Poor Mans Lathe

[Ulf]

I have made my own stud of bolt nuts some plasticard and an AMT tire to be able to grind and paint rims.

It went pretty well "turning" the Moon caps, two out of four had sink marks, the primer will tell the truth.

[Joe Nunes]

This is a nifty idea. Thanks for sharing with us. ?

Joe

[Bainford]

Nice improvising, Ulf. Good looking Moon caps. I do something similar with a bench top drill press. It's a bit of a pain working vertically, but my turnings are pretty simple, and it gets the job done. One of these years I'll pull the trigger on a proper lathe.

[Bugatti Fan]

The Unimat 1 modular machine might be a good starting point if looking for an inexpensive but adaptable miniature machining tool that is perfectly adequate for most modeller's needs doing what most of us might want to on here. A quick look on the web should show its versatility.

If however going down the more engineered model route then a more dedicated miniature lathe like a Proxxon, Sherline or Unimat 4 May b the better choice.

[Aaronw]

On 1/15/2023 at 1:38 AM, Bugatti Fan said:

The Unimat 1 modular machine might be a good starting point if looking for an inexpensive but adaptable miniature machining tool that is perfectly adequate for most modeller's needs doing what most of us might want to on here. A quick look on the web should show its versatility.

If however going down the more engineered model route then a more dedicated miniature lathe like a Proxxon, Sherline or Unimat 4 May b the better choice.

 

Far from a proper lathe, but the 6 in 1 machines like the Unimat 1 are not entirely worthless. Compared to a Taig, or Sherline they are awful but with some work they could be useful and at around $100 they are far more affordable than other options. The actual Unimat 1 branded sets are far too expensive for what you get. I bought one on a whim when I found one for $80 or so.

The biggest issue I found is that the motor is a very high speed unit with no speed control. It would never be a great lathe, but if converted to something like a variable speed Dremel motor, it would actually be useful for simple lathe projects like reducing the size of a wheel stub, or turning simple parts from plastic rod. As is they are more useful as a small drill press or sander.  

[Aaronw]

Before I had a lathe, I used my Dremel a few times to turn round ends on rod to make pressure air tanks. The Dremel drill press I have allows the drill to be turned horizontally making it easier to get a file on the part vs trying to work vertically.

[Bugatti Fan]

Aaron has made a good point about motor speed on the Unimat 1 being too fast for some applications. The mains power goes through a transformer to reduce the voltage that is supplied to the motor of the modular machine. There is a way around this by substituting the Unimat transformer with a variable speed transformer such as one that Proxxon make. A variable speed transformer of course can be used with other tools too.

I have a Unimat 4 lathe but that only has two speeds. If I were looking to replace it I would be looking for a miniature lathe with a variable speed control already built in.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Bugatti Fan

[jdcar32]

I use both size mandrels in this cordless Ebay tool to hold sprue. You can drill, sand, file, and turn with it. With a little practice it is really handy. The 2 slower speeds work well with plastic without any melt issues. And for carving its really handy, holds a charge well, a bargain for under $25