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Re: Why Unimat?

 

The Sieg "Baby Lathe" is their C0 model.? I didn't even put it on my list because I feel it is a terrible value.? It is their bottom of the line lathe - and I do mean bottom.? I feel the same about the somewhat larger C1 "Micro Lathe".? For the Chinese lathes, I think the 7xWhatever (Sieg C2 or the similar Real Bull lathes) are the "sweet spot" for smallish Chinese lathes.

As an example of "value", I looked around a bit and found a place selling both a C2 and C0.? The C2 was $775 and the C0 was $545.? I think $545 is money not well spent on the very, very minimal C0 when the C2 provides vastly more for not much more money.? I couldn't easily find a price for a C1 Micro Lathe, but it would fall between the two.

I would certainly recommend an old Unimat over either the C0 or C1.? But not necessarily over the C2.

And if planning to get a C2, there are a myriad of configurations as well as what accessories might be included.? An important one is bed length.? I advocate the longer the better (even though it usually costs more).? Many who are new to machining don't realize, at first, how fast space gets used up by a chuck, work piece in the chuck, drill chuck in the tailstock, and drill in the drill chuck.? (Hint:? It is also nice to be able to slide a tail stock you are not using as far out of the way as possible.)? And there are two tailstock types.? One is sort of T shaped and the other is offset.? The offset style squeezes out a little more space between centers.? And speaking of the, "mini-lathe" lengths aren't really in terms of distance between centers like it is done in the rest of the universe.? They have some marketing hype and most will be about 2 inches less "between centers" than the length claimed.

Charles E. "Chuck" Kinzer

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 09:00:12 PM PDT, Aaron Woods <awoods550@...> wrote:


Thank you for the replies, I completely understand the vintage angle, the Taig and Sherline are among very few tools in my shop made after Y2K. Regarding size, the foot print of a Unimat is only about 2/3 that of the short bed Sherline, and the ability to convert to a mill highlights the small size even more. Of course size is a two sided issue, nice and compact is a plus when space is tight, and leads to cursing when you just need 1/2" more capacity. I think Proxxon is the only company that offers a lathe in the foot print of the Unimat SL.


Charles you are spot on in my thinking. If it were as simple as getting online and ordering a Unimat, I would have far less concern recommending one. Then it is simply a matter of look at what is available, compare budget, needs, etc and buy the one that works for you.
It is the used nature that raises the issue. It does seem like collectability of the Unimat contributes as much to the asking prices as quality / utility of the lathes. Of course deals turn up, but prices seem to run $300-1200 depending on condition and tooling. At the upper end there are many options for other machines, so you kind of need to really need or want specifically what Unimat offers.?

I do find it interesting that so few seem to recommend the very small Sieg "baby" lathes like the Grizzly G0745 which appears to be a near clone of the Unimat 3 at a price new you would be lucky to find a real Unimat for.



I appreciate the responses understanding that I'm just looking for the what makes Unimat special, rather than being any kind of knock on them.?

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