On 22 Dec 2004 07:01:58 -0800, "Bugs" wrote:

I see the Unimat Classic Lathe for sale. But it looks like a childs
toy!

You're right! Back in the 1950's when Unimat first came on the market I
wanted one so bad I could taste it. . . . but it was too expensive. I
settled for buying an old 10" Atlas lathe for a fifth of the cost and
was never sorry. Forty years later I heard from others that had bought
the Unimat that it isn't ver satisfactory for serious metal working.
Bugs

For what the Unimat was designed for, it's a fine little machine.
There are quite a few in model use, and they perform as well as
anything would. They weren't intended to compete with bigger
machines, just as the bigger ones won't be as convenient for the tiny
stuff that the Unimat handles easily. It's more a matter of intended
use than it is of universal adaptability.