My new (well to me anyway) Emco Unimat 3 lathe and mill and lots of bits

[Michael1962]

This popped up on eBay. I put an offer in and the seller accepted it.

He will crate it up and send it to me. You might have to scroll down the page a bit to get to the ad.

And away we go!

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/325036400593

Edited February 13, 2022 by Michael1962

[jdm]

Well, considering the AU$2,200 paid looks like you will be all in with small (but not really watchmaking) machining. Look forward to see what you will be doing with it, have fun! 

[oldhippy]

Congratulations you have got a hell of a lot of kit there. You will be able to do lots of clock repairs with all that. 

[Michael1962]

I'm hanging out to see it. Has been a long time since I used a lathe or a mill. And they were a darn sight bigger than this one.

Andrew dropped it at the depot near Moss Vale in NSW on Tuedsay. So hopefully sometime next week.

[Michael1962]

So I got an email today. Due to Covid, my delivery might be delayed. Why? Are the trucks going slower?

Got a tracking number. Awesome! I'll check and see where it is.

It is 'In transit.' Of course it is. Not where it is, which they should know, but 'In Transit.'

Where else would it be? Pretty pointless tracking facility.

[oldhippy]

Everything is still blamed on covid. I hope it arrives soon. 

[Michael1962]

So do I. I'm really excited about it.

I've already started to build a bushing rig in my head. I have a few ideas.

I saw a mod that one guy did to his mill post to assist with keeping the head in line when moving the mill body up or down the post. I am not sure if that is necessary really as I think you have 50mm movement in the spindle once the body is tightened? If you can't get it all done with 50mm of movement, I think you need a bigger mill.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Michael1962

[Michael1962]

So I had the tracking number for my crate and when I put it in the app 3 days ago , it said "Delivering". I took that to mean that it had reached the depot and that they were logging it in etc. After 3 days of "Delivering", I rang. "You're crate has been waiting for you to collect for 3 days sir." Hmmm. Went and got it today. Apparently "Delivered" which was the next step on the tracker is not when the receiving depot has processed it for collection. "Delivered" is for when I have collected it.

Anyway, when a crate becomes art. I mean he even made handles!

And the crowd fell into a hushed silence as the lid was unscrewed.

And the crowd went, "Ooooooo....."

And then after removing at least half of the package weight in screws as well as all of the associated timber and bubble plastic,

Is it politically incorrect to call a metalworking machine cute? It is bolted to the drawer that you see it sitting on in the bottom of the crate. All of the bits and pieces are in there.

I knew it was going to be small. It is quite possibly smaller than what I thought it might be. The chucks on the lathes I did my apprenticeship on weighed a lot more than all of this.

Condition? Immaculate. It really is. I will have to be careful as I have 'rusty' hands. I think I will either have to have oil handy to clean everything down after use or wear rubber gloves when using the lathe and mill.

I could not be happier. Oh, okay. If I won millions in Lotto, I would probably be happier.

Chuffed? Absolutely.  

Edited February 25, 2022 by Michael1962

[oldhippy]

It was worth waiting for, glad you have got what you wanted. Now the fun and games start working out what does what and where it all goes. If you are not sure about using the cutting tools start on something soft such as brass. Don't forget to take some photos and upload when it is all set up. 

[Michael1962]

I don't think it would have been packed this well from new.

I have the books inside now to read through. Have a bit of cleaning and reorganising to do in the garage to be able to put things on my workbench. I may have to rethink my workbench as it spans a fair way from the front to the back and while the sheeting I have used is heavy enough, the timber I used underneath it to hold the bench flat has allowed it to sag slightly so I have a bit of work to do.

Edited February 26, 2022 by Michael1962

[Michael1962]

Well the original workbench in there has been scrapped. the legs from it have been repurposed as the legs for a really thick tabletop that we had. I have sawed the front edge and the back edge of the top off and have started setting things up. Have a bit of rationalising to do to get things finished off. got some ideas. I unfortunately didn't take any photos lately.

