Finally got myself a starter lathe

[SSTEEL]

It was gifted to me by a good friend of mine, its a Emco Unimat PC Lathe, needs tidying/restoring, so may do a guide on restoration on this like I did with my Elma cleaner.

 

Onto the photos.

 

Should clean up nicely by Micky Aldridge, on Flickr

Toe dipper into Lathing by Micky Aldridge, on Flickr

WIP Lathe by Micky Aldridge, on Flickr

Already started looking for accessories for it

[oldhippy]

These lathes are fine for clock work big enough to take Longcase clock parts. I think it might be a  unimat 4. I know there are loads of attachments fir the unimat 3 which I had, you will need to check to see if they are compatible. No good for watch work. 

[vinn3]

an associated skill with "compound  lathes"  is "tool grinding"  or buying carbide tool bits. that lathe is very good workingwith brass and aluminum.  good luck and think about a milling machine,   Vinn

[oldhippy]

You can work on a unimat 3 with steel I have done so in the past there's no reason why not with this one.

[SSTEEL]

Thanks guys, I will be using this to start with to make custom brass movement holders, and dial washers.

First I need to restore it, then get the required tools needed in order to start to use it.

[oldhippy]

This lathe will be fine for that type of work. Good luck.

[Geo]

Nice present Micky.  I'm looking forward to seeing the refurbishment walkthrough.

[bobm12]

Excellent Micky and congratulations on a new super tool! Me too, -- like Geo -- I'm looking forward to your walkthrough and experiences. In my particular case, I've never had a lathe of my own and might get one soon...once I decide which! There are sooo many options out there...and prices!

This would be an invaluable experience to share!

Cheers,

Bob

[rogart63]

That is a unimat 3 PC . One which you can  attach to a computer . There are lots of parts for it on Ebay. I recommend new o-rings for the drive pulleys. 

I have a ordinary Unimat 3 which i bought back in the 80' . Still working good.  

There are a lot of parts available for it? Like collets chuck and tool rest . 

Edited August 2, 2016 by rogart63

[SSTEEL]

Cheers guys, just back from a few weeks vacation, and so much to catch up on, I will restore this, but don't know when exactly as we are moving apartments this year too, tonnes to do.

[david]

Like many other tools, a lathe choice is a series of trade offs. As a lathe becomes larger and more powerful, the element of "feel" is reduced. If "feel" is not required to produce your part, as in larger clock size parts, a larger, more powerful lathe can be a great advantage. For a tiny part, such as a watch pivot (.1mm or .004 inches in diameter) the elements of increased machine mass and power become superfluous. A set of watchmaker turns powered with a hand driven bow can provide enough machine mass and power to produce high precision watch pivots

In addition to size and power, a lathe must also have sufficient precision to produce a part to a specified tolerance. The industry standard Geneva and American WW pattern lathes have sufficient precision to produce small watch parts.  Precision, however,  should not be confused with smaller size as there are many large lathes that are more precise than a standard watchmaker lathe. 

david

[jdm]

So what is that you recommend David? The largest object I may need to turn is a watch case.

[david]

JDM,

If you are going to machine a watch case out of a stainless steel blank, you will quickly appreciate a larger, more powerful lathe. The inside of the case can be cored out with an endmill or specially sharpened large diameter drill bit and finished out with a boring bar. If the job was done on a smaller lathe it would  have to be picked away with smaller, lighter cuts.  This is where the tradeoff comes in. If you were to try to core out the blank on a Geneva size lathe, the job would push the lathe past the point for which it was designed. All of this has to do with issues such as budget, shop space and available tooling that everybody should consider when selecting equipment. At the very least the machine selected should be able to handle the range of parts and materials that you plan to produce.  

david

[jdm]

18 minutes ago, david said:

If you are going to machine a watch case out of a stainless steel blank, you will quickly appreciate a larger, more powerful lathe.

No, I would just need to level off corrosion on the seal seat there or on the case back. Any specific brand or model recommendation?

[david]

JDM,

If that is the heaviest duty you expect from the lathe then almost any size lathe that will allow the watch case to swing will work. What else do you plan to use the lathe for and what is your budget? 

david

[jdm]

I would like something versatile enough to turn both a balance staff (if and when I'll do one) an large piece like a special press die. And I would like to have a mill/drill attachment.

[david]

JDM,

A number of years ago I purchased a SINCERE lathe from China. It is a Geneva style light duty lathe roughly patterned after the Bergeon, Lorch, Wolf Jahn Geneva style lathes. When I bought  the lathe, including the cross slide and collet holding tailstock, the cost was around $450.00. The motor was an additional $200.00.  I later purchased the milling attachment,  spring pulley assembly,  dividing plate assembly,  sensitive drilling kit,  tip over rest, file rest and the extra long bed. In all everything came to around $2000.00. Once I took the spindle out, cleaned it, lubricated it,  installed an O-Ring seamless belt, and adjusted it, the spindle run out was almost undetectable. It is a fine high precision watchmaker lathe that produces a beautiful turned finish. That said, it is a small light duty machine that is not suited for heavy duty use. As long as the machine is used for small watch size parts and not pushed hard, it should provide many years of service. The swing is the same as other watch lathes and should be able to take a light clean up cut on a watch case. 

Aside from being a good quality machine, what makes the Sincere lathe a good choice over other watchmaker lathes is its affordability, and the fact that the accessories are also affordable and available.  As long as the machine is used to take light cuts with small cutters and drills it should function beautifully.

david

[bobm12]

I just deleted all the duplicates!

Cheers,

Bob

[Geo]

Welcome to the forum David, and thank you for starting off by posting quality information regarding lathes.  There are folk on here with all sorts of different backgrounds and skill levels and I'm sure this will help a few of them that may be considering a lathe.

[jdm]

Is your lathe like this? http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Brand-New-Watchmaker-Precision-Lathe-Basic-Machine/32262001583.html

I didn't mentioned before, but I had estimated the total cost for a complete system to be exactly what you wrote, but before shipping and customs (very high in EU). However it would be simply a not justifiable purchase for me unless I was to use it at least once a week, for productive work, and at this time I don't even know how to use it.

What could make more sense http://www.aliexpress.com/item/All-metal-mini-Lathe-Z20002M-metal-lathe-mini-metal-lathe-for-6in1-8in1-kit-29W-20000rpm/32364704636.html

Very, very interesting, many types to chose from.   

Edited August 15, 2016 by jdm

[oldhippy]

Remember a lathe is a precision tool. Ask yourself what you intend to use it for, do a lot of research to find out if it is suitable for what you want. Don't forget some lathes have a better accuracy then others.

[jdm]

Just now, oldhippy said:

Remember a lathe is a precision tool. Ask yourself what you intend to use it for, do a lot of research to find out if it is suitable for what you want. Don't forget some lathes have a better accuracy then others.

I think in watchmaking we pretty much want all the same, work on small parts with high precision. Do you have any actual recommendation? Specific makers or types?

[oldhippy]

The lathe I had for watch work was a Boley. I found it very good and accurate for making balance staffs and tiny parts for what I needed mind you the collects were also first class and all the bearings.  

[oldhippy]

Lorch lathes are very good but expensive.