hes doing my head in

[Mistress Maker]

Help,

Hes doing my head in, going on about lathes millers, yokes and stuff :rolleyes:

Do any of you clever folks know if this machine is big enough ....(size is important to men, big bikes , big garages, big machine tools).... :eek: to make yokes or anything else youd need to make for a trike /bike.

http://www.chesteruk.net/Centurion%203-in-1%20Specification.htm

[Yoda]

My thats a big one :)
sorry cant help with whether its suitable or not
but looks cool and gadgety (if thats any help) :)

Shirley

[Mistress Maker]

No good to us gurls, its not glitter pink ;)

[Grav]

Looks a natty bit of kit that, it would certainly be suitable for quite a lot of things you can make for bikes and trikes.

[leatherhound]

Sorry but this is just a toy :rolleyes: , i get to play with the real stuff :)

[hacky]

Sorry but this is just a toy :rolleyes: , i get to play with the real stuff :)

me to, im on cnc fadals and cnc bridgeports all day,doing military aerospace stuff.. :(
crap job really...
as for the toy should be ok for most stuff.. :D

[brandersnatch]

I don't care what it does, I want one! :D

[noizy git]

me to, im on cnc fadals and cnc bridgeports all day,doing military aerospace stuff.. :(
crap job really...
as for the toy should be ok for most stuff.. :D

I'm on the real stuff too,normally a Correa cnc mill with a 10 metre bed!!
The Centurion don't look bad but if you've got the space then have a think about buying a lathe and a mill,combining the 2 like they've done is always a bit of a compromise.

[Mustang Boy]

Those thing should have big black ears on them and the words "mickey mouse" written all over them!!
Rubbish, don't waste your money!

Cheers'en. :D

[Blackjack]

Those thing should have big black ears on them and the words "mickey mouse" written all over them!!
Rubbish, don't waste your money!

Cheers'en. :D

Having had some experience of them, he's 100% correct in that assesment.

It' ain't beeg enough to make a set of yokes on either, nor will it accept a tool large enough to bore the holes for the fork legs.

On the other hand, I'd suggest this might just about do it....

http://www.chesteruk.net/Eagle%2030%20Mill%20Specification.htm

at £875

and get one of these too

http://www.chesteruk.net/Conquest%20Lathe%20Specification.htm

at £345

And you'll be a lot happier for just £1225, assuming you couldn't get them to give you a bit of discount since both prices included delivery......

and that Centurion thingy is £1100 for the 500mm centres one so it ain't a lot dearer to buy the bench top mill drill and a lathe individually.

Never used either of those machines myself though so that's just an informed guess.

Cheaper than that would be a decent pillar drill and an X-Y table

Even cheaper is to go to a night school class the DOESN'T give you a qualification. They're usually just about teaching you to use the machines, and most times you can make your own stuff. Since there's not a qualification/exam there's no syllabus so those courses tend to teach you what you WANT to know not strictly what you need to pass an exam. And you don't have to buy the tooling you'd need. Plus you'd be using proper industrial sized machines and not model engineering stuff.........

[Mistress Maker]

thank fook for that a decision has been made and a deal done , i dont ever want to see the bloody yellow pages again!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mistress Maker]

thank fook for that a decision has been made and a deal done , i dont ever want to see the bloody yellow pages again!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOO canc the last post!!! he,s changed his fookin mind again !!!!!!! and they go on about wimmin and shoes!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

[Big Pete]

I have the next size down from the machine you listed, and its does have a number of drawbacks. However, it fits on a small bench and can be moved by two people.

Its infinitely better than haveing no lathe or mill at all, its a better lathe than mill, mostly because the topslide assy needs to be removed and a vice bolted on to use it as a mill. Plus the table isnt very big. I have made headstock and wheel spindles, spacers galore, forward control plates, caliper adaptor plates, Top hat bushes, all sorts generally on it. I will (hopefully soon) be moving up to a bigger machine and a separate mill (which is being refurbished using my existing kit).

A lot depends on how inventive you are, reading the model engineering mags is a good source of tips and ideas. If you have lots of space and can collect/maneuver 1/2 to 3/4 tonne machines, used industrial machinery is very cheap indeed, but you need either 3-phase power, a converter or the ability to change them to single phase. You do however get very capable gear.

As has been mentioned previously, buy a grinder and some tool steel from ebay, carbide tips are (IMO) rarely worth the effort. A 4 jaw chuck is useful, as is a tilt N swivel vise. HTH

[smeghead]

hmm i would look at the warco stuff as well, the reason being the warco stuff is finished to a slightly better standard, and chester can be a total nightmare with the delivery when they took your money,also check the kit that comes with it for the lathe you will need a set of fixed and traveling steadies, and warco seem to supply more kit with the lathe than chester, millimg on those lathes is an absolute pain in the ass due to lack of rigidity but if you take smaller bites then anything possible, if you do a google on shoptask and harbour frieghts then they do the same lathes but manuals are available online free so you can see the spec,also get the lathe with the powered crossfeed as this will save a lot of hassle later on, blackjack mentioned the conquest avoid it like the plague i have one and spent months modifying it to make it useful, only for the motor to burnout,althout it has a 3/12 inch centre hiegth you can only machine about a 2 inch diameter unles you modify it, i also have the chester champion mill but now wish i bought the eagle mill instead as the eagle is a lot more rigid, i also have a 3 in 1 machine the model down from the one you mentioned, this has an inch and a bit through spindle which is way to small,also you cant relly on the divisions for acuracy but once you get to grips with it it's an ok lathe, if you need more info on these lathes goto http://groups.yahoo.com and join the 3 in 1 group as there a lot of info to be had, you can pick up good secondhand uk industrial lathes like the old harrisons with coolant and a large spindle bore for about a grand bit of a long post but hope it helps

[Tom-madbiker]

i would stay away from the chester range and go for the warco if you must get a lathe/mill combo but seperate machines are better ive got a little boxford which is ok for making smaller stuff i also made the yolks for my trike on it with a bit of careful setting up and a boring head but if youy have the space i suggest a bridgeport mill and a industrial lathe a larger boxford, colchester ect

[Blackjack]

Big Pete and Animal are dead right about the industrial stuff. I've got a Kelly lathe that was a couple of hundred quid which you could probably convert to single a single phase motor without a lot of hassle, and a rather spiffing pillar radial arm pillar drill that you couldn't.