I used the lathe today! Put the 3 jaw chuck on to hold the drive shaft from an old (but really good) Hanimex fan that I am cleaning up to be a workshop fan. I used it tiling for a fair while and the fan was filthy. I had a lot of trouble getting the screw out that held the oscillating on/off knob. Ended up having to drill the head off to get the motor cover off so I could clean everything up. Worked on that today and finally got the end of the screw out. Now here is the bummer about that. The screw was a left hand thread. Didn't see that coming. If I had tried the other direction to undo it, everything would be fine. Not sure how I am going to go getting a metal thread screw that size in left hand thread. I'll probably have to make something. The easiest thing would be to open the female thread up a bit, tap it right handed to an available screw. Little bit of loctite on reassembly.

This thing would be over 50 years old. Steel wool on the chromed fan guard and it is coming up silver everywhere. Things aren't made like that anymore.

My old bench top is going to get cut up to make a stand for holding 2 or 3 long case movements for testing. Not sure how much I'll get out of the sheet of ply. It is 19mm thick so would work well.

Slowly getting set up.

Edited March 19, 2022 by Michael1962

[watchweasol]

Set your self a task,  workshops/benches evolve as the hobby and tools increase. My benc was made from redundant kitches units and still adding bits.

[Michael1962]

So I needed an insulating spring end for the Hettich clock.

Started with the plastic hook from a budgie bar that our bird had finished. Cut the large flat end off with about 10mm  of the centre part and put it up in the four jaw chuck. A lot of people think you can put most round things, black round for instance, up in a 3 jaw chuck. You shouldn't. You should mount that up in a 4 jaw first and turn the first end to round. That end can then be put up in a 3 jaw chuck.

Turned the centre part to round and just a bit bigger than the spring inner ID. Turned the part around and put it up in the 3 jaw. Turned the large flat end down to the diameter that I wanted. Then turned the part around again to hold it on the larger diameter and machined a 1 degree taper onto the smaller diameter so that it screws into the spring.

And all of that for this.

[TxGirl]

Hello? Although this chat appears to have ended over a year ago I wonder if anyone may still be listening? I've recently inherited an 'emco unimat 3' mini-lathe that belonged to my father and well...I know nothing about it other than memories of sitting on the workbench while my dad tinkered away on various projects. Its been sitting for some time and needs a good clean up, new belts, possibly more - I'm just spurting out buzz words here....I have no idea about any of it. I do know that all the parts still move in the directions they were intended and it travels with a ginormous case of cool wiz-bangs and twirly parts. 

I've tried listing it for sale twice now and each time couldn't seem to push the 'list it' button. It seems like something I could learn and put to use but even if not - I feel the need to give it some attention before releasing it back into the world. Which lands me back at my original problem...I have no idea what I'm doing or where to start. You all seem like a knowledgeable and supportive group - any suggestions? 

I have the Betriebsanleitung Instruction book so I guess I'll start with learning German. Any advice, guidance or 'atta girls!" are appreciated.

Cheers,

Nicole

[oldhippy]

I have two unimat lathes one with milling attachment. They are very good for clock making. Accessories can be bought on ebay but can be expensive. How about posting some photos of what you have and I might be able to help you.

[Michael1962]

I'll chip in with whatever I can as well from my background as a fitter & machinist. I have done some things on the lathe and have found some of its limitations, but for what it is meant for, it is a great little machine.

As @oldhippy has said, post up some photos and we'll give you what help we can.

Lathes are a very useful machine when you know what they can do.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Michael1962

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

I have two unimat lathes one with milling attachment. They are very good for clock making. Accessories can be bought on ebay but can be expensive. How about posting some photos of what you have and I might be able to help you.

What bearing oil do you use please OH ?

[oldhippy]

Nothing fancy just 3 in 1