I have one, but some skank (me, unfortunately) stored it in a damp
garage and there is considerable corrosion on the ways. If you're
willing to do some rebuilding it should be as nice as it ever was.
You are aware that these things are as flexible as can be, and that they
aren't set up for threading, yes?
Email me if I haven't talked you out of it. tee eye em at wescottdesign
dot com, or check on my website for the email address.
Wasn't there an accessory available (from EMCO) for thread cutting? It was
quite odd. On the left of the ... <
http://www.lathes.co.uk/emco/img13.gif
Depending on the model. Other Unimats had *even* a lead screw. :-)
Nick (proud owner of an old wornout Compact 8-I-call-it-a-lathe, now
collecting dust)
--
***********************************
*** The lowcost DRO ***
Yes. You mounted a master threaded quill around the
spindle and fitted a follower and cutting tool. The
follower would chase the master thread form and move
your cutter. Expensive as hell to buy all the master
threaded quills.
On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:36:21 -0800, Jim Stewart
<snip>
===============By coincidence there is a nice article in the Feb/Mar issue of
the Machinists Workshop Volume 20 No1 p24-26 showing the original
threading attachment and how one man modified and improved it.
The article has references to other useful unimat information.
see
http://www.homeshopmachinist.net /
also see
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net /
In the US, Blue Ridge is the Unimat supplier.
see
http://www.blueridgemachinery.com/Unimat_accessory.htm
also see
http://collectibles.search.ebay.com/unimat_Machining_W0QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQsacatZ13876
http://volgv.raifree.com/volgv/unimat.html
Unka' George [George McDuffee]
------------------------------
Watch out w'en you'er gittin all you want.
Fattenin' hogs ain't in luck.
Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908), U.S. journalist.
Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings,
"Plantation Proverbs" (1880).
Yes, there was. I probably still have the catalog that shows it.
This one has a nice lead screw; if you were clever you could make a set
of change gears.
On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 17:27:52 -0600, triker3 wrote:
Unimats have become collectors items and as such are priced beyond their
true value as a tool.
Have you seen the Taig lathes? Very reasonably priced, capable machines
for their size and all parts are available, when needed.
<http://www.taigtools.com/
You can even save a few bucks by using your own motor. I originally bought
the basic machine and assembled it myself. Then, when more money was
available, I purchased the chucks and accessories I needed.
I like to deal with Nick Carter. He offers a 10% discount on most of it.
http://www.cartertools.com /
Standard disclaimer, I have no financial interest, just a satisfied
customer.
Ron Thompson
On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA
http://www.plansandprojects.com
My hobby pages are here:
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My%20Machines /
Visit the castinghobby FAQ:
http://castinghobbywiki.plansandprojects.com /
The member map is here:
http://www.frappr.com/castinghobby
Do you really want a Unimat, or are you just looking for a small lathe?
Consider the 6-18 Atlas/Craftsman lathes on E-bay. They'd be a lot
stiffer than the Unimat, I'd think. ---And not toooo much bigger.
Pete Stanaitis
-----------------------
triker3 wrote:
Or the ubiquitous chines Mini-Lathe, at 7x10 to 7x14 inches swing and
$300 or so on sale. Cheaper used, if you can find one. Not much of a
lathe, but lots of lathe for the money, and somewhat portable.
They don't draw out the loons when the bidding gets going on Ebay, either.
littlemachineshop.com
mini-lathe.com
A google search will find you Varmint Al's mini-lathe page. I think he
was the first guy to really work up a decent set of web pages for these
lathes, and he's still at it.
Cheers
Trevor Jones
Personally, I think they are overpriced given the small size and
lightweight construction.
Yeah, they are more accurate out-of-the-box than the Seig lathe, but the
Seig can be tweaked. No way can the Sherline be made more robust.
-Carl
On Sat, 31 Mar 2007 21:32:07 +0000, Carl Byrns wrote:
For me the light weight plus the fact that with a few small attachments I
can have a funtional milling machine make it just about perfect. I need
to move stuff around constantly in a fairly small space and those Chinese
tools are just too bulky and heavy, I'm disabled and just the difference
in weight makes the sale for me!
Attachment rich and pricetag rich!
Joe Martin says in the writeup in "Tabletop Machining" that he has
priced the lathe and all the accesories at the peak of what the market
will bear, rather than by any cost/price relationship. Good for the
company coffers, but not for the wallets of the guys trying to save a
buck and still have a hobby.
I still think that the 7x10 minilathes are a better buy. You can
always look to the Sherline catalog for accesories when you are feeling
flush, but for a basic capability, they get beat out by the chinese
product, warts and all.
Aside from that, the same money as spent on a new Sherline and damn
few of the accceory list, can buy a useable bench lathe.
Cheers
Trevor Jones
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