Animal, you know that draw full of horizontal mill cutters I've got? Just found out they fit on the shafting from a roller shutter door.........

Lately we've been turning Morse tapers on roller shutter door shafting (courtesy Kev at Backfield) and using the buggers in the radial arm drill. This was inspired by having just scored around fifty plus end mills....

Anyone know for an decent sized X-Y table????

[smeghead]

Blackjack if you've got a lot of horizontal milling cutters then i may just have a horizontal mill going,if yer interested get in touch and we can work something out


As for 3 phase theres a lot of phase converters out there quite cheap


try www.gandmtools.co.uk or www.lathes.co.uk for s/h industrial kit

also lathes.co.uk has a description of the majority of lathes made so can provide some useful info into lathes you see advertised

[Big Pete]

Blackjack, using milling cutters in the drill needs a bit of care and a lot of very light cuts. The drill bearings arent set up to take the side loads imposed by milling, especially if the quill is extended. 2-flute slot drills are the worst due the intermitent cutting, the shock loads are very hard on bearings. In addition, if you havent got a drawbar through the spindle the taper will work loose when cutting, with all the unpleasant results you would expect :eek:

[Mistress Maker]

Hes decided to buy separate, but garage space being at a premium they will need to be bench mounted (3 bikes 3 pedal bikes, freezer dryer, and all other associated crap).

He was working a deal for some stuff used, from down south, but found out with the cost of van hire and engine hoist diesel etc, that it was almost the same price as buying new from warco as their prices have dropped a bit from those on the web.

He has a reasonable idea what hes doing with this stuff, but its been along time since he was a hungover apprentice, learning about maching, so we're expecting some loud expletives echoing from the garage :eek:.

The question is not knowing alot about the sizeing of these machines is for example the chester eagle 25 mill drill large enough to make a pair of yokes. ie is the distance from the spindle to the table big enough for a rotary table boring head, spacer and the thickness of a decent pair of yokes. Tried asking chester tech help this and may as well have been speaking swaheeli.

As for lathes again it needs to be bench mounted, favorate now is warco 918, ( they do seem to supply more bits and bobs than others) but would prefer larger to get large bore through head stock, but then its a space problem again, compromise compromise. The only worry seems to be the spinde speed for screw cutting, he forsees many broken tools trying to screw cut at 160 rpm on some of the other machines.

Feed back from folks who have used this stuff is very useful and any more input would be greatly appreciated.

[Big Pete]

The lowest speed is too fast for screw cutting, especially if you`re cutting say 18mmm of 1mm pitch on a headstock spindle. I do most of my screwcutting now by turning the chuck by hand. I also have a mandrel that goes into the spindle so that there is a larger handle available.

Once hes got the machine he should make a hieght adjustable tool post, it makes life so much easier and the quality of work goes up as well. If you email me I can send you some pics of the one I made.

My machine is from Warco and I found them to be pretty helpfull.

One other thing, if you`re only milling thinish stuf (1" say ) on the 3 in 1 machines you need a big spacer under the vice to lift it enough that the tool can actually get to the work.

[Blackjack]

Blackjack, using milling cutters in the drill needs a bit of care and a lot of very light cuts. The drill bearings arent set up to take the side loads imposed by milling, especially if the quill is extended. 2-flute slot drills are the worst due the intermitent cutting, the shock loads are very hard on bearings. In addition, if you havent got a drawbar through the spindle the taper will work loose when cutting, with all the unpleasant results you would expect :eek:

Thanks for that Pete. Don's already flown a few across the workshop!

We try and keep everything as tight to the top as possible. But it has to be said that this is a pretty major drill. The pillar is a 14" diameter casting, with a rack and pinion for height adjustment, there's another rack and pinion for moving the drilling head horizontally. It's got a round table with a central clamp so you can rotate the table.

I've seen mills that were less rigidly constructed!

Moving from one place to another involves HiHabs and/or fork lifts......

[Big Pete]

...this is a pretty major drill. The pillar is a 14" diameter casting, with a rack and pinion for height adjustment, there's another rack and pinion for moving the drilling head horizontally. It's got a round table with a central clamp so you can rotate the table.

I've seen mills that were less rigidly constructed!

Moving from one place to another involves HiHabs and/or fork lifts......

I know the sort you mean, about a #5 MT spindle in it, they are a top tool for drilling big holes and using hole saws, and the bearings will take huge axial loads, but they dont cope with radial shock loads, especialy when (as in milling) the load repeatedly acts on a small part of the bearing. The bearings end up ovalling and the quill wanders. If you`re just using 10-12mm cutters you`ll prolly be fine but dont attempt to drive the same size milling cutter as you would a drill. BTW, a boring head with the right grind on the cutter tip is fine, the side loads are pretty low.

[Mistress Maker]

just a quick thanks to all you folks who offered advice , he,s finally closed a deal on a separate milling machine and lathe , second hand with loads of extra stuff!!!! £600 for both so i,m happy too as the original idea was gona be well over a grand ,so leaves plenty left over for me to pop to the crow and buy more boots!!!!!!!!!!!! :D