Prospects College asked us to supply and fit a large workshop as part of their building of a training centre. As one of the most prominent providers of vocational training in South East, Prospects have over 40 years experience of working in partnership with businesses, delivering a range of innovative training courses to meet the skill requirements for the community. We were happy to equip a large setting providing the tools needed for a range of engineering apprenticeships and vocation training.
We offered a fitting that was uniquely tailored to their requirements. Here are some details of the installation.
A large range of Warco milling machines loaded onto a truck for delivery
Another truck loaded with mills about to leave for Prospects
Here the milling machines and lathes are all set up and in place after a bespoke Warco installation.
Another angle of the Warco milling machine installation at Prospects College
Another angle of the Warco lathe and milling machine installation at Prospects College
Now those machines are all being used intensively on a daily basis – training a new generation of future engineers. At Warco we don’t consider any project too large or small, and are always happy to offer a bespoke quote centred around your requirements – whether you’re looking to update a garden shed workshop or want machines for a large scale installation in an industry or education setting.
Feel free to browse our product range on the Warco site, and feel free to contact us if you have an enquiry or if you’re after a specific quote.
Looking back to last year’s Warco Open Weekend
We’re not that long away from the 2011 Warco Open Weekend, so now’s as good a time as any to look back at last year’s show.
The turnout was huge, and we had a large range of bothnnew and second hand lathes, milling machines and tools for sale at reduced prices. The full photoset of the 2010 Warco Open Weekend can be found here. And the full set of photos for the 2009 event are here and here.
This years’s Open Weekend will be on September 10th & 11th 2011, so feel free to join us. There’ll be the usual model engineering displays of steam powered items of all sizes, trains and impressive club displays – as well as our range of metalworking and woodworking tooling for sale. Click here for more details of this years event.
Guildford Model Steam Rally & Exhibition 2011 Show
Another successful year for the annual Model Steam Rally & Exhibition where we exhibited this year. There were a wide range of models from from talented model engineers from across the country, with a particularly healthy turnout. Here are some photos of the day.
See the Guildford Model Engineering Society (GMES) site for further details, and see the Warco Flickr for a full set of photos.
The Warco Showroom & Premises
We thought we’d share a little more about the Warco premises, and extend an invitation to anyone reading to visit. Open all week during office hours, our showroom is based in rural South West Surrey in Chiddingfold.
The Warco Showroom
Lathes & milling machines in the Warco showroom
Woodworking machinery on display
Inside the Warco showroom
You can find us at Warco House, Fisher Lane, Chiddingfold, Surrey GU8 4TD.
Our showroom is open all week, so you’re free to visit us anytime – Monday to Friday 8:30am – 5pm.
The Warco Open Weekend 2011
We’re a few months off our annual Open Weekend, but preparations are already under way and we thought we’d give a preview of it here.
Remember to stay tuned to our Exhibitions Page for details of forthcoming shows Warco will be exhibiting at. Here’s to another successful weekend, we hope to see you there.
Update: the Open Weekend this year was a big success, read more about it here.
Milling Machine in Focus: The Warco VMC Turret Mill
Having focused on some of the key lathes we have for sale (including the WM-240, WM-250, 918, mini lathe and our range of wood 
lathes), we wanted to share a little more about some of our milling machines, starting with the VMC Turret Mill.
The VMC has long been one of our most popular mills – and we have been happy to supply it for over 30 years now. In this time, it has remained virtually unchanged, which we believe is a testament to the strength of the design. As a traditional machine, extremely high levels of reliability are ensured. Schools, model engineers, industry and hobbyists are some of the people who’ve chosen a VMC from Warco.
Features include nine speeds, optional spindle taper (R8 or 3MT), choice of metric or imperial leadscrews, ensuring maximum flexibility. Elevating knee, supported on double dovetail vee ways to ensure positive alignment and the one shot lubrication system to slid
eways and leadscrews comes as standard, and ensures prolonged machine life. Standard accessories also include halogen lighting and stand – and we can also additionally supply an optional digital readout and power feed
The head tilts left to right calibrated to 45°, as well as a 360° rotation on the horizontal axis. Above all, this mill is compact, accurate, low cost, without compromising in any way on quality.
For full specification details, please see the VMC Turret Milling Machine in our online shop.
Lathe Photography Update
Some of the latest additions to our lathe photograhpy group on Flickr that have caught our eye.
The following images are all from the Library of Congress (whose previous photo we blogged about here) and feature workers on lathes from the early 1940s in North America.
A great set of photos, all rich in history. For more details of each image and a little more background, please click above.
