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Unimat 3 Lathe

oldhippy

By oldhippy
in All Things Clocks

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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I’ve just bought myself this Unimat 3 lathe with loads of add-ons including milling attachment est to have cost around £2000 the seller was asking £890 I made an offer of £750 which the seller has excepted. Many parts have not been out of there boxes and never used. I have been thinking over the past few days about starting some clock repairs as a hobby. My eyesight is not that good but I have been tinkering around with a few old movements and getting the feel of things and I am enjoying myself. When it arrives, I will take better pictures and I will be able to explain about all the extras.

Unimat 3.jpg

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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I had one years ago, so I know what they can do. One of the best mini lathes you can get, I don't know why their no longer being made. The picture is the one the seller used on  ebay, so your have to wate untill I have it for photos of better detail.

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clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

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10 hours ago, oldhippy said:

 

 

I’ve just bought myself this Unimat 3 lathe with loads of add-ons including milling attachment est to have cost around £2000 the seller was asking £890 I made an offer of £750 which the seller has excepted. Many parts have not been out of there boxes and never used. I have been thinking over the past few days about starting some clock repairs as a hobby. My eyesight is not that good but I have been tinkering around with a few old movements and getting the feel of things and I am enjoying myself. When it arrives, I will take better pictures and I will be able to explain about all the extras.

 

Unimat 3.jpg

Out of retirement then. I guess you never lost the bug.

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FlyingWatchmaker Member

FlyingWatchmaker

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I had one years ago, so I know what they can do. One of the best mini lathes you can get, I don't know why their no longer being made. The picture is the one the seller used on  ebay, so your have to wate untill I have it for photos of better detail.



I've got a very bare one, but a better unimat db? The earlier version... but love them both for different jobs...

I believe Emco were not financially viable in the early-mid 00's and started producing the sub-standard model with the plastic modules... they didn't last long after that.. I also had one of their bigger lathes for a while until I needed to make room for other toys ;-)

T
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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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45 minutes ago, clockboy said:

Out of retirement then. I guess you never lost the bug.

I think it has come back because of my involvement on here. I love helping out. So I blame this forum in helping me part with my hard earned cash. :D

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Tmuir Distinguished Member

Tmuir

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Great buy, I'm on the look out for one like that.

I have a large Chinese lathe, a watchmakers BTM lathe and a Sherline lathe that I 'purchased' for the price of the postage that I gave to my dad, but I'm looking for a good quality lathe that sits in between my BTM and my large Chinese lathe.

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clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

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8 hours ago, oldhippy said:

I think it has come back because of my involvement on here. I love helping out. So I blame this forum in helping me part with my hard earned cash. :D

 

I must admit this forum made me more serious with horology and yes I have now spent lots of cash.

:D:startle:

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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3 hours ago, Tmuir said:

Great buy, I'm on the look out for one like that.

I have a large Chinese lathe, a watchmakers BTM lathe and a Sherline lathe that I 'purchased' for the price of the postage that I gave to my dad, but I'm looking for a good quality lathe that sits in between my BTM and my large Chinese lathe.

The Sherline lathe would be a bit too big for my space, besides I needed one with a milling attachment.

I have watch many videos on YouTube about Chinese lathes and there are so many bad reports, saying the finish is bad, plastic gear wheels and not being very accurate put me off.

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Tmuir Distinguished Member

Tmuir

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21 hours ago, oldhippy said:

I have watch many videos on YouTube about Chinese lathes and there are so many bad reports, saying the finish is bad, plastic gear wheels and not being very accurate put me off.

My Chinese lathe is an AL50GB which has a 230mm x 500mm turning capacity, no plastic gears in it and the finish is ok for what I paid for it, but yes the tailstock is not very accurate, it is not perfectly parallel to the bed, it generally not a problem for most things and can be worked around. I would of much preferred a Myford, but my budget didn't stretch that far.

Its the usual story, 'You get what you pay for.'

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rogart63 Distinguished Member

rogart63

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Have an old Unimat 3 that i have owned for maybe 40 years or more. Looks the same as yours. Could probably need some new bearings but it's working. I washed it in a bucket with water and then didn't think about removing the  bearings.  That was over 10 years ago. Still do some work on it from time to time. Did a caseback today. Removed the Seiko inscription and used it on a Candino watch. 

 

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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On 8/23/2017 at 11:50 AM, oldhippy said:

I 'm just going to have clock repairing and making parts as a hobby.

Oh, I see. Instead I like my hobbies to pay for themselves... So far I succeeded, excluding car tuning.

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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40 minutes ago, jdm said:

Oh, I see. Instead I like my hobbies to pay for themselves... So far I succeeded, excluding car tuning.

I'll see how things go. The lathe turned up to day so have been having a good look at it and all the other bits and pieces. I thin I have done well. But there are still parts I need. Hope to put up some photos over the weekend.

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