[n_maher]

Hello there. I recently found a manual Compact 5 that I'm thinking about buying (it's local) and I'm hoping that some of you can share your experiences and help me make an informed decision. The lathe in question appears to be in very good shape having only been lightly used by a professional machinist and includes the milling head. I've done as much reading as I can (there doesn't seem to be much out there) and have the following concerns:

1. Is the capacity of this lathe really limited to less than a 4" turning diameter? Generally the pieces I'd be working on would be less than this in metal but I'd like to occasionally use the lathe for wood turning and those parts are a bit larger (3"+) and I'd like the lathe to be able to handle this.

2. Is tooling for it standard enough that I won't have issues finding it?

3. Would I be better buying something like the JET JHL-610 for the small work I plan on doing with this? Feel free to make suggestions. My local machine shop has a jet on the floor which is why I mentioned.

4. Thoughts on a fair price? The seller is asking ~$700.

The milling head that comes with the lathe is a bit of a bonus but I plan on getting a proper mill so it's not a big deal if it's limited in what it can do.

Thanks in advance,

Nate

[knudsen]

Hello there. I recently found a manual Compact 5 that I'm thinking about buying (it's local) and I'm hoping that some of you can share your experiences and help me make an informed decision. The lathe in question appears to be in very good shape having only been lightly used by a professional machinist and includes the milling head. I've done as much reading as I can (there doesn't seem to be much out there) and have the following concerns:

1. Is the capacity of this lathe really limited to less than a 4" turning diameter? Generally the pieces I'd be working on would be less than this in metal but I'd like to occasionally use the lathe for wood turning and those parts are a bit larger (3"+) and I'd like the lathe to be able to handle this.

If that, rated at 2.56" x 13.78" here:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/emco/page2.html

2. Is tooling for it standard enough that I won't have issues finding it?

Ask the seller where he gets stuff, what's he using and what comes with it. In other words, I don't know :rainfro:

3. Would I be better buying something like the JET JHL-610 for the small work I plan on doing with this? Feel free to make suggestions. My local machine shop has a jet on the floor which is why I mentioned.

Jets are nice. Check grizzly too.

4. Thoughts on a fair price? The seller is asking ~$700.

If I were interested in small work the lathe is capable of handling, and it were decked out with all the options and accessories, and lots of tooling, yes. For that price, you are close to a Sherline or a HF or Grizzly 9 x 20. Griz has more stuff, but it's $1000. New has it's benefits. For $700 used, I would want US made, South Bend or something.

[n_maher]

Thanks for the advice. Much of what you said parallels what I was already thinking, specifically that for that price I can probably get a lot more value for my $$. That and ~2.5" is simply not enough.

[knudsen]

Probably a nice little modeling lathe in its' day, but if you looked at the $73 lathe thread, you know where to go for a modeling lathe.

[n_maher]

Right you are and thanks again.

[compacto]

well, i'm having problems trying to make the emco compact 5 cnc's turret change the tool.
i made it spin/change gadget once but i don't know how i did that.
the machine is working well, the problem is that i don't know how to make it spin/turning to change the tool.


please, give me some advice about what i should do.

[blades]

Emco makes VERY nice equipment, IMHO, at least the bigger stuff. I had the Emco vertical mill many years ago (bought it new), and it was jut an incredibly nicely made machine. However, (IMHO again), this level of quality is not quite that high in their small machines, and $700 really seems quite steep. I'd sooner spend the same coin and get a HF 8 x12, which in terms of capacity would eat the compact 5 for lunch. Or maybe the 7 x 10 if you really don't require larger capacity. Hell, I don't have $700 into my 7 x 10 CNC project. I may have about that much by the time I buy the Gecko G540 controller.