Unimat Lathes

[jayell]

there are several Unimat Sl lathes currently for sale on E-Bay but this one must be unique in that it is new and unused in original box, Current asking price is £320 but will no doubt sell for much more than that

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EMCO-UNIMAT-S ... 1e89c016f2

Having made several attempts to buy a Unimat I have given up and will instead aim at buying a new mini lathe from Axminster. I don't actually _need_ a lathe but I'd like to have one, what I really need is a mini bench drill and made a bid for a Toyo mini drill like this one,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USED-TOYO-MIN ... 7675.l2557,

it sold for quite a lot more than I was willing to pay, though about the same as a new Proxxon TBM 220 so just me being my usual skinflint self, sad thing is I missed one that went for £87.

john lewis

[John Bateson]

http://www.chesterhobbystore.com/conquest-lathe-3965-p.asp
You may wish to have a look at this one as well. I have often followed the time old principle of deciding what I want and then getting a bigger one. When I have not done that, I usually regret it very expensively. There is a picture of it in this thread http://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1480&p=15095&hilit=conquest#p15095
At the moment it is on offer at £435 - just don't go for the version with digital attachments - they get in the way too much.
John

[jayell]

Ithink a Conquest sized lateh will be overkill for me, as I said I don't really need a lathe but I am a bit of a tool freak and really regret having disposed of my quite extensively equipped workshop when we had to make space so my mother in law could come to live with us.

I did have a brief look at the very small Proxxon FD 150/E lathe when I was in Axminster a week or so ago but it is very expensive @ £460 so would almost certainly go for the smallest of the Axminster range, the C0 Micro Lathe which is a lot less money @£280. I think too there are more accessories for the Axminster one.

First priority has to be a better 'mini drill' than a dremel in an Axminster stand, I have replaced the worn out chuck in the ancient Wickes 1/2" bench drill I was given a couple of years back but there is no way of reducing the amount of wear in the spindle which makes it impossible to use for small drills. That Toyo would have been ideal but they seem to be pretty rare.

I am steadily buying hand tools, a few each month, no doubt some of you will be building exquisite models with the minimum of tools, but like I said earlier, I like owning tools and when I had the 3 1/2" lathe it was mostly used for making tools rather than the steam loco that was original reason for getting it.

So this month I acquired a staking set for £40, it isn't a super Swiss set that would cost several hundreds but it will do the simple jobs I'd expect to use it for. I don't suppose many of you would even think of getting one but I got used to having a set when I was clock repairing. First job though has been to remove the rust/tarnish from the punches and repair the case which was falling apart at the joints.

john lewis

[Philip Hall]

Much as I like my Unimat SL (older than the one on eBay) I wouldn't pay that kind of money unless it had a very complete selection of accessories, simply because such things are difficult to source now if not impossible. No chance for a set of collets, for example - I have made my own for the odd sizes I use.

Philip

[decauville1126]

As was previously posted in the thread started by the chap who had problems with his Unimat3 motor, Unimat SL's have headed into the collectable division of small machine tools. The USA is a particularly fervent market and they are now manufacturing new accessories.

As to collets, I understand that they are still available from a variety of sources and also collet chucks to suit the SL's 12mm x 1mm spindle thread ( Unimats 3 & 4 use 14mm x 1mm).

But the days of picking up a cheaply-priced good condition machine are long gone, and many machines are now broken and sold in pieces to allow refurbishment.

There are internet forums that deal with Unimats and other small lathes but to put the pricing aspect into proportion, my Unimat3 together with vertical attachment, taper turning turning toolpost, power drive, and some other accessories cost me over £500 30 years ago from Allmodels in Ruislip, so the new machines today seem much more affordable.

[Alan Turner]

Collets and collet chucks are available from R C Machines: http://www.rc-machines.com/en/clamping/ ... ide-thread

regards

Alan

[Philip Hall]

Alan, many thanks for this link. I have tried many times to source a collet chuck for the SL but without success. My main use for it will be for a safer mounting when hand turning, but if they are accurate enough they will do for other work as well.

Philip

[jayell]

I don't know why but my response seems to have got lost

Have a look at Rejon Machine Tools as they have a replacement motor for the Unimat 3 & 4, which may also fit the Sl as the similar replacement motor found on a US site did (I cannot find that site now)
http://www.rejon.co.uk/index.php

Rejon also list a new Unimat 4 at £412 with arange of accessories including collet holder and collets. I don't know if any of this is actually available as the only item I can find listed 'in stock' is the Manix HD-1H drill.

The Manix range of drills, lathes and milling machines are actually the original Toyo tools taken over after Toyo's founder died. The HD-1H isn't really suited for general use having only two speeds (8000 & 12000rpm) but if they can supply the HD-1 which had 6 speeds (850 - 3100rpm) and the option to only run the moter when the spindle is lowered at a competitive price to the Proxxon it could be a winner. I like the fact the base is made from cast iron rather than aluminium as in the Proxxon drills.

john lewis

[jayell]

As was previously posted in the thread started by the chap who had problems with his Unimat3 motor, Unimat SL's have headed into the collectable division of small machine tools. The USA is a particularly fervent market and they are now manufacturing new accessories.

I suspect that "brand new Sl" will end up with a 'collector' paying a ludicrous price rather than a model maker wanting a working lathe

john lewis

[jayell]

I emailed Rejon mainly to ask about the MD1 drill but also asked about the position re Unimat accessories, this is the reply I got earlier today:

"Thanks for your e-mail, the MD 1 can be shipped in and would cost
in the region of £325,  Regarding  the Unimat  accessories most
are becoming unavailable  though  the Topslide was hoping to be
reproduced in Austria and we of course still produce  a replacement
Variable Speed Motor and Bracket for the U3/4 and SL and supply belts
etc the best is to email with your requirements and hope that we can
match them"

so if anyone has a need for unimat 3/4 accessories, email them and find out if they can cover your specific needs. I will probably be ordering a drill (once I have saved up a bit of cash)

john lewis

[Tim V]

Someone has replaced his SL motor in a different way.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index. ... unimat-sl/