Chester ''CENTURY'' Variable Speed Mill.

[kellswaterri]

Hi all, I have given up on the idea of investing in a Wabeco  mill, they refused to bring their prices down and as I need the money more than they do...END of discussion...Sooo I am now thinking of the Chester Century variable speed mill, it has a 1 1/2hp. motor and I think would suit me for what I do...anyone use or handled this one...any comments would be appreciated,
 All the best for now,
                             John.

[bogstandard]

John,

I extol the virtues of Chester machines all the time, purely for the backup service you can get from them.

If you are on the lookout for a large benchtop mill (as the century is), unless you are already committed to MT3 tooling, then I would look at a machine that has an R8 quill. It really is so much better than MT3 and you can get just as much tooling now as you can for MT3 and at the same price. The Century is a bit of an unknown model, and that should be taken into acount when it comes the time to buy third party fitments. They are either not available or only obtainable as full price accessories from the original supplier.

I know a few people that have gone for the Seig X3 and it's variations (including the latest version, at a higher price) and they have all been delighted with their purchase, once the obligatory strip down, clean and adjust has been carried out..

I am not saying don't buy the Century, as it looks a very capable machine. Just look at others in that price range, as you can get a lot more useable and desireable features for the same sort of money. Plus the spares backup for a popular machine will be much better, and most probably cheaper, should you ever need it.

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Milling-Machines/Model-X3-Small-Mill

This is just one easy access site, but they are available from many places, including eblay.

John

[sbwhart]

Hi John

I went for the Seig X3 http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=691.0 and I've been very happy with it i had a problem to begin with but I got it sorted out OK with the supplier http://www.axminster.co.uk. I went to Axminster as I asked Seig who their main uk agent was and they told me Axminster, so i fugured they would have the best after sales but having said that i've also had dealings with Chester and found them very good as John said.

Hope this helps

Stew

[kellswaterri]

Hi John and Stew, thank you for the replies, John I am fully geared up for m/t 3 as I have the Chester conquest mill...it is now going to be used soley as a Jig borer as I consider it not powerful enough to cope with what I am building only just 1/2 hp motor...Stew , the Arc euro mill is of similar power I believe...the constraints are on footprint of mill and motor power 1 1/2 hp...on the ''Century''...it still has the ''Plastic driven gear from the motor acting as a safety shear point but I think I will have more control with a more beefy motor...
All the best for now,
                            John.

[bogstandard]

Please don't take it the wrong way, I don't think either of us were giving you the shove towards a different machine, just giving you the option to look further afield if you wanted it.

The choice must be yours and yours alone, it is your hard earned cash, and only you know if it will suit your needs.

Go for it and enjoy your new machine.

I hope someone can help with your original query.

John

[sbwhart]

The choice must be yours and yours alone, it is your hard earned cash, and only you know if it will suit your needs.

Go for it and enjoy your new machine.

I hope someone can help with your original query.

John

As John said only you know what will suit you best all we can do is pass on info to help you make the decision.

The important thing is that you have fun and enjoy your machine.

Stew

[Twinsquirrel]

Hi

I'm a bit late to this one but I have just acquired  a Century mill, under a different name (amadeal XJ20 http://www.amadeal.co.uk/xj20.htm ) and have to say that it seems like a good machine for the price, yes you only have one spindle taper option and that is MT3 which does seem a bit sticky. The other problem it has is that it has a plastic crown gear in the head which is known to strip under abuse, in fact mine had already stripped its gear when I bought it but it's not too difficult to change.

The other thing to note is that the Z axis gets pretty heavy when going up so one of my first projects will be to add a gas strut.

In all, for the money I'd say its a good buy even at the price that chester charge.

David H

[bogstandard]

On that site David, it says it is available in other taper fitting. You get MT3 if you don't specify otherwise.

John has already settled on having an MT3 machine, but anyone else that fancies one of these machines should enquire as to what they have available.

Bogs

[kellswaterri]

Hi David, what I intend to do when I get mine  is to strip the motor of and loctite the screw holding the drive gear from the motor if its the same as the ''conquest I have''...also I will pack out the key holding the ''Plastic'' gear on the driven shaft by about 10 thou. I will just have to be careful on that one...you say your plastic gear was already stripped ...when bought from Chester ?...WOW...Gas Strut, a very good idea.
All the best for now,
                            John.
PS>  what is the fine adjustment like on your Century...on the Conquest I have to nip up the gib adjusters for control as the design is not so good.

[Twinsquirrel]

Hi John

My machine was bought 2nd hand, the previous owner stipped the gear but it was easy to replace. I'm not familiar with the Conquest so I can't comment on any similaities.

The fine adjustment seems good with no play at all, one thing I will say is that the digital readout for the quill moved in it's mounting on mine until I packed the recess out with some shim stock. I all a very nice machine IMHO but then I have nothing really to compare it with.

BTW mine is NOT the Chester model it is the same machine but from a different importer.

Sorry Bogs, I thought it was only an mt3 machine, my mistake.

Cheers

David H