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Emco Maximat V10P any good?

Peter S

Diamond
Joined
May 6, 2002
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
One of my brothers phoned me last night - he has been offered one of these lathes by an elderly chap.

It has a milling head, indexing rotary table, screw cutting, 2 speed motor, 3 & 4 jaw. These little lathes have a geared head and Norton feed box.

My brother is an ex-toolmaker, and is used to using larger gear and is hoping one day to get a larger lathe and a Bridgeport or similar.
However, he is not at the stage of wanting (affording) that type of equipment.

Question is - would this lathe be OK for the meantime - hard to say what for, just home workshop repair stuff.
My guess is the milling attachment would be possibly useless except for aluminium/brass type materials, and even then pretty frustrating?

Are they good/reasonable quality?
He says there seems to be quite a bit of gear noise - is that normal?

The price is around NZ$3000, (approx. US$2000).

Not sure what year it is.
 
Peter,
My experience with a Maximat V10 is limited to one I looked at in depth. No unusual gear head noises but the electrical speed select buttons (on top of the head) didn't hold in properly and was quoted by a third party about A$400 to fix with OEM gear. Machine seemed rather light in overall construction, however the fellow who owned it had turned out some nice gear. No milling attachment. Price at that time about A$2K. I ended up with a Myford while a bit smaller it was also less money and bits are still available from a number of sources. Gut feeling (not a good indicator) would be to wait until the better machine appears. I'm sure x toolmakers can be a bit spoilt when it comes to good gear.
 
Thanks Alan,

I got a surprise when my brother (reading from the manual, which he borrowed) said it only weighed 120 kg. Considering it has 650mm centres and 127mm centre height, I was expecting something a bit more substantial.
 
I owned one for a few years, long ago. They are not bad, but you do have a couple of area of concern. The first is the previously mentioned push-button switch assembly. If it goes out, the replacement is difficult to find and is expensive. Of course, you could always wire something else up.

The second would be the fiber gears in the headstock... This lathe and the Super-11 (a better machine, I think) had some fiber gears in the headstock. They prevent disastorous results under certain conditions. But if they strip, the gears are probably impossible to find (or very expensive). I'd check them out well.

The V10P is a relatively small bore machine. It isn't huge. The Super-11 is a better machine and is certainly better supported. It also costs quite a bit more. In summary, if the V10P was fairly inexpensive or was in great condition, I think it is fine. But you have to be aware of what you are buying and just exercise so good sound thought.

--Alan
 
Peter
I own a maximat V10.I can do anything I need to.Mill head mills metal with no problem.
I mill my own QC tool holders out of steel.Mill
Head is gear driven and efficeint.Original shaublin type collets are hard to find but Little Machine Shop.com sells MT2 collet and chuck sets to fit Mill.Good Luck!
Machineman007 Castle Rock Colorado USA
 
Thanks everyone for your replies, my brother decided to pass on the Maximat and wait for something larger.

I talked to a guy here in Auckland who had recently rebuilt one, the fibre gears were a problem, he got a local business to make him new ones. His advise was that are great for model engineering, but not for light engineering work.
 
Hi Peter,

Just out of interest, there's a chap in New Lynn who has been trying to sell a VP10 for many months now. He dropped the price to NZ$2000 the last time, but still didn't sell. I had one for a short time, with the milling head. I didn't do much work on it. I'd say it was as good as a Myford. The milling head was very small, though.
 
Hy,
The V10 and it´s 6 speed geared millhead were thought for gunsmithing, model engineering and also for optics and small labratory work...it´s also ideal for work on small engines, like for motorcycles. Our V11 was used for diemaking for a boy15 plastic extrusion machine.
It´s therefore very versatile and you can get loads of fixtures and jigs for it.
It´s slides move with a silky feeling, both finish and craftmansship are very decent.
I used to have a V11 at work and loved it. The 125 kilos is the lathe alone, the milling head (a serious mill for small parts which really has the hp listed on the motor) puts another 45 kilos on the scale. The round column and the swivelling head allow very unusual angles of milling and drilling. Normally, it´s z-position is fixed against rotation by a rail, so it can´t rotate around the column.
However, it´s no problem to take out the key and swivel the column in case you need it. I had no problems to mill out 6x40mm pockets in one single cut in steel. Speedrange for the mill is 120-2000rpm, Mk2 spindle.
If your parts are not too big, say smaller then 20x20x30cm, then it´s a very good machine.

Cheers,
Johann

Ps.: There are two milling heads: One is a geared 6 speed, the other is a small one with three speeds and belt drive. The small one belongs to everything that´s smaller then the compact8, the compact8 was sold with the small one and also the big one... everything that´s bigger usually came with the geared head. Except the buyer wanted it another way.
 
Just a note on that Maximat switchgear. My V10P benefitted after I took the switch apart, dry greased the sliding bars, and took up slack in some of the components. Then I fitted a simple off/on switch in series with the old switch. Most of the time I set the old switch to what I want (direction/speed) and stop/start the lathe with the off/on switch - saves a lot of wear and tear on the 'old' switchgear.
 
Anyone have pictures and specs on the 10? I just lost a bid for an 11 and looking something portable too and this may fit the ticket.

THX, Er first post too :D
 
I 3D printed new switch covers for this lathe. They have been working for over a year now!
Contact me if you need the files.

-Dennis
 








 
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