I did notice that. It would be my pick of the 3
The horizontal bit can be useful as well if you tip a job on its side.
Bit of imagination and you could do a lot with one of those machines.

When I was a machine tool dealer duplicate bits like that were a nice bonus, I could sell them off separately, that is probably worth about £100.

I think you can use more than 1 at a time to gain further height.

Few things in life are free. There is often a payoff between extra hight & rigidity when using these blocks. More than one is often asking for trouble.

Simon.

Just as an aside, the original Centec factory in Richmond on Thames still exists and is being put to good use.




http://www.tractiontalkforum.com/pic...ictureid=32375

Think it has been "tarted up" a bit.................. LOL.










http://www.tractiontalkforum.com/pic...ictureid=32376

Agreed, there are often times when you have to be gentle but time is not so important for a hobbyist.

Getting the job done is the key especially when there is not a bigger machine handy.

I have been slowly tooling up over the last year, I brought a 11" swing warco lathe and a VM32 mill with DRO. What I have discovered is these are the cheapest parts as i'm buying more tooling to use on them, eg, collets, parallels, bits, hss stuff, inserts etc.

As for quality, yes, they are 'ok'. Push them hard enough and they flex, however these are hobby machines not industrial, and you have to treat them as such. My lathe or mill will happily remove material to a depth of say 0.2 all day long, but try and take off 0.5 or more and it struggles, but I have time to do multiple passes. Accuracy is often mentioned as lacking on Chinese tools, and on the lathe I agree as the slides are sloppy and are more of a guide. Saying that, when I was practising and using a mic I was getting within 0.001 of where I was aiming for. On the Mill, I have a DRO that goes to 0.005 and I work off that and i'm looking to fit one to the lathe.

My lad uses the tools extensively as he's about to go to uni as a mech eng and so far has made a simple beam engine (compressed air) and is working on a flicker engine. For me, I have been making parts for my stationary engines, most of which required threads and the lathe has done with job. Quality of my work is down to my inexperience (threads are a bit rough) but overall I have been very pleased with my Chinese tooling.

Terry, feel free to pop down to my place if you need to borrow something bigger or more ridged
James (the one who had your old lister sl)

Well Iv finally got hold of a milling machine that suits my needs, next stage is some tooling, the spindle is mt3 I have got an er32 collet holder that has come with it that has a 3/8 drawbar, the first thing I will be after is a drill chuck, possible a full set of collets it should I just buy a selection? And obviously a few cutters, my question is where's best to buy from? Is a 3/8 draw bar common? Ideally I'm after a 3mt chuck that used a 3/8 drawbar so I don't have to keep changing it... Any suggestions welcome :) thanks again for all the replies
Ash


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