On 2008-10-03, Vernon wrote:
On Oct 2, 10:32*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:

[ ... all snipped ... ]

Well, back on topic. I got home with the lathe / mill today. I'm
delighted to report that it was sitting on a little rubbermaid 5
drawer tool box that contained a treasure trove of goodies.

This is for the lathe? Can you post some photos of it -- to the
dropbox http://www.metalworking.com if you don't have your own web
page available. I can't receive photos as attachments -- thanks to a
size limit which keeps viruses out of some small mailing lists which I
run.

We
haven't inventoried everything yet but there's a lot of stuff. The
lady who was assigned to escort me was the very same person who used
the lathe before the plant closure. It was like she was giving up her
baby to an orphanage. Plant closures are so gut wrenching.

Indeed so. Were you able to convince her that it was going to a
good home?

While I was gone the VFD came for the KBC mill. So the family machine
shop seems to be coming together quickly. I'm reviewing the technical
instructions on the inverter. There is mention of some additional
components such as a "reactor" in case the input power is out of
balance by more than 3% plus a radio noise suppressor. The latter
probably isn't needed.

That depends. If you have AM radios in the house, or TVs still
receiving over-the-air signals, the (RF) noise could be a problem.

But the "3% balance" problem only applies when you are driving
it from three phase. Out-of-balance puts most of the current though two
sets of diodes in the three phase bridge which could cause overheating
at full output. You are derating it somewhat to use from single phase,
so no problem there.

You are only connecting to the two 240 lines, not to the neutral
(though you should have the safety ground connected).

But I think the "reactor" may apply to us.
Since we're in a rural location power is pretty dicey. In fact,
recently, one leg of the 220v supply died completely. I don't know
what that would do to an inverter. But at $350 a pop I don't wanna
find out. Even with my poor math one leg is a tad over 3% if I'm not
mistaken.

It would be interpreted as "input voltage too low", and it would
just switch itself off.

I dug out my 1941 Machinist's Handbook this evening.

My goodness -- that is as old as I am. I was "published" the
same year. :-)

I hope we can
find somebody to teach us the proper care and feeding of the lathe
before January. That's when the next junior college manual lathe
operator's course meets.

There is a set of training manuals for the machine in a yellow
three-ring binder labeled "Basis" IIRC. It is oriented towards the
early instruction set, but the later instructions are covered in an
appendix.

Best of luck,
DoN.

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On Oct 3, 5:28*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:
On 2008-10-03, Vernon wrote:

On Oct 2, 10:32*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:

* * * * [ ... all snipped ... ]

Well, back on topic. *I got home with the lathe / mill today. *I'm
delighted to report that it was sitting on a little rubbermaid 5
drawer tool box that contained a treasure trove of goodies.

* * * * This is for the lathe? *Can you post some photos of it -- to the
dropbox http://www.metalworking.com if you don't have your own web
page available. *I can't receive photos as attachments -- thanks to a
size limit which keeps viruses out of some small mailing lists which I
run.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *We
haven't inventoried everything yet but there's a lot of stuff. *The
lady who was assigned to escort me was the very same person who used
the lathe before the plant closure. *It was like she was giving up her
baby to an orphanage. *Plant closures are so gut wrenching.

* * * * Indeed so. *Were you able to convince her that it was going to a
good home?

While I was gone the VFD came for the KBC mill. *So the family machine
shop seems to be coming together quickly. *I'm reviewing the technical
instructions on the inverter. *There is mention of some additional
components such as a "reactor" in case the input power is out of
balance by more than 3% plus a radio noise suppressor. *The latter
probably isn't needed.

* * * * That depends. *If you have AM radios in the house, or TVs still
receiving over-the-air signals, the (RF) noise could be a problem.

* * * * But the "3% balance" problem only applies when you are driving
it from three phase. *Out-of-balance puts most of the current though two
sets of diodes in the three phase bridge which could cause overheating
at full output. *You are derating it somewhat to use from single phase,
so no problem there.

