# Emco Compact 8



## Lee123 (Dec 17, 2020)

Hi all, 

I recently acquired an Emco Compact 8!
It was only $50 and came with some tooling. Unfortunately it did not come with the change gear set. I've been considering the idea of 3D printing a test gear to see how it does for cutting metric threads. 

Also, it has mounting holes on the back for the mill attachment. Does anyone run one of those as well? I think that would be a neat add on in the future.


----------



## macardoso (Dec 17, 2020)

God what a steal - nice job and welcome to HM! You can probably get by just fine with printed gears, otherwise the real ones shouldn't be too hard to find.


----------



## DavidR8 (Dec 17, 2020)

Wow, that’s a great lathe. 
Well done and welcome to the forum!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Lee123 (Dec 17, 2020)

Alternatively do any of the mini lathes have gears that are 14mm bore, 8mm thick, 4mm keyway? Should be module 1 as well. 

I see a lot of 12mm and 16mm bore gears avaliable on little machine shop but nothing in 14mm but haven't looked too hard...


----------



## Aaron_W (Dec 17, 2020)

Many of the Chinese 9x20 lathes are a close copy of the Emco 8. Probably no direct fit of parts, but some of the popular modifications would probably work on the Compact 8 as well. I know there are plans out there for adding an electronic lead screw to 9x20s. That would be one way of dealing with the missing change gears.

Alternately Grizzly does sell change gears for their G4000 9x20, no idea if they would fit the Compact 8 but maybe an option.


----------



## mikey (Dec 17, 2020)

Pro Machine Tools used to have some sets but I don't see it listed now. You can email the owner and ask if he has them because he doesn't always list what he has in stock. Otherwise, watch ebay. These sets do turn up from time to time.

If you want the milling attachment, I know somebody who has one for sale and I can put you in touch with him.


----------



## Blacksuit (Dec 18, 2020)

$50 bucks???

you suck!


----------



## Rich Henderson (Nov 2, 2022)

$50 is a monster bargain!  Congratulations.  
I hope you have been cutting lots of parts since you posted this thread almost 2 years ago. 
I have a similar issue.  I bought an EMCO Maximat V-10P which has an SAE threading gear box.  My lathe also did not come with the gear change set. Worse - (Not even one installed to drive the lead screw). 




I have been watching ebay for almost 3 years for a change gear set but no luck.  The set I need is shown below.
	

		
			
		

		
	






Anyways,
I had the same thought as you and 3D printed a single change gear so that I could at least run the threading/power feed.
It does work and has been on the lathe for about a year and is holding up fine.






So in summary, a 3D printed solution should do the trick if, like me, you cant find original change gears.
One question for the group.  Which of the change gear sizes (Which I will have to 3D print) is supposed to be installed to accurately utilize the TPI callouts on the threading gear box?




If anyone out there has this gear change set....




-Rich


----------



## markba633csi (Nov 3, 2022)

Nice lathes- I lusted badly after those when I was a youngster
(and they were still available new)


----------



## Steve-F (Nov 4, 2022)

What about some grizzly gears, I used some for my Compact 8 and work just fine, steel too! Wished I had a QCGB


----------



## Rich Henderson (Nov 5, 2022)

Steve-F said:


> What about some grizzly gears, I used some for my Compact 8 and work just fine, steel too! Wished I had a QCGB


The grizzly gears I have found all seem to have key ways instead of the role pin hole from the Emco design.


----------



## bukwirm (Nov 5, 2022)

As long as the gears are the same otherwise, you could probably just ignore the keyways and drill a hole to match the Emco pin.


----------



## Rich Henderson (Nov 5, 2022)

True, I wonder if most gears are hardened.  And if they are, are just the teeth hardened or the whole body of the gear too.


----------



## bukwirm (Nov 5, 2022)

Many gears are hardened, but I doubt Grizzly bothers to harden their change gears. They don't really need to be high-performance gears, and hardening would cost extra money. The change gears on my generic Taiwanese 1440 lathe are definitely not hardened - a file cuts them easily.


----------

