Newbie with Emco Compact 8 /w Mill head

[mikey]

I think the dings and scratches are okay as long as the ways are essentially flat and not excessively worn in any one place, especially up near the chuck. You can stone the high spots down so the ways are flat, then try lightly snugging the carriage lock with the carriage up near the chuck. Then move the carriage towards the tailstock and if you get significant resistance then the ways are worn up near the chuck. If it is really bad then use it while you watch for a bed to turn up on ebay. They tend not to be too expensive but you have to accept there will be a shipping cost.

On my friend's orange lathe, we had to change the bed due to excessive wear. Had to ship that thing to Hawaii!

 

[Fermic]

You can stone the high spots down so the ways are flat

Must I stone any burrs with a Precision ground flat stone like PFG Stones at this size of 4 in x 1 in https://www.kineticprecision.com/purchase/precision-ground-flat-stones-gx4xh ? Because there's 4 week lead time for these stones to be made and one more week for to arrive.

 

[mikey]

Must I stone any burrs with a Precision ground flat stone like PFG Stones at this size of 4 in x 1 in https://www.kineticprecision.com/purchase/precision-ground-flat-stones-gx4xh ? Because there's 4 week lead time for these stones to be made and one more week for to arrive.

Precision ground flat stones would be great but before we had ready access to those things machinists took a medium/fine India stone and flattened them with sandpaper on tempered glass or surface plates and used them to stone out defects on lathe beds. Given the state of your bed, I would personally go buy a Norton combination stone and flatten it on glass, then stone off the major defects. You are just looking for a flat surface; the defects themselves will not cause issues.

 

[Olli-Matti]

I got mine last May and been fidling with it since. There is still on change gear set for sale at the ebay at the moment, but it is not cheap. Those never are. I did install multifix Aa size toolpost on mine and if you do that you have to modify your top slide. I took 3,7mm off off the top slide and also the original 8mm stud needs modification to make it fit. Well worth a mod to do though, that multifix is a blessing in use.

I did also change the original motor to 3-phase motor with a vfd, reduced noice significantly and makes the lathe very versatile. A must modification if you ask me. What comes to ways and gibs etc being worn or not I would suggest to use them first and learn to adjust the slides and go from there. If still seems excessively worn then might be time to seek new parts. I did suspect a little worn bed at the beginning but now that I have used the lathe and measured and worked with it I think it is a ok. Has some dings near the chuck similar to yours but after turning several parts I get easily inside the 0.01mm accuracy which is fine by me with a all manual lathe. Sharp toolbits are a must and different kinds for different materials.

Good luck with the lathe, I think you found a good table top machine and will have a great time with it!

I did start machining last May and just month ago finished my build of a model diesel engine. That project was kind of goal for me when starting out with this venture into machining. Take a look, I think it proves the lathe is capable for some fine presicion work: Boll Aero model diesel engine

 

[Fermic]

New update with some purchases.

I bought a nice set of Multifix Aa for a bit too much but not that matters much to me.
Should I add a sleeve or make a new stud ?

The final package should arrive this week with my 4-jaw chuck and many other things that'll make my mill head useable by adding the missing drill chuck.
The real trouble is figuring out how to mill the top of my compound with what I have on my lathe. Hopefully just enough to mill my compound with it.

Also, the previous owner has used one normal nut with some sides cut off to replace the missing T-nut for the tie-down of compound rest to the cross slide. The hex "T-nut" isn't metric at all, I had hammer in my 10mm wrench onto it in order to unscrew. Even better, the Pro Machine Tools Limited is in maintenance mode due UK situation. So I can't replace it right away.

 

[Steve-F]

Color me jealous, mine doesn't even have a spindle .....yet

 

[Jim F]

New update with some purchases.

I bought a nice set of Multifix Aa for a bit too much but not that matters much to me.
Should I add a sleeve or make a new stud ?

The final package should arrive this week with my 4-jaw chuck and many other things that'll make my mill head useable by adding the missing drill chuck.
The real trouble is figuring out how to mill the top of my compound with what I have on my lathe. Hopefully just enough to mill my compound with it.

Also, the previous owner has used one normal nut with some sides cut off to replace the missing T-nut for the tie-down of compound rest to the cross slide. The hex "T-nut" isn't metric at all, I had hammer in my 10mm wrench onto it in order to unscrew. Even better, the Pro Machine Tools Limited is in maintenance mode due UK situation. So I can't replace it right away.

After you get your 4 jaw you can make your own t-nuts.

 

[Olli-Matti]

New update with some purchases.

I bought a nice set of Multifix Aa for a bit too much but not that matters much to me.
Should I add a sleeve or make a new stud ?

The final package should arrive this week with my 4-jaw chuck and many other things that'll make my mill head useable by adding the missing drill chuck.
The real trouble is figuring out how to mill the top of my compound with what I have on my lathe. Hopefully just enough to mill my compound with it.

Also, the previous owner has used one normal nut with some sides cut off to replace the missing T-nut for the tie-down of compound rest to the cross slide. The hex "T-nut" isn't metric at all, I had hammer in my 10mm wrench onto it in order to unscrew. Even better, the Pro Machine Tools Limited is in maintenance mode due UK situation. So I can't replace it right away.

I did make a sleeve for my PeWe tools Aa size toolpost. The original Emco stud is 8mm if I remember correct so I machined a sleeve with M8 thread inside partway through to fit snug over the original stud. You need to remove the original anyways to machine the compound so why not preserve and use it after the compound has been machined down. Outside diameter of the sleeve according the new toolpost and you are done.
I did find a friendly machinist at the area who did my compound as I didn’t have a mill at the time.

I will add a couple of pictures to clarify

 

[mikey]

New update with some purchases.

I bought a nice set of Multifix Aa for a bit too much but not that matters much to me.
Should I add a sleeve or make a new stud ?

The final package should arrive this week with my 4-jaw chuck and many other things that'll make my mill head useable by adding the missing drill chuck.
The real trouble is figuring out how to mill the top of my compound with what I have on my lathe. Hopefully just enough to mill my compound with it.

Also, the previous owner has used one normal nut with some sides cut off to replace the missing T-nut for the tie-down of compound rest to the cross slide. The hex "T-nut" isn't metric at all, I had hammer in my 10mm wrench onto it in order to unscrew. Even better, the Pro Machine Tools Limited is in maintenance mode due UK situation. So I can't replace it right away.

If the hole in the tool post is larger than the original stud then just make a sleeve instead of a new stud. The OEM Emco tool post stud is only 8mm if I recall correctly so not real strong. It is pressed in from the bottom and there is a pin on the rim of the bottom flange of the stud. That pin is pressed into the bottom of the compound and it also locks into a small scallop on the edge of the tool post stud; this keeps the stud from turning. It is NOT a very strong arrangement so if you make a sleeve then also make sure you drill the compound for the small dowel pin that comes with the tool post to resist turning of the post.

Can you clarify why you need to mill your compound? Is it just to make sure it is flat?

 

[Fermic]

I did install multifix Aa size toolpost on mine and if you do that you have to modify your top slide. I took 3,7mm off off the top slide

Can you clarify why you need to mill your compound? Is it just to make sure it is flat?

The top slide needs to be milled down for the tool holder cutter to sit below the center line.