Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

I bought a lathe off of eBay.  It's a Unimat DB200.  Pretty complete.  It arrived today and I got everything unboxed.  Cleaned off some of the excess filth and made sure everything was working.  So for so good.

I have been reading "Metal Lathe Operations. Featuring Sherline & Unimat", by Uwe Burghaus.  Uwe is the owner of www.LatheCity.com and makes aftermarket parts and accessories for Sherline and Unimat lathes.  I also downloaded the user manual (for free) and I have been watching tons of  YouTube videos on the Unimat.  I know there are massive limitations on this lathe, but I hope it will be a good first lathe for me to learn on.

Unfortunately, I am leaving for Alaska on Sunday to go fishing and won't be able to do anything further until I get back on July 3rd.

Here is a picture from the eBay listing:

Very excited for you Charlie! Hope you have lots of fun learning to use it and can't wait to see what you make.

Thanks Nick.  I am going to go slow.  Lots to learn and keep me busy.  First thing is to get a sturdy metal table to mount it on.

Nice haul Charlie and it looks like it came with a lot of useful bits and pieces.

Soon you'll wonder how you ever lived without a lathe.......they are that handy.

Nice haul Charlie and it looks like it came with a lot of useful bits and pieces.

Soon you'll wonder how you ever lived without a lathe.......they are that handy.

Jim speaks the truth, you got loads of accessories that would cost more than the lathe, my lathe was one of the best things I have ever purchased.

A good investment Charlie, I'm no expert on these but the Unimat range is reckoned to be decent quality and you look to have plenty of bits to get you going.  A good read is 'The Amateurs Lathe' by LH Sparey which although first printed in 1948 is still available and covers pretty much all the basic processes.  There are of course references to such historic workshop essentials as whale oil and asbestos....
Decent eye protection is a must, if you haven't used a lathe before then it's a steep learning curve as I have found out.  My tiny machine is as basic as they came (late 1940's!) but has proved indispensable in the last few years since I got it.  Certainly adds a new dimension to the hobby.  Well done

Dave

Nice catch, Charlie!

Now, go after those fish!

A good investment Charlie, I'm no expert on these but the Unimat range is reckoned to be decent quality and you look to have plenty of bits to get you going.  A good read is 'The Amateurs Lathe' by LH Sparey which although first printed in 1948 is still available and covers pretty much all the basic processes.  There are of course references to such historic workshop essentials as whale oil and asbestos....
Decent eye protection is a must, if you haven't used a lathe before then it's a steep learning curve as I have found out.  My tiny machine is as basic as they came (late 1940's!) but has proved indispensable in the last few years since I got it.  Certainly adds a new dimension to the hobby.  Well done

Dave

Thanks Dave. A copy of LH Sparey’s book has been ordered. Hopefully, I will get it to read on my trip.

A lathe ? ....  Now you're in for it!!!  ;c)

Congrats Charlie