Use 3/4"/19mm plywood, and it should be quite strong enough. Make it just barely larger than the base area of the machine set up as you wish. Put runners of hardwood or perhaps metal under the base and bolt through them to fasten the handles to the runners and make the runners, base, and handles one unit. And start lifting weights if you're concerned about your own ability to lift it. You can start with cans of food, graduate to bags of cans, if you don't have access to a proper weight room or weights.

I had to lift my boxed Unimat DB200 the yesterday, and was surprised to find it felt rather heavy. There are a few things in the box that weren't there I when I got it last year, but they're mainly new? bearings and belts. The box minus those items was right at 25 pounds or about 11.3kg a year or so ago when I got it, so I'll be taking my own advice. The moving of furniture and boxes of stuff that I've been doing is apparently not adequate exercise to maintain my own strength.?

Bill in OKC

Greetings everyone, I'm new to lathes and after a few months of yearning, I finally came across a PC/Basic in great condition.

I don't have much work space and thus need a semi mobile setup (I.e. Lathe will be stored away when not in use)

Are there any good strategies / ideas for building base for the PC basic model?

Some notes:
1. With the vertical attachment it's abt 15-20kgs
2. I'd like to build a couple of handles on the left and right side of the base for easy lifting?

Would plywood suffice? My main worry is lifting the entire base + machine by its handles (to be built on left / right side) would not be strong enough.

Thanks in advance!?

Here you will find the part numbers for replacement parts. Emco Holz &
Hobby usually have more parts available than shown on their site

E-Mail: vertrieb@...


Regards, Lui

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions and advice.

The lathe belongs to a company I'm working for. While we do have another working unimat and a much larger lathe which is capable of cutting a thread, I think the company would prefer an 'off the shelf' solution rather than someone spending the time making a new screw.
However with the lack of availability of a ready to use replacement and difficulty finding the correct threaded rod, it's looking like a more reasonable option, and it's something I would be happy to learn to do!

The U3 leadscrew looks like a good solution also, and less work involved - thank you Keith.

I will have to offer these solutions to the management and let them make the decision! I will keep you posted

I've had a look at off the shelf screwed parts that might do the job. M8 left handed, yes, but not M8 ¡Á 1.

I can't get to it at the moment, but I might be able to do this on my brother's slightly larger lathe. I don't have much practice at screw cutting, but I did do an M12 ¡Á 1 screw to make a head locking screw for the SL. It will be a week or two before I can get to it.

There is a longer lead screw for the U3 (same thread and handwheel) on Ebay UK, item?195622429555, that could be shortened to do the job. It would be a bit of a waste to cut it down, but that's not your problem! Looks like it would cost you about ?33 to get it, but it would save a lot of hassle. It might need a bit of further machining, but even with your bad cross slide screw it should be doable in your lathe.

Grab it while you can?

The thread is M8 ¡Á 1 Left Handed. You can get dies for this at reasonable prices from China, so after that you need a way to screw cut the initial thread. Larger lathes should manage this. I think smaller ones would have trouble with the left hand business, but I will look at the threading gears for my U3 and see if they could be arranged to do it. If they can then I would think about the rest of the practicalities.

Keith

In sunny Slough

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Hi Gang:

To avoid threading, use two threaded rods and tap the larger to match the smaller. Lock the small thread in with a cross roll pin.

Carl.

Hi Beck,

around July, 2021 I purchased a set of parts to replace the worn out ones on the original cross slide of my 1985 U3.
The idea was to improve the overall precision of the cross slide, however by now I only replaced the nut, since what I saw when I disassembled, wasn?t in such a seriously bad condition.

The parts that you see in the picture below are from?Emco Holz und Hobby GmbH,
Agnieszka Ludkiewicz? A.Ludkiewicz@...
ttps://www.emcoshop.at/298-emcoersatzzubehoerteiledrehmaschinenemcounimat3



I prefer to purchase originals parts directly from the manufacturer, since most of the time eBay prices are not that low, for a second hand product.
On the other hand, in my country it is not allowed to import used products.

A couple more reasons to your advantage when buying from EMCO. First, you can aks for a TAX / VAT discount, since it is an export product. By doing so, you can save something like 16%, if I do recall well.
Secondly, Euro vs. Dollar exchange parity it?s at a lowest, however sometime in the begining of last year it was even lower.

I hope my response help you solve your difficulty.

Best regards, Ricardo.

?

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This website does sell and ship outside of the EU for sure and they regularly have all kinds of parts for sale https://www.nielsmachines.com/en/merken/emco/

I was looking at the picture of the cross feed screw and have another suggestion. The main portion of the screw is left hand. Purchase some left hand threaded rod stock and turn down and thread the small end to suit. This I believe this is doable by the average craftsman.

Hello, Beck
If all else fails, you might find someone with a screw cutting lathe and have one made to order. Or if you have the skills you could easily make one for yourself.

Hello,

Does anyone know where I might be able to source a new cross slide screw for a Unimat 4? The one we have has worn too much to be functional.
I¡¯m based in the UK but any options will be considered with international shipping! I have been keeping an eye on eBay but haven¡¯t seen anything so far.

Thanks in advance,
Beck

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Hi Gang:

If you know anyone in the EU, have Jan ship to them. Then work out shipping / customs with them. The jaws would fit in a small padded envelope.

I did this for a friend in France. It worked out to two pallet loads of toy trains.

Carl.

William, I will ask if they will give me the color codes and will post it.

Tamra

Andrey, a standard spray can ( that rattles)? of Rustoleum is 12 oz.

I can see if they can put the paint in a smaller can.? I can't imagine that it takes a lot of spray paint for a unimat.

Tamra