EMCO 8.4 Lathe

[milespaul2004]

Can anyone help?
I have an EMCO 8.4 lathe (Imperial) which I purchased new along with the milling attachment back in 1980. It is a wonderful machine which still gives excellent service but like most of us oldies does have a problem in so much as the lathe requires a replacement combined cross slide and 'back-lash' adjustment nut.

Over several years I have tried numerous companies dealing in scrap machine tools hoping that they might be able to supply me with an imperial nut but most say that EMCO spares are no longer available and several companies I contacted through the internet sent quotes that were so ridiculously high that they were boardering on extortion!

A couple of fellow Model Engineering acquaintances suggested that failing all I could acquire a piece of white metal then turn to size and screw cut the square thread. Seeing that I have never screw cut a thread on a lathe in my life and my EMCO does not have the thread cutting gearbox anyway, my pure practical ability rules this out

I'm hoping that someone on the forum can help with either information as to where I can obtain a new replacement or even where a good second hand nut can be obtained without having to re-mortgage my home...

Many thanks
Paul M

[jcfx]

I'm a fellow Emco machine user, and parts are hard to find and or very expensive as you found out, some of the Emco lathes
such as the V7 and your 8.4 may share components such as the cross slide backlash adjustment nut you mention.
You can cut screws on a 8.4, but you'll need change gears, the V10/V10P, 11 and 13 were the only models that had a Norton gear box
for thread cutting.

I'm guessing you're in the US since you have an Imperial machine, there is a seller on eBay called iwasamiller and he seems to have
quite a bit of parts, it may be worth contacting him.
There is also the Emco Lathe Group on Yahoo, there's a few very knowledgable fellows there that may be able to help
downside is that the groups archive is painfully difficult to search unlike BBS forum.

[milespaul2004]

Hi jcfx.
Many thanks for trying to help me out. No I'm not in the US in fact I live in the West of England in Somerset.

I've had some luck however in so much as yesterday morning I stumbled across a company called "Pro Machine Tools". They are based in Stamford in Lincolnshire - post code PE9 3DW. They apparently have a stock of spares for EMCO lathes and are sending me a new nut for my imperial machine which shouild arrive tomorrow.

Many thanks again

Regards

milespaul2004

[jcfx]

Pro Machine tools is probably the only company that has "new" parts for older Emco lathes and mills
I think that the headstock gears they sell are new, I'm not sure but some European toolmaker
possibly Emco is still making and using the same part for their current product line.

[milespaul2004]

It has arrived jcfx and is as you said brand new.
Many thanks for your interest.
Regards
PM