First things first with a new lathe?

Tired&Retired

Tired&Retired

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Been using a little Emco-Maier Compact 5 for the odd times I needed a lathe to do something, which honestly was small work and the Compact 5 did all I needed to do. I guess I have had it maybe 15 years or so, most of the time of which it has just been getting dusty. But recently I wanted to do a few things to spruce up the shop press I bought, and found that the Compact 5 choked on what I tried to get it to do. So recently I decided I just wanted to get something a bit bigger, but odds are I won't really need anything MUCH bigger.

So I noticed some Chinesium lathes being offered at reasonable prices that seemed to have pretty decent on-paper specs. 1.5" through the spindle, 1.5 horsepower motor, 8.7"x 23.6" bed, and the usual extra gears AND a steady rest and follow rest. Actually bigger than I really need, but probably not TOO big. Oh yeah, it only weighs 160 lbs soaking wet, so my wife and I can manhandle it into place without killing ourselves. We are both getting up there in age, so I'm not keen on over estimating mine and her's failing strength. I will probably remove most of what I can before we do most of the moving anyway, so that will help even more.

Watched a lot of videos and read accounts of what to expect with a new Chinese lathe. So I expect I will be taking it apart and cleaning everything, checking for burrs and machine marks, and possibly touching up any sliding surfaces with find grit stones to smooth them out. May just go ahead and replace the spindle bearings right away, since that seems to be what most people recommend.

So my question is, what should I look for that could be a problem that would mean just rejecting the lathe completely as being unacceptable? Things that would mean that even for my limited requirements of tolerances and accuracy would mean a brick wall for realistic use? Things I should check BEFORE taking it apart, and things I should look for WHEN taking it apart.

I plan on buying some accessories as needed if the machine passes muster. But honestly, if I use this even a couple of dozen times before I kick the bucket, I'll be surprised. But I sure do like HAVING tools...... :)

Appreciate any advice. But please don't waste your time trying to convince me I should get a larger lathe. They are all too big for where I want to put it, and too heavy for me to be able to handle. This one I selected is just about at the top of the upper limits anyway.
 
From a Shop Task stand point, casting sand and residual swarf were found during cleaning. Degreased and painted all internal surfaces to prevent further casting sand migration. Lube the ways constantly, chinese cast iron came from detroit engine blocks and what ever else would melt.
 
38super said:
From a Shop Task stand point, casting sand and residual swarf were found during cleaning. Degreased and painted all internal surfaces to prevent further casting sand migration. Lube the ways constantly, chinese cast iron came from detroit engine blocks and what ever else would melt.
Click to expand...
Just hope that the cast iron did not come from "The Great Leap Forward" era with backyard blast furnaces!
 
The Emco-Maier lathes were far better made than most of the Asia machines; you may be disappointed, dare I say a little shocked at the poor quality control and finish. Apparently the Taiwan-made machines are a step up from the mainland China products.
Trivia: Sears Roebuck sold a rebranded version of the Emco Compact 8 back in the late 70s. If you are lucky enough to find one, grab it. Same fine quality as your 5 but bigger
-Mark
 
Might wind up being a moot point anyway. That advertised "free shipping" is turning out that the seller wants $150 for the residential delivery. I told him that we always have the delivery truck meet us at the local Walmart parking lot and back the pickup truck to their back door to slide the delivery into the bed. Worst comes to worst I could just pick it up at the truck depot. Those big trucks can't really get into my driveway anyway, and even just barely will fit down our road to even get to my driveway. Haven't heard back from him, so ball is in his court now. If he lets too much time pass by without a response I will just assume he isn't interested and I will cancel the order and look elsewhere.

As for the presumed lack of quality, no real big deal for me. I'm not ever going to do any work for anyone else, and not likely that any real precision would be needed for the things I am likely to use it for. So as long as anything I do is not grossly eyeball out of spec, that should be OK for my needs.

I am not a machinist by any stretch of an active imagination, and at this late stage of my life, have no intention of even trying. This is a hobby toy for me, plain and simple. My original question about things to check on the lathe have my personal specs (as it were) in mind.

When I was tinkering around with my Compact 5 trying to make some mods for my shop press, it was all I could do to coax that little lathe into working with that 1.5" stock I wanted to use. I thought the knurling was going to break the lathe before I was done. It sure didn't turn out how I wanted, but it will do. More than once the lathe just refused to do anything and just shut down in protest.

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Hence the desire for a bit larger and more robust tool to do these odd jobs I come up with some times. Not worth the money for a high precision monster (to me) of a lathe, that would have to go into my garage, and subject my vehicles to possible flying parts and materials. Just something that "will do".

So what I am looking for in this thread, are faults in the lathe when I get it that won't even make it qualify for my limited needs. Which, quite honestly, might be nothing at all besides obvious things like it just not working when I flip the switch, cracks in the bedding, or smoke and fire. :)

But I figured I would ask under the assumption that I don't know enough to know what I need to know.
 
Better to ask first. Even larger lathes have their limit, nothing like a droning Richter 4.3 to get the neightbors excited (or the banshee screech).
 
Only a couple things that are real deal killers: we just had a member take delivery on a small lathe; the bed was cracked. We all piled on telling him to send it back, don't try to fix it. He finally got his credit card company involved and will get it resolved.
That, or a severe headstock problem like bent spindle and/or damaged bearings are the two real biggies. Most everything else can be fixed or dealt with.
-Mark
 
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