Hello Terry,
The 'MK' designation is one I thought up some years ago. I had
discovered that there were several variations on the theme for cast
iron Unimats. If you watch ebay for an extended period of time you
will probably see all of the types for sale. For a full description of
each type (MKs 1a thru 4) go to:
Then to ENCO, then to DB200. You will find a long read and a lot of
photos of these interesting Unimats. The first, MK1a, was only 12 1/4"
long at the base of the bed and the way bars were mounted in bored
holes and retained by one set/grub screw per bar. They were painted in
black crickle paint and the motors were only 40Watts. I have one of
these and so does the owner of 'lathes.co.uk', Tony Griffith. Both are
complete with original paper. I think his is a little better than mine.
There is a early MK4 now offered on ebay. It is not quite pristene but
is quite nice and has lots of original accessories in the same silver-
blue hammer tone paint. This one will not go cheap if anybody is
paying attention. It has the big Dutch made motor of 95Watts.
Do go and check out lathes.co. It will give you a better understanding
of the differenses in the early cast iron Unimats. The same site also
has information on the die cast SLs and the Unimat 3/4. Also a rather
extensive collection of information on a broad list of machine tools
from all over the world.
Best, Cary Stewart
