# Emco-Maier Maximat V10-P Restoration



## Thurston Howell (Mar 4, 2012)

Hello All,

Just trying to get into the swing things on this forum, thought I'd post the restorations of my two major pieces of equipment. (I'll post the mill restoration in the appropriate location.)

I originally started out a few years back (maybe a bit longer!) with a Unimat SL1000 with the U100 motor, but quickly realized it wasn't up to the demands I was making. Then found an Atlas 101 6X18 locally and completely refurbished it as per the first attached pdf. 

While perusing Craig's List December 31st,  2009, I saw a listing for a chuck that came with a lathe, and in the body of the ad it was listed as a Maximat! Needless to say, I was a bit confused but at the price listed figured it was worth a telephone call. The seller was anxious to make a deal and agreed to bring the lathe and all accessories/parts out to my house for me to 'take a look', which he did on January 1st, 2010 during a major blizzard. I looked at it, plugged it in (while still sitting on the back of the truck) and made him an offer.

The lathe had been used/abused for many years as a 'site lathe' - the company would take the lathe to the site where they were doing equipment installations and use it for any needed mods. I think it's fair to say most of the people who used the lathe were not machinists!

Fortunately the important elements of the lathe were still in good shape and after ~six months of concerted effort I was very happy with the results. The 'little' 6X18 was invaluable during the restoration, and if I only had a bit more room would have kept it but with space being at a premium it had to be moved along. 

The 'chuck' that was the original listing is a 6 1/2" Bison with the removable hard jaws, and they sell for ~$500. This one is in almost perfect condition, tight and square, other than some scratches on the body from normal use. 

As a very pleasant side benefit, the 'extras' and spares included some relatively rare and very desirable items in duplicates that I was able to sell along that netted me more than I paid for the whole thing!


----------



## pdentrem (Mar 4, 2012)

A friend of mine just sold his V10 and Milling head. If I had known I would of picked it up. He sold it so fast that I did not have a chance to get it.


----------



## Thurston Howell (Mar 6, 2012)

Hello all,

pdentrem - too bad you missed that one; everyone I know who owns one of these is very happy with it. 

Just out of curiosity - are there any other Emco Maier owners out there?


----------



## lens42 (May 24, 2012)

First of all, EXCELLENT work on both restorations. How did you get the polished finish on those chucks? Was that 5 of your 6 months of work? ;-)

I also recently found a V10P


When I first got it home, I thought I got a steal, but after closer inspection of the condition, I'd say I got an "OK" deal at $1k. It had some chipped gears in the threading drive (but fortunately the gear box and QC box were OK), all the lubrication was nearly solidified, but there were no major issues except the motor. It ran slow and REALLY cooked in the high speed range. I managed to find a 3-phase V10 motor for $200, which motivated me to put on a VFD for knob-adjusted variable speed. I swapped my 110V mill motor for a 3-phase one also, and that runs on a VFD too. The VFDs are in the black box on the wall behind the headstock in the picture.

I was also able to sell some parts to offset the repair costs. Since I didn't need the switch-block with the VFD drives I was able to sell that on eBay for $100. You can see the box I mounted over the spot where the push buttons used to be.

All in all, I'm really happy with the machine. I've been mostly following the Yahoo "emcoV10lathe" forum, but if there is decent Maximat action here, I'll be checking this out as well.

One part I'm looking for is threading dial, if you ever run across one.


----------



## jumps4 (May 24, 2012)

really nice work on both of the machines
I have an older model of the 6x18 sears   it's a 109 without a rack gear i believe it is 1940's the long beds were uncommon i heard then
I'm going to find it a home with a collector I'm out of room and it's not much of a tool more of a toy
your paint work looks great also
steve


----------



## AR1911 (May 24, 2012)

Yessir, great work on the lathes. I enjoy restoration as much or more than using them. 


That 109 was actually made by a different company, AA or Dunlap. They were sold as the entry level lathe. 
The 618 has the next step up, then the 10" and 12"
I have a couple of restored 109s. They make good lathe "models" for the library.


----------



## Rockytime (May 30, 2012)

MikeA said:


> Hello all,
> 
> pdentrem - too bad you missed that one; everyone I know who owns one of these is very happy with it.
> 
> Just out of curiosity - are there any other Emco Maier owners out there?



Yep, there are. Hopefully the pix of my MaxiMat7 will show up. I've not done this before. I have had it for nearly 20 years and it is still in great condition. Great repeatability and a joy to use. I very rarely use the mill as it is inconvenient and I have a Bridgeport. I also have Sherline lathe and mill as well as a 12X36 Taiwan lathe. I will eventually sell all my equipment when I am too old or in-firmed to use it. However, the MaxiMat7 will be the last to go.
Les


----------



## buco (Jun 24, 2012)

Hi
Reading your build looks great.I have just started to do the same to my v10p I have tested all the functions all seam ok.The only thing that confuses me is when I try to do some screw cutting on it ie 1.5 metric pitch and norton box set right the thread is way to fine.Is there any chance you could let me know what back gears your running please, mine is a metric version and the set up of yours looks the same as yours on the back of your little beauty

Thanks buco


----------



## MikeA (Jan 28, 2014)

Hello all,

First let me comment that this thread seems to have been started by "Thurston Howell", a guest, but the content of the OP is 100% from a posting I made here when I was a member previously! Apparently my membership expired from non-use as I've been involved in any number of other things besides Home Shop Machining in the interim, and Mr. Howell decided to 'borrow' my posting and photos as his own. Glad he liked them! 

Having said that, I thought it would be appropriate to bring the info on my Maximat up to date - made a number of changes the most important being conversion to 3-phase 1HP with VFD control - makes all the difference in the world with infinite speed control and no more motor overheating, which was the norm with the original. 

All the best,
Mike


----------



## AR1911 (Jan 28, 2014)

MikeA said:


> First let me comment that this thread seems to have been started by "Thurston Howell", a guest, but the content of the OP is 100% from a posting I made here when I was a member previously! Apparently my membership expired from non-use as I've been involved in any number of other things besides Home Shop Machining in the interim, and Mr. Howell decided to 'borrow' my posting and photos as his own. Glad he liked them!



Wow, how does that happen?? I did not think you could post as a guest.
Plagiarism at it's "finest".   

Glad you came back and reclaimed your work.

Rex


----------



## MikeA (Jan 28, 2014)

Hello Rex,

Thanks for the welcome! Good to be active again.

Here's the thread in question: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/5615-Emco-Maier-Maximat-V10-P-Restoration 

I was a bit surprised to see it, especially after losing my membership due to inactivity. As did you, I didn't believe guest were able to post, but guess plagiarism is one form of flattery.

I'm hoping to post an update showing the further developments with the VFD and converting all the locking bolts to quick-releases. 

All the best,
Mike


----------