* * * * You are only connecting to the two 240 lines, not to the neutral
(though you should have the safety ground connected).

* * * * * * * * * * * * But I think the "reactor" may apply to us.
Since we're in a rural location power is pretty dicey. *In fact,
recently, one leg of the 220v supply died completely. *I don't know
what that would do to an inverter. *But at $350 a pop I don't wanna
find out. *Even with my poor math one leg is a tad over 3% if I'm not
mistaken.

* * * * It would be interpreted as "input voltage too low", and it would
just switch itself off.

I dug out my 1941 Machinist's Handbook this evening.

* * * * My goodness -- that is as old as I am. I was "published" the
same year. :-)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I hope we can
find somebody to teach us the proper care and feeding of the lathe
before January. *That's when the next junior college manual lathe
operator's course meets.

* * * * There is a set of training manuals for the machine in a yellow
three-ring binder labeled "Basis" IIRC. *It is oriented towards the
early instruction set, but the later instructions are covered in an
appendix.

* * * * Best of luck,
* * * * * * * * DoN.

--
*Email: * * | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
* * * * (too) near Washington D.C. |http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
* * * * * *--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Don,

Thanks for those very on-point clarifications. I hadn't thought about
posting pictures to the drop box. That's a great idea. We will try
to take some pictures tonight.

Regards,
Vernon

Vernon wrote:
I hope we can
find somebody to teach us the proper care and feeding of the lathe
before January. That's when the next junior college manual lathe
operator's course meets.

Vernon, I have most of the documentation for that lathe in PDF format.
Email me offline and I'll send you all I have.

.

On Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 9:37:41 AM UTC-7, Rex wrote:
Vernon wrote:
While I am fascinated by machining I have neither skill nor experience
as a machinist. Therefore, I will appreciate your help.

I am considering buying an Emco Compact 5 lathe with mill as a gift
for my son. I don't know what generation the machine is. However,
this is not a CNC capable machine.

Will we regret not finding a machine that has the CNC capability? Or
is this the appropriate place to start. My son is studying chemistry
and has an inventor's genius.

I recently bought the CNC version of this machine.
Same lathe, except it has the steppers in place of handwheels.
The milling attachment is the same, no CNC milling control.
This is a very fine precision lathe. It works best for brass, aluminum,
and plastic. It can be used for steel, but don't push it.
The milling setup is pretty light duty. Mine does not have a fine feed,
but yours may. If it was all I had for milling, I'd sell it ($500 on
ebay) and buy a Chinese minimill.
One good alternative I saw was divorcing the mill column from the lathe
and attaching it to it's own X-Y table.
But yes, if you can buy it right, it's a great starter lathe for a kid
of any age.

Be sure it comes with all the tooling, because each piece is expensive.
Typical factory tooling usually included:

3-jaw chuck
collet chuck for lathe
ER25 collet set
Indexer
tool-post, preferably quick-change (2 styles)
Milling table (slotted plated about 5"x6")
Milling clamps
Milling vise

I can send you pics of most of those if you need them.

do you know of an xy table conpatible with the emco unimat compact milling attachment? the original is hard to find and very expensive too

On Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 7:38:37 PM UTC-7, Vernon wrote:
On Sep 28, 8:11Â*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:
On 2008-09-28, Vernon wrote:

On Sep 26, 11:46Â*am, "Wild_Bill" wrote:

Â* Â* Â* Â* [ ... ]

By way of follow-up to everybody. Â*I was the successful bidder for the
Emco Compact 5 lathe / mill. Â*However, bidding was stiff and I was the
only guy too dumb and hard headed to give up. Â*I don't even know if
it's complete with all the standard essential accessories. Â*I will
travel to pick it up early next week and will report back.

Â* Â* Â* Â* If this was eBay -- now that it is won, could you post the URL
(or preferably auction number) for the auction so we can take a look at
it? Â*I could at least tell you something of what might be missing -- or
what you might want to look for. Â*My experience is more with the CNC
version, but I've learned about a lot of the accessories in picking up
more things for my CNC lathe.

