Chris Poulton Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Hi All, not suire if I should be posting here, but has anybody used a Unimat ML hobby lathe? I am thinking of buying one and want some first-hand experience before taking the plunge. Thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vecchio Austriaco Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 In my opinion the machine is too weak and may be too light to deal with harder metals. The machine has only 25W which is not suficcient. It should be 100W plus. Also the machine should have a proper cast metal bed to avoid vibrations at highere rotations. Such vibrations will give you a bad surface quality. I never used this machine - I have experience on its older broter - the unimat SL which was bigger and I think is no longer on the market. This was the SL later I bought a compact 5 (same company - also made in Austria as I am myself...) which I have now since more than 25 years. This is a machine I use very often. It is bigger (5 inch diameter over bed) and heavier (40kg) and may be a bit big for the every day job. The compact 5. Still available but today in red / grey Check out the Proxxon range. they have a smaller machine which in my opinion is good. I think you find also Chinees copies these days which may be o.k. and their prices may be also a bit lower. So please look at: A cast iron frame. The saddle should glide on a v shaped ground finished surface and not on round bars as on some cheap engines. The engine power should be more than 100W. Look also at available accessories. for instance 4 jaw chuck, rotating center and so on. Those are missing on some of the Chineese copies. By the way - there should be also a market for used machines - which makes stuff cheaper. And last but not least - have a look at Myford - this was (or is?) a UK manufacturer of small lathes. Cheers VA Edited By Vecchio Austriaco on 11/08/2011 14:04:08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen johnson Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 i've also been looking at hobby lathes and i'm going to be getting one of these axminster SEIG c1 lathe looks like it ticks all the boxes and the price isn't too bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vecchio Austriaco Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Glen, looks good to me and will do the job. By the way - welcome to the forum!Edited By Vecchio Austriaco on 11/08/2011 16:09:04 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 And I trust you are not connected with the supplier /manufacturer ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen johnson Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Thanks for the welcome Vecchio, no nothing to to with the manufacturer tim, just been looking for hobby lathes this week the seig lathe is sold under many different brands and colours it is sold under the clarke brand by machine mart but is around £400 and also under the name chester cobra for £370 i found the axminster was the cheepest, there are a few nice lathes on ebay but they're either too far away from me or too expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Cheers Glen. A mate of mine and occasional forum visitor has, I think, the Unimat lathe Chris - and its a good looking /performing machine for the money.I have the Peatol, ( taig in the USA ), and although nice, its really only limited to small stuff, and soft materials - it struggles a bit with anything more than hard aluminium.That Seig does look nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Posted by Vecchio Austriaco on 11/08/2011 13:42:40: And last but not least - have a look at Myford - this was (or is?) a UK manufacturer of small lathes. Unfortunately, Myford closed down a week or so ago - I understand that the rights and tooling have been acquired by a Chinese company so they may re-appear...Edited By Martin Harris on 12/08/2011 09:42:50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vecchio Austriaco Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Martin, this is the sign of our times. In the meantime you get also the originally Austrian made EMCO in an Asian version. For instance the larger Emco Compact 8E - where the E stands for East = manufactured in China... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Parker Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Actually I understand that the Myford name, drawings, rights etc. and most spares have been acquired by RDG tools of Hebden Bridge, Halifax.The end of an era and the beginning of a new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Adams Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Glen I have also been looking at hobby lathes and I think the same machine is available here http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Lathes/Model-C3-Mini-Lathe and might be a bit cheaper. I also think that Alex Whittaker has one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen johnson Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Posted by Roger Adams on 12/08/2011 13:32:07:Glen I have also been looking at hobby lathes and I think the same machine is available here http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Lathes/Model-C3-Mini-Lathe and might be a bit cheaper. I also think that Alex Whittaker has one of these. thats the next model up from the c1, and a very good price too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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