# Another Emco Compact 8 for sale; waddya think?



## ARC-170

I just saw another Emco Compact 8 go up for sale:
_EMCO Compact 8 Metal Lathe, Made in Austria (European Quality) ways are tight, minimal backlash, the lathe has a variable speed motor with digital read-out, the lathe swings 8”, quick-lock tailstock, 3-Jaw chuck with inside and outside Jaws, 4-jaw chuck with reversible jaws, overall length is 34” overall width 14”, I’ve had this lathe for several years, I just don’t use any more. Nice lathe for hobby or prototype work. _

Doesn't show any change gears. I have a call in to the seller. Thoughts on this one? I would have added it to the other Emco thread I posted, but I "ended" that one!


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## ARC-170

Just talked to the seller. No change gears. They seem to be about $200 on Ebay; does that sound about right? He bought it from the estate of a machinist. He has all the original parts pre-conversion and has offered to include them.

Anyone know what the lowest speed is on this with the variable speed controller? The seller didn't seem to know off the top of his head. He mentioned that he thought it was about 200 RPM, but that's still a bit fast for some of what I've been doing. That may kill the deal.

Again, I like my current lathe, but this seems like a slightly better one, even though it's smaller. I have yet to need to make anything bigger/longer, and the Atlas Craftsman is just really messy! The open lube system, the greasy change gears, the slop in all the dials. Don't get me wrong, I love the character of the machine, but I'm using it a lot and I think I may want to get something a little more "modern".


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## Ulma Doctor

the compact 8 will be a huge step up from any mini lathe


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## DavidR8

I’d be all over that!
I nearly bought an Emco Maximat. 
It was super solid and very well made. 
If the price is reasonable I’d snap it up. 


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## DavidR8

Duplicate post.


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## DavidR8

Duplicate post

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## mikey

Looks to be in decent shape, Jeff. There is no way to know what the lowest speed on this lathe will be; it depends on the motor and controller he is using ... 3Ph with VFD, DC motor - not enough info so we don't know. 

As I stated in the other thread, this is a change gear lathe and the full set of change gears is an important component for this machine. If you cannot find that set then it is going to limit you. 

As for backlash, most Emco lathes have provisions for adjusting out backlash in the compound feed, cross slide and even the main leadscrew and the Compact 8 is no exception. 

The Compact 8, at least in stock form, does not have a reverse tumbler and cannot run in reverse. Even if the motor can be made to run in reverse, the lathe itself does not have the gearing to reverse the direction of the leadscrew. This makes cutting LH threads problematic and it is important to recognize this limitation.


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## ARC-170

mikey said:


> Looks to be in decent shape, Jeff. There is no way to know what the lowest speed on this lathe will be; it depends on the motor and controller he is using ... 3Ph with VFD, DC motor - not enough info so we don't know.
> 
> As I stated in the other thread, this is a change gear lathe and the full set of change gears is an important component for this machine. If you cannot find that set then it is going to limit you.
> 
> As for backlash, most Emco lathes have provisions for adjusting out backlash in the compound feed, cross slide and even the main leadscrew and the Compact 8 is no exception.
> 
> The Compact 8, at least in stock form, does not have a reverse tumbler and cannot run in reverse. Even if the motor can be made to run in reverse, the lathe itself does not have the gearing to reverse the direction of the leadscrew. This makes cutting LH threads problematic and it is important to recognize this limitation.



Thanks, Mike!

I didn't think to ask him that about the motor and controller. You'd think he'd know more, since he said he converted it.

I saw the change gears on Ebay for $200. Is that a decent price? I haven't made any threads on my current lathe, but have tried to change the feed speed and I got really greasy and messy and it took a long time.

I'm not sure I'd need a reverse. I've never needed it so far. I haven't seen a need for LH threads, but let me know if I'm missing something. Does this mean it also only feeds one direction if the leadscrew only goes one way? That might be an issue.

BTW, this is the same lathe as in the other post. The seller took it off the market because he was getting "too many weirdos". I thought it looked familiar.

I'm going to look at this week and I'll address all this when I see it. The seller seems like a nice guy and willing to work with me. He was very nice about all my questions. I guess it helps that I'm not a "weirdo"! Ha!


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## ARC-170

Ulma Doctor said:


> the compact 8 will be a huge step up from any mini lathe



Yeah, this is the one all the others copied! I just want to make sure it's a step up from what I already have: an Atlas Craftsman 101.07403. It's smaller, but I have yet to need anything bigger (famous last words, I know!) and it will be less messy. I like my Craftsman, but this Emco is intriguing and could serve my needs well. I just want to make sure I'm going in with eyes open.


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## mikey

Yeah, I thought that rack on the right looked familiar. Yes, $200 for a complete change gear set is about right. When new, it cost more. The original set was made by Emco and will be of very high quality.

Cutting LH threads isn't done all that often but it does come up. As long as you understand this limitation then this is a very good small lathe. I know that somebody figured out how to throw a reversing tumbler in there but I don't recall where I saw it.


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## hman

That lathe looks very clean, and well set up.  There's even a convenient place to keep setup tools, centers, etc.  And that looks like a tachometer readout on the speed control box.  Offhand, I'd say "Go fot it!"


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## ARC-170

Sold! He said that last time, though...

He said he sold it for $1,000. I was a day too late. Oh, well! Looks like I get to keep getting dirty with mine! Ha! Thanks to all for your input.


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