Whats the General Concensus on Unimat SL?

[arborpress]

Yes, I've been on his site quite a bit. All of his modifications are very interesting. That's where I got the idea of using a treadmill motor

 

[Wizard69]

Perhaps someone else can answer, please.

I got a story that the Taig was actually an actuator of sorts from some aircraft which someone had re-developed. I'm not bothered one way or another but it made me think.

There is nothing about the TAIG's design that would imply that.

Today, I'd settle for a lathe with screwcutting abilities if I was wanting to do any boring of model engine cylinders. If you look at some of the other postings here, you will find that there are some very funny questions about reaming and boring that need not have arisen.

These days it makes more sense to consider electronic alternatives for feed and screw cutting.

I apologise for accidentally running over some sacred cows but I'd be heading for a cheap( ish) and nasty-ish Chinese lathe which comes with both chucks and a faceplate and the ability to take a set of cheap-ish collets and screwcuts and has fine feeds under power in both imperial and metric dimensions.

These are certainly acceptable as long as your goals aren't precision machining on very small parts. One of the reasons I see the various Mini lathes as a good long term investment is their utility to make those very small parts. Even if your model engineering interests tend to larger devices, requiring a larger lathe, the mini lathes can still be useful for making smaller parts.

Not perfect or anywhere near perfect but adequate to make more of its own tooling and goodies without having a coronary or nervous breakdown for the user.

Huh? Every lathe requires some self built tooling to be useful. Half the effort in building up a shop involves equipping your machinery with the accessories to make it useful.

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I was going to list what eventually ended up on my old battered mangle of a Myford-- and became a little embarrassed.

Go for a 918 or something similar.

Or just buy a lathe that fits your interest.

 

[goldstar31]

I simply do not know whether the comments above were really aimed at me or for the benefit of the poster.

I tried to direct my remarks to someone who had informed the rest of us that he had the chance of 'part of a early Unimat' and then 'a possible South Bend' and such nebulous concepts as a Potts( of which there were three different designs) and so on.

Moving into the realms of 'electronic assistance' to make single models of what was simple dated machinery was not in my answers.

I can only apologise if I actually failed to grasp the need of the poster.

 

[Tin Falcon]

I know late in the game .
My brother purchases a uni mat in about 1974. IMHO nice little lathes and they are hobby lathes so imho very few were heavily used and therefore not worn out. the flip side it seems these old lathes are popular with collector so follks are asking top money like 600 800 for well tooled units in with good original paint.
I found an American l edestal machinex 5 cheap actually a couple of them but they are orphans and you need to make tools or adapters.

Taig and sherline are made in USA current production and lots of tooling available.
Tin

 

[arborpress]

I stumbled upon Clisby Mini machines today. has anybody ever heard of them? Apparently they were in production in the 70s and have resumed production. very cheap, even cheaper than the taig. I believe they are australian. http://www.precisiontools.com.sg/CLISBYMINILATHES.htm

Supposedly, this Clisby fellow is the guy who designed the sherline.

 

[///]

Clisby lathes are small..... VERY small.
I seem to remember an announcement years ago on the Clisby website that the family were no longer manufacturing the machines and will only be selling any remaining parts until they are all gone. The website used to list the available parts but is now just a main page.
The family's ebay store has a few parts, def not all tho, not enough to piece together a machine. http://stores.ebay.com.au/Clisby-Products

A couple of links worth reading:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/clisby/
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/f13/clisby-lathe-why-kludge-needs-new-glasses-2363/

EDIT:
By the way... on the website you linked to, the Sherline pricelist has not been updated since 2003.
I'm willing to bet the entire website has not been updated in 10 years.

 

[arborpress]

Ah, good catch

 

[Wizard69]

I stumbled upon Clisby Mini machines today. has anybody ever heard of them? Apparently they were in production in the 70s and have resumed production. very cheap, even cheaper than the taig. I believe they are australian. http://www.precisiontools.com.sg/CLISBYMINILATHES.htm

Supposedly, this Clisby fellow is the guy who designed the sherline.

Nope, I have not heard of them. Sherline has been around for a very long time though so I'd have to look into when they came to market.

One look at those machines and you quickly realize why they are cheap. Apparently they come with a 12VDC motor with no power supply. It might be worth experimenting with if you have money to through away. Personally I'd go with a more established brand or build my own.

 

[clivel]

Supposedly, this Clisby fellow is the guy who designed the sherline.

There is definitely more than a little truth to that - http://www.sherline.com/sherhist.htm
Also from the same page "Harold Clisby passed away February 12, 2005 at the age of 92."

 

[///]

...
Apparently they were in production in the 70s and have resumed production.
...
Supposedly, this Clisby fellow is the guy who designed the sherline.

Thought I might clarify one point, the 90's Clisby lathes were much smaller than those he produced in the 70's.
The 70's lathes were the progenitor for today's Sherline range. They have changed little except for essential refinements.
Apparently when Clisby produced the lathes they were top quality.
When Ron Sher attempted to mass produce the lathes, problems arose and then when Joe Martin became involved (importing them to the US for sale at Sears) he began fixing those problems for the US stock. Joe ultimately bought the company and manufacturing became an entirely US affair where Joe could maintain quality control.

A brief history of Sherline, from Harold Clisby, to Ron Sher to Joe Martin is on the Sherline website and more in the book "Tabletop Machining"