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Unimat is one of the few small lathes that you can take out of the box
set up on the kitchen table, do decent work with . And then put it back
in it's wooden brief case, and stow away under a bed or closet until the
next time. It can handle watch, clock repair, small kits, steam engines
and a host of other projects and still be carried under your arm. The 7x
lathes are nice, but they are not that portable.
?Jeff


-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Kinzer <ckinzer@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Wed, Apr 12, 2023 12:16 pm
Subject: Re: [Unimat] Why Unimat?

That's an interesting question since it involves a desire for a
"hobbyist" lathe, whatever the brand, but in the year 2023.

Long ago, the appeal of the Unimat was that it made a hobby lathe a
possibility.? I don't there was very much, if any, competition for that
size lathe and certainly not with its features.? There was the Adept
lathe made in the UK and I know that at least some model railroad
hobbyists had them.? (Adept seemed to phase out of the marketplace in
the 1960's about when Unimat phased in.)? And then there was the Manson
Lathe (later Master Lathe) marketed to hobbyists, but it was quite small
and very limited in performance.? And any number of watchmaker style lathes.

So, when the Unimat came along with a lot of features at a pretty
reasonable price it really filled a mostly open niche.? Especially since
the basic machine could also do respectable milling and act as a drill
press which seemed pretty unique at the time.

I think they did that with a fairly elegant design (even if it didn't
have cast ways) where the "basic" machine would satisfy the needs of the
majority of buyers at a reasonable price.? For the small percentage of
people who needed more features, there was the vast array of
accessories.? The accessories today being far more rare than the basic
machine.? They were first marketed as "10 in 1" machines but you had to
buy major accessories to get the count up to ten.? After a while they
marketed it as a "6 in 1" with what the basic machine could do and
eventually a "5 in 1" as they dropped the configuration of using the
head as a hand power drill in their promotion.

But that was then, this is now.? You probably already have what would be
my "today" choice for "hobby" sized machine with the Sherline.? Of
course, you have to buy a separate lathe and mill if you want decent
milling.? (Milling in a lathe with a milling attachment usually being
rather limited in performance - but an option if only doing a little of
it and only doing fairly light work.)

For just a "small" lathe, the Chinese 7xWhatever "mini-lathes" are hard
to beat on price for they can do.? The thing is you might have to do a
lot of work on the lathe depending on the quality of performance you
want.? Some jokingly call them "kits".? But some are happy with them out
of the box.? The primary advantage other than handling much larger work
pieces than a Unimat or Sherline or Taig, while still having a pretty
small footprint, is that they are a real "engine lathe" with built in
power feed and thread cutting (with change gears).? So, it is more in a
class with the 6 inch Atlas, I suppose.? But more compact.? Also, prices
have been rising to buy a new 7xWhatever over the last few years, but
still competitive.? I suggested to people a few years back to get them
while the getting was good as it was likely prices would start going up
a lot - and they have.

But for today, I don't see the Unimat as a best choice if you are
looking for price versus performance.? If you are wanting a tool to use
rather than to collect.? Too much of the price is because it is a
collectors' item rather than for performance.? However, you can get a
perfectly usable Unimat for a lot less than a new Sherline.? Unimats are
actually typically less in "real dollars" compared to what they cost
new.? In 1960 a basic Unimat was about $139 and that is $1400 in today's
dollars.

For a new hobbyist lathe, I very much prefer the Sherline over the
Taig.? And if desiring to get a "real" lathe where you don't need ham
handed accessories to power feed or thread, then a Chinese 7xWhatever or
a used 6 inch Atlas (or Craftsman) would top my list.

There are some other very respectable products such as the Prazi lathes,
but they are quite expensive.? Or other alternatives for the Atlas 6
inch class lathe such as the Myford from the UK, but that's also
expensive and much larger than a "hobbyist" size lathe.

On a more general note, I'm a believer in trying to get the machine you
want even if you have to save up for it for a while.? It is no fun in
the long run to get the machine you didn't want.? Also, for anyone who
actually MAKES anything, there will likely be a lot of tooling also
purchased.? Sometimes a lot of tooling.? And that costs about the same
whether putting it on the lathe you really wanted versus the lathe you
didn't want.

Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 07:59:30 AM PDT, Aaron Woods
<awoods550@...> wrote:


I don't have a Unimat. I'd like one but I already have several small
lathes so getting one is simply a want rather than a need.

I became interested in a lathe for model work, and ended up buying a
Sherline, since they could be bought new and have a good reputation.

The topic of small lathes often comes up in modeling circles. I can do a
decent comparison between Taig, Sherline and Atlas / Craftsman 6" since
I have used them, but have never been hands on with a Unimat.

For somebody in the market for a small lathe, what would you say the
major perks of a Unimat are?

Obviously size goes for the SL/SB if someone wants very compact and the
various attachments can make it a handy if expensive many in one tool.

With the prices Unimats can ask, I begin to wonder if they are still a
good suggestion for a beginner. You can get a new Taig or Sherline for
about the same money as the average asking price of a Unimat.
As I don't have experience with Unimat that is a question I can't answer.