Emco Unimat 3 Lathe

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Dave,
Yes I have read your thread, but thanks for the reminder. Since I last read it, I see there is a lot more interesting stuff on it.

As to the Axminster course, that would be the ideal way to quickly pick up some knowledge and expertise, but as you say it is a long way from Leeds. Until retiring recently I spent a lot of time travelling to Yeovil and latterly Sherborne, so I know the journey well.

I've got a couple of books on order to get me started, but I'm in no rush to start making things with the lathe, which is very much an item I wanted rather than something I needed. I'll see how I get on, but if it comes to a point where I feel I'm not making use of it, I'm sure I could resell the machine and recoup most if not all of my outlay.

Cheers,
Peter
 

adrian

Flying Squad
As to the Axminster course, that would be the ideal way to quickly pick up some knowledge and expertise
You could always take it down to the local model engineering club. I'm sure there will be plenty of support to get you going.
 

Big Train James

Western Thunderer
Speaking of.....

I've got this interesting bit of kit sitting in my basement.
unimat3-001.jpg unimat3-002.jpg

It's quite possible that the lathe has never been turned on. And I am fully confident that nothing has ever been cut on it. My dad got it back in the 80's, as usual he prepared properly in the off chance that he might actually get around to doing something one day. I've been carting it around for years.

I'll be taking my second machining class this summer at the local community college, where I should be learning about lathe and machine operations. I'm hoping to put this one to use once I have a better idea what exactly it is that I'm doing with it.
 

simond

Western Thunderer
Wow, James, I suspect you’ve got the whole kit there.

My Unimat was already mounted on a plinth, which is about 70mm high, made of black-faced quality plywood, and includes a vac-formed tray as a tool drawer. I wonder if it was a “school model” which I believe was part of the range. I have considered taking it off, and making a couple of riser blocks to lift the lathe bed about 25mm above the plinth, simply to improve access, and make it easier to clean.

I’ve had it for at least 15 years, possibly more, and we’re still at the “considering” stage...

Best
Simon
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Very impressive James.
I've seen a few similar sets on Ebay but apart from one which like yours was pristine, the rest had been used.

This set up makes my board look really crap.

extreme-emco-unimat-3-cabinet-set.jpg

Not sure if this was used or just for display, or whether it is a superb home made effort of was supplied by Emco, but it wood look nice on your living room wall. :)

Here's a link to the website where I found it. If you look at the prices of some of the sold items, it would seem you are sitting on a fortune.

Extreme Emco Unimat 3 Cabinet Set

Lots of interesting stuff if you enjoy looking at quality machine, which I assume most people on here will do, being into trains.

Cheers,
Peter
 

Big Train James

Western Thunderer
I guess I don't have everything, apparently there's a jigsaw and table saw attachment. But it looks like most everything else is there, certainly enough to make a fine mess of things once I get it going.

But I definitely am the beneficiary of some dumb luck. Buying everything new today would cost a fair amount. I wish I had been able to keep several of the other power tools from my dad's shop, but due to circumstances there really was no ideal place to store them through the years until I had a suitable place for them. All generally woodworking tools, but not explicitly. Drill press, radial arm saw (which I much prefer to a table saw), band saw, planer/joiner, and wood lathe were all part of the arsenal.

Has anybody actually used the drilling/milling attachment for milling? I'm curious if it is robust and stable enough for the lateral loads. I had thought that it was just a drilling attachment, and the milling head was a different piece. I'm considering getting a bench top mill of the next size up variety, as in Seig/Grizzly/Micromark/etc variety, so using the Emco for that purpose may not be necessary.
 

AndyH

Active Member

Brian McKenzie

Western Thunderer

neaston

Western Thunderer
Personally I have gone for learning by using. The Amateurs Lathe by Sparey is a useful book although really written for Myford size machines.
I started about 35 years ago with a Unimat SL, followed by an ML10 and eventually a Super 7 with a gearbox. When I retired I lost my workshop area and dropped back to the Unimat 3.
Over the years I managed to build a cutter grinder, a milling machine and a dividing head as well as many other tools. I am not an engineer and have never had a days training in metalworking just "learning by using".
Make a few bushes,turn a chimney or two and just "fiddle about" until you get the feel of it.
I made a mess of plenty things as I learnt, I believe it's called experience.
Good luck
Nick
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Andy, Brian,
Many thanks for sharing these links. As a modest collector of drawing instruments, I really appreciate fine instruments, machines and tools. Some fantastic bedtime reading and viewing there.

I find it interesting that tools and instruments etc from the past, always seem to have a high aesthetic value as well being practical, and precise to use. Tools that have been around for 150 years or more that are still made today, whilst being more sophisticated and maybe more accurate and precise in their use, don't have the same, dare I say it, beauty that the same items from the past had. I wonder if the designers and makers had an eye for the appearance of the tool as well as its performance, in the same way that Gresley had with this locomotives ?

On that point, I much prefer the look of the Unimat SL to the Unimat 3, but was not lucky enough to pick one up at the right price.
Cheers,
Peter
 

Chris Veitch

Western Thunderer
Very impressive James.
I've seen a few similar sets on Ebay but apart from one which like yours was pristine, the rest had been used.

This set up makes my board look really crap.

View attachment 104834

Not sure if this was used or just for display, or whether it is a superb home made effort of was supplied by Emco, but it wood look nice on your living room wall. :)

Here's a link to the website where I found it. If you look at the prices of some of the sold items, it would seem you are sitting on a fortune.

Extreme Emco Unimat 3 Cabinet Set

Lots of interesting stuff if you enjoy looking at quality machine, which I assume most people on here will do, being into trains.

