Decoding Ser# of Emcomat 8.4/8.6 Lathe

Is someone in the MEW community able to advise whether and how the production date for an Emcomat lathe can be derived from its serial number?

You may get an answer on the Emco Yahoo group. Can't say I ever thought about it when I had a 8.6

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Thank you, Jason and Barrie.

With a Ser# of 03486818, the machine follows the earlier all-numeric 8-digit pattern described by Mr Lever.

Unfortunately, Yr 03, Mo 48, Machine 6818 seems implausible. The second two digits might make sense if they refer to week of mfr - but is it feasible that 6818 machines were built in a wk? Then there is the matter of year. Lathes.co.uk reports Profi Heim producing some Emco machines until 2001, when they shuttered. Emco Maier continued to produce other manual Emcos, but Lathes doesn't include the Emcomat 8.6 amongst the models.

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Just looked at my U3 and that looks to show 800/11309, I don't think the " / " is a scratch and 1980 would be about right

Where are Emco numbers located?

The Ser# posted above was provided by the vendor, perhaps this has been read off the motor plate or maybe the milling attachment?

There is a mfr plate on the backside of the HS, on the cover plate for the switchgear above the motor. This reads

Maier & Co

Type Emcomat V8

115V 60c

9,3 Amp 0,75 HP Total

LR 14412

An Instruction Book/Service Parts document included with the machine is identified as "Edition 76 05 Ref. Nr. EN 2 315" This machine is green, as opposed to the blue said to have been used earlier.

Edited By Eddy Curr on 10/02/2019 22:50:25

From memory the Emco V10P that i used to have had the serial number stamped on the top of the bed @ the tail stock end of the bed. It was stamped in the shallow groove that runs the length of the bed directly behind the front way.

Thank you.

I will look in that location when I view the machine.

It may not have been what JasonB meant in his initial post, but really, at this stage the date of mfr has little significance for practical purposes.

Condition, features, tooling and price ...

My Emco Compact 8 purchased in 1976 has the number B17606082 stamped on the bed, if skipping the B1 part, may be it was manufactured in June 1976. So may be four numbering systems? Or does B1 just mean Compact 8?

Thor

Just to follow up.

The final bid for the machine in a timed online auction hosted by the surplus sales dept of a provincial govt was the equiv of £2,152.

I had a job getting £500 for mine about 9 yrs ago and it was in good nick.

I wonder if lathes.co.uk's damning of it about a lack of back gear has something to do with that? Mine has a 3 phase motor and VFD so the back gear slow speed problem is moot. Other than the incredibly skinny drive belt (that's the first thing I'll be changing), it's a great machine and it has a bigger bore through the spindle than my Myford.

That's odd Chris, I always thought the belt was very sturdy being about 25mm wide or do you have a Compact 8?

Image from lathes.co.uk

Edited By JasonB on 17/02/2019 12:37:12

While this combo machine appeared to have its original bits (3 & 4 jaw, FPlate, turret tool post, chg gears, steady rest, dead & live centers, lathe dog, spanners, operator manual), plus what I assume were extras (RoTab w/ 2 div plts, low milling vice, drill chuck w/ arbor), it looked like it had been sitting in cold storage for some time. The 4 jaw was disassmbled, the loose pieces are all jumbled together in a few bins.

Jason, by no means was the machine ready to be featured in (or even amongst the backdrop of) a Home & Workshop Machinery advert inside the back page of MEW. Just cosmetics, assuming the gearbox contents and motors are sound - but there woud be effort, degreaser, phosphoric acid and more required before it could be allowed into a fastidious man's shop.

I think it is brilliant that the gov sets listings like this to close at 10 PM on a Fri evening.