Another interesting photo that popped up in the group:
Frank C. Grace captured this photo in HDR.
For more lathe photography see here, or for Warco Flickr photos, see here.
Special Offers and Low Priced Tooling
We’ve just set up a bargain corner section on our site, entirely dedicated to the best special offers and deals.
There is limited stock of all of these items, so once they’re gone they’re gone. We’re confident that the prices we’re offering for these items are as low as you’ll find anywhere.
Here’s a run down of what’s on offer -
40 Piece Grinding & Polishing Set
This is a very comprehensive compact complete set of grinding and polishing tools, comprising 20 assorted aluminium oxide stones in four grits, 10 rubberised abrasives and 10 felt buffing wheels, all for just £5.22.
SOLD OUT
105 Piece Polishing Kit
Made up of 105 separate pieces, we have slashed the price of this set from to just £3.6! The set comprises cleaning/polishing, grinding/sharpening, sanding, cutting/carving, cut off discs and polishing compound. Size is 1/8″ – 3.2mm shank. Click here here to buy this set online.
Expanding Reamer Set SOLD OUT
This set is 1/4″ – 1″ x 1/16, and we have reduced the price to just £60. Click here to purchase this item.
Horizontal Digital Scales SOLD OUT
We’ve recently introducted a new range of digital scales featuring metal casing – both horizontal digital scales and vertical digital scales which means we’ve been able to heavily discount the price of our out going range.
Indexable End Mills and Replacement Tips
A large selection of end mills and replacement tips in a wide variety of sizes, all at reduced prices.
More bargains to follow, for a full overview of what’s available please see the Warco shop bargain corner.
Following on from our post detailing our range of 1100 Lathes, here are a few more details of our 1642 Wood Lathe.
Warco 1642 Wood Turning Lathe
This machine comes in a the top of the range of our wood lathes, featuring a high level of adjustability, reliability and quality. The 1642 has a variable speed inverter drive, and huge torque in the low speed setting facilitated by the powerful 1.1kw motor. A digital rev counter comes as standard, as does a 150mm face plate.
Cast iron construction means maximum rigidity throughout, while the precision grounded bedways ensure a high level of accuracy at all speeds. The head rotates, with index locations at 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 270° and 360°, while the tailstock, tool rest and head all have lever cam action locks for fast positive locking.
Also supplied with the lathe are a revolving centre and drive centre. We also supply a full range of spares and accessories for this machine, everything you could possibly need.
Here are a few pictures of the 1642 in action, at our last Open Weekend.
The 1642 is currently at a reduced price, including VAT and delivery. For full specification, or to place an order online, please see the Warco 1642 Wood Lathe in our online shop.
Having shared a few insights and offers for some Warco metal working machines, we thought it was time to focus on our range of wood working variable speed lathes. Our selection of woodturning lathes are very competitively priced (starting at just £275) and have proven to be extremely popular in recent years.
Our key range is centred on the 1100 Wood Lathe, 1100A Wood Lathe, 1100B Wood Lathe and 1642 Wood Lathe.
All of these are variable speed lathes.
Our most affordable lathe yet is the 1100. This machine features a reliable and proven variomatic drive, and a four prong drive centre. For high levels of flexibility, the head rotates 90° to allow large diameter turning in front of the bed. There is a 150mm face plate, and furthermore a 300mm tool rest pivots for turning over bed or for large diameter turning when the head is rotated.
For full specification of this machine, or to place an order online, please click below.
Warco 1100 Wood Lathe
The 1100 is also available with a rigid cast iron stand for maximum stability, in the form of the 1100A.
Finally, to round up our focus on the 1100 range we have the 1100B Wood Lathe. This machine features the reliable and proven variomatic drive system, rotating and indexable head to accommodate large diameter blow work over bed front, 300mm tool rest pivots to facilitate turning over bed and in front of bed, and 150mm face plate.
What differentiates the 1100B from the 1100 or 1100A is a larger centre height and larger turning diameter over bed, so this machine is ideally suited to larger wood turning tasks. Crucially, the 1100B is twice as powerful from its 1100 counterpart (the motor is 1,100w versus 550w).
What we believe sets our wood lathes apart from alternatives is the vast range of additional accessories available, direct from us. Everything you could possibly need for your wood lathe we can supply, including essentials such as woodturning chucks, drive centres and lathe chisels.
Remember too that all prices quoted included VAT and delivery. If you’re interested in placing an order, please don’t hesitate to phone us on 01428 682929, or by visiting our online shop at Warco.co.uk – or jump straight to the wood working section of our homepage.
