Jump to content

Unimat 3 Lathe

oldhippy

By oldhippy
in All Things Clocks

 Share

Recommended Posts

oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
Posted

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

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

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.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

Posted
Posted
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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FlyingWatchmaker Member

FlyingWatchmaker

Posted
Posted
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
Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
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

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tmuir Distinguished Member

Tmuir

Posted
Posted

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

Posted
Posted
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:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tmuir Distinguished Member

Tmuir

Posted
Posted
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.'

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rogart63 Distinguished Member

rogart63

Posted
Posted

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. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted
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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • noirrac1j
      Rolex 2235 escape wheel jewel setting replacement

      By noirrac1j · Posted

      Hell0 @nevenbekriev. Thank you for your advice. I have removed the old setting using my staking set--I will keep the KIF spring, since it is still good.  I am awaiting the replacement setting, and will update when I do that. In the mean time, I looked at the escape wheel and it looks ok. What do you think?    
    • Hawaiikook808
      Seitz Tool - Help determine if Seitz or not

      By Hawaiikook808 · Posted

      Aloha All, I recently bought this Seitz tool on eBay, but it is missing some pushers reamers.  I ended up ordering new parts for those that were missing before I received the actual Seitz tool (bad idea).   Upon inspecting the pushers/bits, I noticed 23 of the 56 provided with the set had no numbers. Further inspection revealed a huge difference in the quality of those unnumbered.  Do all Seitz pushers/bits have a number on them?  I'm pretty sure that 33 of the 56 I received are cheap Chinese knockoffs.  The worst part is that I ordered $80 of parts to replace the missing pushers/bits, and now I'm looking to return the tool. I'm not crazy, right? If these are Seitz parts, they should all be numbered, correct? The first two pictures are the Seitz (numbered), and the other pictures are the suspect parts.  Will I even be able to get a refund?  Thanks, Frank     
    • luiazazrambo
      WWW Eterna sucked me in.

      By luiazazrambo · Posted

      It was £10 + min fee, total £16, could not leave it there. Its a Stanton A.D.2. http://stanton-instruments.co.uk/
    • Geotex
      Generic screws for unknown movements

      By Geotex · Posted

      Chief- The picture below shows the three parts from the dial side that are most useful to "fingerprint" a movement in conjunction with the diameter of the movement.  That's why forum participants are always asking for dial side photos in posts asking for identification.  As far as the setting lever screw, it actually sits loose in the main plate. The threads engage the setting lever below, and the elongated stem above the shoulder sticks through a hole in one of the bridge plates so that it's held captive if unscrewed all the way.  So you may be fine as far as that goes. 
    • Chief
      Generic screws for unknown movements

      By Chief · Posted

      So I found what I believe is the setting lever screw! Am I right in thinking the screw next to the click is the correct one for the setting lever? However if it is, it doesn't fit in the hole which I believe is for it! I can get the lever to sit nicely on the stem and line up with a hole, but the screw only goes as far as the shoulder and stops. It's as though the hole is too small! The dial side has been disassembled by the way, the other wheels are in my tray
×
×
  • Create New...