some Optimum machines are manufactured by a joint venture from Optimum in Yangzhou. You can also order them with your private label. Some of Chester Hobby lathes look a like.

Generally the chinese gouvernment for whatever product produces a "design" for free and appoints several factories. The money and lessons learnt from those first batches will then be used to improve things or fit useless improvements due to lack of experience with use of the product.
Live steam on 45 & 184mm, battery 45mm only.

User avatar
Palmerston
Trainee Fireman
Trainee Fireman
Posts: 194
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:56 pm
Location: Southest of The Netherlands

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by Palmerston » Thu Jul 25, 2019 5:50 pm

I replaced my Weiss 210 lathe three months ago with an Optimum 2807V.

Its taken me a lot of effort to sort the problems with this lathe. WHY? Optimum sells through dealerships which get their machines from a local or regional importer which gets them from Germany or possibly direct from China. I cant imagen my machine has been tested in the German warehouse.

With the Weiss lathe the few problems were quickly sorted by the seller which has a private label business in tools, like Chester, Axminster, Warco, Amadeal etc. They often just take parts of the machines they have in stock intended for parts. As there is no middleman quick service for the customer and still earn enough profit .

The dealership i bought the machine from just blames the importer which took 6 weeks to respond…..which blames the German warehouse which had the wrong parts in stock... 12 weeks on...

Optimum has improved their milling machines with a quick release toolholder without the need for difficult extra parts (money) though.
Live steam on 45 & 184mm, battery 45mm only.

DonW
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 261
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:57 pm
Location: West Somerset

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by DonW » Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:19 am

you obviously know a lot about machine tools. It must be much more of a problem for thse of us who who lack the knowledge and experience.
I have an old EW lathe which was given to me but lacks the shaft which went between the motor and the lathe proper, with belt drives to both. The motor to interim shaft was about 5:1.
I cannot decide whether I should try to make up something or just buy a new lathe.

Don

User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by GTB » Sat Jul 27, 2019 5:16 pm

DonW wrote: Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:19 am I have an old EW lathe which was given to me but lacks the shaft which went between the motor and the lathe proper, with belt drives to both. The motor to interim shaft was about 5:1.
I cannot decide whether I should try to make up something or just buy a new lathe.
The EW lathe is listed on Tony Griffiths' website. http://www.lathes.co.uk/ew/index.html

The photos show the as supplied countershaft. There was also a backgeared countershaft that was an extra cost option, along with screwcutting, etc.

You need to ask yourself a couple of questions. What do you want to make that requires metal working machinery and also if your hobby is making models, or restoring old machinery.

Making parts for a restoration will likely require access to a lathe and maybe other machinery, as parts for a 60 year old lathe will be as rare as hens teeth.

What you wish to make will determine if a restored EW will do the job and what other machinery you will need.

Regards,
Graeme

User avatar
tom_tom_go
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4824
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:08 am
Location: Kent, UK
Contact:

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by tom_tom_go » Sat Jul 27, 2019 5:36 pm

For the record Graeme, we all enjoy on here you being a perfectionist given the work you produce :thumbup:

User avatar
GTB
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1550
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by GTB » Sun Jul 28, 2019 1:32 pm

Oily Rag wrote: Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:52 pm However the machine has a full nut onto the lead screw
Solid leadscrew nuts were a standard fitting on a lot of small lathes and Cowells still use one. The EW looks well built for a small lathe of that era, I'd prefer it to an Adept for instance........

The only metal working machinery I had for most of my modelling career before retirement was a late model Unimat SL that I bought new (predictably the Unimat 3 came out a year later). That taught me more than I needed to know about taking numerous light cuts on a machine with what amounted to a full leadscrew nut. It did everything I needed in HO, but I'd still be turning my first set of wheels in garden scale if I hadn't bought the Sieg C2 when I retired. :roll:

How rigid do you find the topslide on the new Warco, compared to your old Clarke?

Regards,
Graeme

DonW
Fireman
Fireman
Posts: 261
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:57 pm
Location: West Somerset

Re: Chronicles of the Dirranbandi & Toowoomba Light Railway

Post by DonW » Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:07 pm

Thank you for you advice Gents. This is something I will have to resolve but to be honest finishing other tasks around the house and garden so I can then get on with building a railway comes first.
Reading your latest post tells me how ignorant I am about machine tools. I think it is difficult to say exactly what I would use a lathe to do as I am convinced there must be lots of things it would make easier if I did but know it. Some years ago working as a development engineer I did have access to such equipment and have aquired a Proxxon MF70 Mill. Which I need to learn to use.

Don

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests