Look what’s following me home!

[BillM]

That's been my dream to get a lathe. I was ready to buy but then we decided to move so I didn't want to have to move it.

Even if you have to get a mini-lathe, get a lathes. The 7x10's like mine weigh in at about 130 lbs. 7x12 is a bit heavier, and should handle 7"x14" material if you're counting center to center. Or look for an Atlas or Craftsman lathes. My Atlas TH42 counts as a 10x24 or thereabouts, and weighs about 267lbs.Other Atlas/Craftsman lathes can be up to 10 or 12x36, aren't a great deal heavier. They also can use any of the Morse Taper (MT) 3 and MT2 accessories the HF and similar 7x lathes can use. You can find import 7x14 & 7x16 mini-lathes, too. Under about 175lbs. In heavier, and harder to move lathes, there are South Bend lathes from 9"-24". I saw a SB 13"x96" (yeah, 8' bed) for $1000 years ago, about when I had trouble scraping up the $269 my first lathes cost me. That same lathes is currently $739.99 if you're a HF Inside-Track member, or $779.99 normal price. Their 7x12 is $799.99. I'd say the extra 2" of bed length is worth $20.

It will give you time to learn or relearn how to use a lathes while you're waiting for a better lathe to show up. Unless you already know what you're doing with a lathe, which, it turned out, I did not, 34 years after my first class.

 

[BillM]

That's been my dream to get a lathe. I was ready to buy but then we decided to move so I didn't want to have to move it.

This guy, Chris aka ClickSpring, does some truely amazing work. This link is his advise setting up a small workshop for beginners:

 

[panayoti]

I have a unimat but it is limited. I can do alum and brass.

 

[BillM]

I have a unimat but it is limited. I can do alum and brass.

I have two Unimats, and they can do steel. You just have to take very small cuts, with very sharp tools. Be patient! Which is hard for me, too. Are you a member of the Unimat group at groups.io? If not, you should join, and see what can be done with a Unimat! Unimat groups.io Group I'm a moderator there, not an owner. I am an owner at one of the smaller mini-lathe groups. Mini-Lathes groups.io Group it's not real active, but there is info there that can be applied to the Unimats, as well. A gentleman named Mert Baker, now passed, once made a barrell for a 9mm Lugar pistol on a Unimat, and there are folks doing rifle work on Mini-lathes.

 

[panayoti]

Interesting. My dad got it after he retired in Florida. I got it after he passed. It came in a wood box. I have some very thin what appear to be cutting tools. They have a profile cut in them I guess you then grind the relief angles. Haven't figured out how to put them in the tool holder.

 

[BillM]

Interesting. My dad got it after he retired in Florida. I got it after he passed. It came in a wood box. I have some very thin what appear to be cutting tools. They have a profile cut in them I guess you then grind the relief angles. Haven't figured out how to put them in the tool holder.

Join the Unimat group I mentioned, and you'll find some very interesting things that can be done on and with a Unimat. Also, if you don't have the documentation for your Unimat, you can download a PDF of it. I sign as Bill in OKC there, though I actually live in Del City.

 

[Ians 17/22]

I believe a VFD is the easiest and cheapest way to go. Teco is a great brand, Seimens lack a user friendly interface. Stay clear of Eaton.

seems like this thd got off the beaten path with the unimat users....
these vfd's are dedicated to be used on 1 machine , cost approx. 750 plus they are very tempermental.....as i previously said make your own it will be capable of running several machines....do a google on 3 phase convertors , i saw 1 exactly as i described......give more info on your lathe , as to name , speeds , feeds , country of mfg., is threading dual (metric & english , belt drive??? show some detailed pics too......... nuff said..........STEVE

 

[Okieprepper]

seems like this thd got off the beaten path with the unimat users....
these vfd's are dedicated to be used on 1 machine , cost approx. 750 plus they are very tempermental.....as i previously said make your own it will be capable of running several machines....do a google on 3 phase convertors , i saw 1 exactly as i described......give more info on your lathe , as to name , speeds , feeds , country of mfg., is threading dual (metric & english , belt drive??? show some detailed pics too......... nuff said..........STEVE

$750 $eems a bit high.

Teco Variable Frequency Drive, 3HP, 230 Volts 1 Phase Input, 230 Volts 3 Phase Output, L510-203-H1-N, VFD Inverter for AC Motor Control https://a.co/d/4yt1x0T
$365.00

 

[BillM]

seems like this thd got off the beaten path with the unimat users....
these vfd's are dedicated to be used on 1 machine , cost approx. 750 plus they are very tempermental.....as i previously said make your own it will be capable of running several machines....do a google on 3 phase convertors , i saw 1 exactly as i described......give more info on your lathe , as to name , speeds , feeds , country of mfg., is threading dual (metric & english , belt drive??? show some detailed pics too......... nuff said..........STEVE

I got my VFD used off ebay for about $50. Similar VFD's with the same rating are available for about $114 new. Mine is a TECO L510, .5hp, 115vac 1p input, 230vac 3p output. A similar model rated for 230vac 1p input, 230vac 3p output, 2hp, is $238. Some of those are imports, but WEG is a good brand of import.

They can be used on one machine. Doesn't have to be that way, though. Build a place to hang it, and a way to plug and unplug it, and you could move it from machine to machine.

NOT saying a rotary converter isn't worth doing, but unless you have a source of really cheap large 3phase motors, it's going to be expensive to build. I had one machine that I wanted to put a 3ph gear motor on, thrown away at my work, and they told me as long as it left the building they didn't care what happened to it. If I can ever get the motor mounted, it should drive my old Lewis Shaper just fine. A plate, and connectors, as I mentioned, and I could move it from the shaper to the old woodworking Craftsman Bandsaw, and make it run that, too, for metal cutting. Final output on the shaft is 600RPM at 1/2hp. That being the only 3ph motor I have that I need to run, right now, it wouldn't make sense for me to build a large Rotary Converter for one machine. I did get an old 3phase motor with my Heavy 10L, but it's either very old, or a couple of HP, or both, and the lathe shipped from the factory with a 3/4HP 1phase motor. It doesn't need that heavy a motor. 3phase motors have some benefits besides the power, but unless you're doing space-qualified parts you probably don't need those benefits.

Though if you have a bunch of 3phase machines, and no 3phase power, that's another thing entirely.

 

[SlugSlinger]

I got it wired up to the rotary phase converter and running. For about the same price as a decent VFD with all the ancillary additional parts I got this new and this is plug and play.