Â* Â* Â* Â* Not as sure of the Mill adaptor -- though I have one of the mill
heads on a separate X-Y base to make it a standalone mill. Â*(The column
mounting bracket has the wrong screw pattern to fit the holes on the
back of the lathe bed, so I have never used it under CNC control.

Â* Â* Â* Â* Best of luck,
Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* DoN.

--
Â*Email: Â* Â* | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
Â* Â* Â* Â* (too) near Washington D.C. |http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
Â* Â* Â* Â* Â* Â*--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Don,

I'd be both honored and grateful for you to take a peek. Here are
both auctions: One for the lathe / mill and the other for the KBC
bench mill. I now have the bench mill. Hope to fetch the lathe
within the next day or two.

Vernon

http://www.dovebid.com/assets/displa...ItemID=wtb1887

http://www.dovebid.com/assets/displa...temID=mmt42149

hello sir, do you know a compatible xy table for the emco 5 milling attachment?

On 2017-09-07, wrote:
On Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 7:38:37 PM UTC-7, Vernon wrote:
On Sep 28, 8:11*pm, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:
On 2008-09-28, Vernon wrote:

On Sep 26, 11:46*am, "Wild_Bill" wrote:

* * * * [ ... ]

By way of follow-up to everybody. *I was the successful bidder for the
Emco Compact 5 lathe / mill. *However, bidding was stiff and I was the
only guy too dumb and hard headed to give up. *I don't even know if
it's complete with all the standard essential accessories. *I will
travel to pick it up early next week and will report back.

* * * * If this was eBay -- now that it is won, could you post the URL
(or preferably auction number) for the auction so we can take a look at
it? *I could at least tell you something of what might be missing -- or
what you might want to look for. *My experience is more with the CNC
version, but I've learned about a lot of the accessories in picking up
more things for my CNC lathe.

* * * * Not as sure of the Mill adaptor -- though I have one of the mill
heads on a separate X-Y base to make it a standalone mill. *(The column
mounting bracket has the wrong screw pattern to fit the holes on the
back of the lathe bed, so I have never used it under CNC control.

* * * * Best of luck,
* * * * * * * * DoN.

--
*Email: * * | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
* * * * (too) near Washington D.C. |http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
* * * * * *--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Don,

I'd be both honored and grateful for you to take a peek. Here are
both auctions: One for the lathe / mill and the other for the KBC
bench mill. I now have the bench mill. Hope to fetch the lathe
within the next day or two.

Vernon

http://www.dovebid.com/assets/displa...ItemID=wtb1887

http://www.dovebid.com/assets/displa...temID=mmt42149

Really a long time ago. Looks like 11 years ago. I don't
remember whether I saw that posting or not, but Dovebid does not seem to
show by those URLs now.

hello sir, do you know a compatible xy table for the emco 5 milling
attachment?

The only one which I know was the table (made by Emco) which was
part of the C5 mill (pretty much the same milling head and column as
went on the back of the bed of the Compact-5?CNC lathe (and presumably
the manual version, too.)

A quick search of eBay shows two of the milling columns and
heads, one on a Compact-5 lathe, and one without any kind of table.

eBay auction # 391401826341 is the stand-alone, and the part on
the right-hand end of the column in the first photo might be the one
which fits on the back of the Compact-5 lathe bed, or it might be the
one which fits on the back of the X-Y table of the C5 mill. No way to
tell from the photo, but I can testify that the hole pattern which fits
the back of the X-Y table does not match that on the back of the
Compact-5/CNC lathe bed, so I could not play with using the
Compact-5/CNC lathe as a CNC mill (unless of course I made a new
mounting block to fit.)

And *this* one # 132306365029 is the Compact-5 manual lathe,
with the milling column and head on the back of the lathe bed. Hmm ...
lots of tape on the belt access door on the milling head. Normal height
column (the other claimed to be extra-long) and a scary BIN price.

No examples of the head and column with the X-Y table, sorry.

Enjoy,
DoN.

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