Poor Poor Emco

Ok ! my little lathe is dead!, in a puddle of oil and steel shavings, with my project barrel near the file and polish stage still grasped in her little jaws.Her name was Emco, and she was a compact 5. I knew I wanted a healthier one,but until now,she did the best she could.She’ll be missed, after I drag her cold,stiff , lifeless frame to the curb. I need opinions on a replacement. This is still a hobbie for me, so I don’t need a 12 foot monster taking up space in the shop. Any one have exp. with central machinery? I found a 7×10 on craigs asking 300.00 list 449.00 new. I looked on harbor the size I think I need seems to range $450-700. I want to turn 1.5 ” stock (brass& aluninum)for barrel bushings/end caps. maybe the occasional 16mm steel barrel,( like the one that killed Emma, I mean Emco ). I don’t want to buy a machine thats so sloppy I can’t do fairly precise work on it. If that’s the case in my price range , I’d rather pay someone with proper equipment to do the job.Thanks ,for any help on this, tz

skybones

Participant

October 15, 2007 at 4:05 am

Thanks Bruce, I keep getting UK adds .I’ll try again/. thanks, ts

bruceinla

October 14, 2007 at 3:19 pm

You can call Emco, they have a machinery parts dept….. should have a motor, I have dealt with them in the past, ships from atlanta.

September 27, 2007 at 4:47 am

Thanks Shadoh, I originaly thought the same thing. Buy a new motor,find an old motor. I like the “make it work” idea. I looked at it again today, and I’ve been looking at this mach. for 10 yrs. I will replace it,qqqqq is with what?. thanks man ,tz

shadoh

September 27, 2007 at 3:41 am

Skybones, just the motor died on your machine? Is the machine a good machine other than that? You could always do a DC motor conversion on it with a treadmill motor. they are very cheap if you look at used treadmills and they already come with a DC controller and are set to run on 110ac. I found one sitting in a dumpster. Stripped the moter and controller out of it and it works great. I havent put it in my machine yet because of the size of project it will be and my AC motor still works great but Ive ran it on my bench and its a really nice motor.

September 27, 2007 at 1:57 am

Thanks Martin , I like that mach. too! I was just afraid to put money into a mach. that might have immediate shortcomings. I’ll admit I don’t understand all I know about lathes , but I can learn. Thanks man, tz

martin777

September 26, 2007 at 1:30 am

I bought a 7 x 14 MicroLux mini-lathe back in Feb. —
variable speed/reversable, digital RPM readout and english zero adj. dials/feed screws. I have done a few “accuracy mods” to it and can easily get within 0.001″ and to within 1/2 a thou. on some operations now. I even made a COOL vertical milling attachment for < $50! Great little machine for the money! These mini-lathes are VERY popular and there is an abundance of spare parts and tooling–at a good price too. The only problem I’ve had was when I crashed the carriage into the end stop when threading—cost me about 5 bucks for a new leadscrew gear!
There are MANY superb webpages dedicated to these mini-lathes and machining in general. I am very happy with this machine!
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82710
http://talonairgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=151

quote Skybones:

but how do you chuck 1.5″ dia. stuff in it,and have it stay put with a 5/8 spindle bore…lock the pc in the chuck and have the tailstock keep it pushed into the chuck?

I use a ball bearing steady rest to machine long pieces.
After a simple mod. it will accept 1 1/2″ round!
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2418&category=1
Or I have a “Live” tailstock center for not so long pieces.
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82509
This mini-lathe also comes with internal AND external chuck jaws.

September 25, 2007 at 1:39 am

Thanks Adam, that looks like a better mach. , but how do you chuck 1.5″ dia. stuff in it,and have it stay put with a 5/8 spindle bore. My old one didn’t have a tail stock(bought it used ,and got tired of trying to find the parts) Is that how it’s done? lock the pc in the chuck and have the tailstock keep it pushed into the chuck? Thanks for your help , tz

walkonking

September 25, 2007 at 1:02 am

I have the harbour frieght 7×10 and it is to short. I wll extend the bend on day. But if you want the better quality of the chinese then take a look at micro mark.
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82710

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