Cheers,
Peter

My own vertical mill/drill attachment has the same fitting as shown in the photo - a steel ring which is located around the area of the chuck and attached to the front of the milling head with a pressed steel bracket. I've no idea what it is for and have pondered on this for decades. Can a Unimat expert enlighten me please?
 

Big Train James

Western Thunderer
My own vertical mill/drill attachment has the same fitting as shown in the photo - a steel ring which is located around the area of the chuck and attached to the front of the milling head with a pressed steel bracket. I've no idea what it is for and have pondered on this for decades. Can a Unimat expert enlighten me please?
I'd be keen to know about the ring piece as well. Until I saw the cabinet setup, I didn't even know where it was supposed to go. Once I saw it in place, I thought it might be a guard around the cutting tool or bit? That's the best I got.
 

Giles

Western Thunderer
I guess I don't have everything, apparently there's a jigsaw and table saw attachment. But it looks like most everything else is there, certainly enough to make a fine mess of things once I get it going.

But I definitely am the beneficiary of some dumb luck. Buying everything new today would cost a fair amount. I wish I had been able to keep several of the other power tools from my dad's shop, but due to circumstances there really was no ideal place to store them through the years until I had a suitable place for them. All generally woodworking tools, but not explicitly. Drill press, radial arm saw (which I much prefer to a table saw), band saw, planer/joiner, and wood lathe were all part of the arsenal.

Has anybody actually used the drilling/milling attachment for milling? I'm curious if it is robust and stable enough for the lateral loads. I had thought that it was just a drilling attachment, and the milling head was a different piece. I'm considering getting a bench top mill of the next size up variety, as in Seig/Grizzly/Micromark/etc variety, so using the Emco for that purpose may not be necessary.


I've used the milling facility a reasonable amount on mine for making small bits and pieces. The rigidity aspect is fine, the limiting factor is more the work-holding aspect. You either have the machine vise or the 'table' (which I've never in fact used) neither of which are very large..... Of course you also have to work with the back-lash of the lead-screws. In short, for a very small, light mill it's ok, and MUCH better than nothing. for drilling it can be extremely useful, it can be a bit of a faff to set up, and if you can afford a dedicated mill (of some quality) I should go for it.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
The ring piece is a safety guard for the cutter when it is in the upper position.

Cheers,
Peter
 

Chris Veitch

Western Thunderer
The ring piece is a safety guard for the cutter when it is in the upper position.

Cheers,
Peter
I'd assumed something like that, but it doesn't seem to serve the purpose very well, which is why I'd dismissed it (and never used it). There's no positive centreing around the spindle, it makes access to the chuck or collet holder very awkward and doesn't provide protection from flying swarf or bits of tools. A normal clear plastic guard would seem to be a much better idea and it doesn't really fit with the thoughtful design of the rest of the product.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Personally I have gone for learning by using. The Amateurs Lathe by Sparey is a useful book although really written for Myford size machines.
I started about 35 years ago with a Unimat SL, followed by an ML10 and eventually a Super 7 with a gearbox. When I retired I lost my workshop area and dropped back to the Unimat 3.
Over the years I managed to build a cutter grinder, a milling machine and a dividing head as well as many other tools. I am not an engineer and have never had a days training in metalworking just "learning by using".
Make a few bushes,turn a chimney or two and just "fiddle about" until you get the feel of it.
I made a mess of plenty things as I learnt, I believe it's called experience.
Good luck
Nick

Nick,
I agree entirely with your approach. "Learning by doing".

I've bought a couple of books for dummies on using small lathes just for background and some pointers. I'll just mess around with the machine and see what it does and what I can do with it. For me it is not something I need as I'm not a scratch builder. I've just made some parts for my Andrew's Stanier 2 6 4 that were not included, but in the time time took me I could have assembled many more parts from the kit. It's just something I've always wanted to have a go at, and as I said earlier, if I don't take to it I will resell the machine and recoup most of the outlay.


Chris, James,
In the instruction manual it shows a drawing of the guard in place around a flat circular cutter along with the safety warning. I can see how it might prevent snagging your knuckles with the blade behind the guard, but in the lower position next to useless.

The manual can be sourced on Ebay for a few quid, or much higher prices for those daft enough to pay them. After I bought mine which was sent as a pdf document I believe I found a free download somewhere, but can't find it now. However, here is a link to several Emco lathe brochures which includes the 3 and the SL and all the accessories that were made. The guard is not shown in the Emco 3 brochure. This company also supply spares such as belts, headstock bearings and many more. I bought my new drive belts from here and they are very good customer service wise, as I ordered another part, which on reflection I did not need and they were good enough to cancel and refund with no charge.

EMCO Hobbymaschinen Downloads

Emco Holtz und Hobby are another company offering spares. They are in Germany and very slow to answer emails and dispatch the order.
Cheers,
Peter
 

neaston

Western Thunderer
Andy, Brian,
Many thanks for sharing these links. As a modest collector of drawing instruments, I really appreciate fine instruments, machines and tools. Some fantastic bedtime reading and viewing there.

I find it interesting that tools and instruments etc from the past, always seem to have a high aesthetic value as well being practical, and precise to use. Tools that have been around for 150 years or more that are still made today, whilst being more sophisticated and maybe more accurate and precise in their use, don't have the same, dare I say it, beauty that the same items from the past had. I wonder if the designers and makers had an eye for the appearance of the tool as well as its performance, in the same way that Gresley had with this locomotives ?

On that point, I much prefer the look of the Unimat SL to the Unimat 3, but was not lucky enough to pick one up at the right price.
Cheers,
Peter
The SL was not that good with bars tending to flex under load. The 3 is much better machine with a good rigid bed.
Nick
 
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