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[pugwash]

I am no engineer and am never going to build a steam engine or anything technical  like that, but my good lady has offered
to buy me a unimat 6 in 1 lathe (wood and soft metal) jigsaw, milling machine, sander and drill for my birthday.
I know it isn't up to the standard of a Proxxon or anything like that but as I at present make my models with a dremel type
drill or a scalpel it would be a quantum leap forward for me. Quite honestly a Proxxon would be wasted on me as I have never
used a lathe since school.
For making up small parts in wood, brass or acrylic would you recommend Yes or No as a purchase

Thanks
Geoff

[Shipmate60]

Yes if you will use it.
No if it will be an expensive ornament!!

Bob

[AT Boatyard]

Hi Geoff,i would say no.They are alot of money for what they are,and not alot of good.
I have one, used it and found it unsafe to use.
Best keep an eye on ebay for the tools you need.
I would say one tool for one job,and one tool for every job
kind regards
AT

[snowwolflair]

Dont touch it with a barge pole.

Look at the Axminster C0 mini lathe if thats what you need.

[Colin Bishop]

I've had one for years but hardly ever use it, I'm not engineering minded!

If you are going to have a lathe at all then I would agree with snowwolflair, get a proper miniature one. 
 
Colin

[Wetwater]

   Most of the reviews state "Useless for metal, not rigid enough".  Also too time
   consuming to change from one mode to another.

[pugwash]

Well thanks Gentlemen - that seems  pretty a unanimous no - back to the drawing board but I will have
 look at this Axminster mini lathe.

Geoff

[irishcarguy]

Hi Geoff, I concur with the other posts, it is just a big toy. Here in Canada we have a company called Busy Bee Tools (busybeetools.com) ,they are also in the USA (cant remember the name they use in the US) they sell some really nice small lathes & milling machines at great prices,& all the tools to go with them. I am wondering if they are also in UK or Europe ,perhaps under another name. The price range here is $690.00 to $2600.00(430.00 to 1600.00 pounds) This may help. The name on the lathes & milling machines  is Craftex. The quality looks very good, a friend has had one for years, uses it everyday & has had no problems

[boatmadman]

If you are looking for a small lathe, Have a look here:

http://www.peatol.com/

The basic unit isnt too expensive and you can build up accessories as you need them.

I have one and its great, built a twin oscillator steam engine on it. Also used for turned parts for a twin piston valve engine. Its surprisingly versatile for its size, accurate, rigid.

There are a couple of drawbacks = no thread cutting, no auto feed, but these and others can be made on the lathe.

There is a forum here:

http://taigownersclub.forumotion.net/

And here is a website of some mods and projects done on the machine:

http://www.deansphotographica.com/machining/projects/projects.html

It can also be used on wood!

Ian

[treeboa]

the guy only wants to work in wood acrylic and brass, i have one of the dreaded, i use it without a problem once its limitations are realistically accepted, wood no problem, acrylics and plastics, as long as you dont let the stuff get too hot or try to work too thin no problems, brass, now this is the fun one, as is then it can be a problem, anneal the stuff and it works no problems, steel - never tried it bar polishing up but dont think it would have the guts, copper, no probs, alluminiums/alloys, depends, some bar stock is hard as nails, other stuff is fairly soft,   sharp cutting tools and small cuts is my answer to most jobs, end the day im not working with a student lathe

as supplied they are iffy, mine lives bolted to a piece of worktop and being less inclined to move is better, the supplied collets - absolute crap being plastic, the older plastic chucks are useless, the later metal ones are better, theres two distinct versions, one ran on 6 volts and is underpowered, plus some also had the main beds as plastic as well,  the later version is 12 volts and for what i use it for ideal, the main beds are alloy,  two of the uses, hand sander and hand drill, i think the motor and headstock units are too large, dremels and similar are better, the jig saw, mmm its never going to cut straight and plastic gets too hot using the supplied blades, ok for roughing out soft wood

upgrades needed, a proper set of metal collets, a proper revolving center, the grinding attachment for making your own cutting tools, ideally a four jaw chuck to compliment the three jaw and a 12mm thread drill chuck for the tail stock

funny enough i borrowed a mates peatol the other week to turn a barrel, same issues the unimat gave me, basically im too heavy handed and try to cut too heavy on small items 

one thing i am seriously considering, either making or buying a speed controller for the unimat, the two speeds it has are just not enough to cover everything


the time consuming to change from one mode to another, its going to be as you only get the bits to create one function unless you add more parts, then again looking at the larger unimats and similar, you have to take those apart to create a milling machine/drill, unless of course you pay a hell of a lot more cash

[pugwash]

Thanks for all the advice lads.  Have decided that so far my modelmaking has be reasonably successful without the more engineering type
tools.  I have now got three Dremel type - one permanently set up to turn very small wooden parts with a series of needle files.
The money I would have used to make the purchase of the unimat will instead buy two hulls and running gear for my next two builds.
When you get to my age you start to wonder how much use you will get from your tools before shaky hands or bad eyesight will stop you building.

Geoff

[HS93 (RIP)]

this is worth a look at if the bug ever hits again, it comes with some Modes to make it in to a decent tool, plus the extras you may want in the future are some of the cheapest about. it is similar to axminster but they order there tools with modifications they feel they need.

Peter

 http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Lathes/C0-Baby-Lathe/C0-Baby-Lathe

[pugwash]

Thanks Peter that looks a very nice machine and quite a reasonable price. Will bear it in mind if I have a change of heart.

Geoff

[irishcarguy]

Hi Geoff, the name BUSY BEE TOOLS use in the USA is Grizzly Tools, worth a look, best of luck. Mick B.

[pettyofficernick]

Hi there, I have a CO Baby lathe from Arc Eurotrade. The machine has to be stripped, cleaned, reassembled and adjusted before use,( full instructions supplied) well worth the effort, they are very reasonably priced, stripping, cleaning etc is a good way to get to know the machine, and they will do good work if you take your time. accessory's such as power feed, topslide, faceplates etc are very inexpensive. I got the lot at once when they had an offer on and saver about 60 quid, and finally, the guys at Arc are most helpfull, and incidentally, they sell drills from  0.4 to 0.8 mm in 0.1mm steps at £1.36 for 5, a bargain and very handy for tiny holes.

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/Lathes/C0-Baby-Lathe

[HS93 (RIP)]

Hi Geoff, the name BUSY BEE TOOLS use in the USA is Grizzly Tools, worth a look, best of luck. Mick B.

It would probably cost another £200 to bring a lathe from Canada or the USA you have to pay shipping plus VAT at 20% plus handling charge , I was after a set of small castings for a filing machine from the USA the castings where $125 postage was $120 and then vat and that is on the shipping and the castings plus handling from the good old royal mail , I have stopped buying from the USA as it has become to expensive.

Peter

[irishcarguy]

Peter you are so right,I import a lot of vintage car parts from the U/K  &  25% of the parts cost is shipping  and brokerage(air shipping) & I have not found a cheaper way to reduce my costs Mick B.

[essex2visuvesi]

I have one of these and yes it will cut straight.  Well it does for my father in law, but not for me lol

Most annoying part is the time taken breaking it down and rebuilding to change tools.  I have only used it on wood and plastics so far and it seems adequate for my needs.