Newbie BIGTIME

[sportandmiah]

Hi there,

I have absolutley no experience in machining or model engine building, but I am fascinated by both. I have read countless books, articles, websites, magazines, etc. on machining, hoping to teach myself. I recently bought a HF Micro Mill, and plan some hands on learning. A Unimat lathe is next on the purchase list.

This is the first model engine site I've joined. Rick's mission statement says it all, and this site is the perfect choice. The end result is me being able to make a model engine for my old man, he would get a kick out of it.

Looking foward to learning!!

 

[Brass_Machine]

Welcome to the club. Learn and ask away!

Eric

 

[Bernd]

A Unimat lathe is next on the purchase list.

Looking foward to learning!!

First, let me welcome you to a fun place.

Now, Unimat's are no longer made that I know of. I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong.

It looks like your in the US. So if I were you I'd look at the Sherline lathe. It's about the same size as a Unimat and has many tooling options that go with it.

Good luck in your hunt for tooling.

Bernd

 

[rake60]

Welcome to HMEM sportandmiah

Rick

 

[Maryak]

sportandmiah,

Welcome to our forum.

Remember - there is no such thing as a dumb question.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Kermit]

I have absolutley no experience in machining or model engine building

That's me as well. I did however build lots of plastic model kits and few wooden ships and then lastly was Estes model rockets. I put such an effort into those I hated to see them go up to possibly break during or after flight.

So welcome, welcome. Is there anything you have built other than an engine?

Endlessly curious and often endangered,
Kermit

 

[sportandmiah]

Thanks guys.

Yes Bernd, I'm in the US. I like the Sherlines but they are a little pricey. I'm also considering a HF model, maybe the micro or mini. Anyone here have the Micro?

Kermit, I have yet to build anything machined, but soon hope to. I built models growing up, but my other hobby now is 1/32 slot cars. The German made cars such as Plafit are metal, aluminum, etc. I hope to machine my own chassis and parts similar to the Plafit design.

My grandfather was a machinist for 20+ years, and daily I regret not learning from him before his passing. I guess that's part of the reason I want to learn this hobby.

 

[jack404]

G'day and welcome!

i have a mini lathe and its great! ( 400w version or 1/3 HP)

i have a el cheapo 20" and the mini is better for most of what i do

if i can advise anything ( i'm no machinist/engineer.. i'm a ex grunt, so savvy the Bigtime part ;D )

get some of the classic books on small lathe and workshop practises ( i like l.h.sparey)
and get LOTS of practise stock ( beware copper.. )
brass and Alu to start go to 10XX grade steels

i've been here quite a few months and i'm still going through all the older posts
theres a ton of wisdom ( and shortcuts that work!) there alone

but do dive in eh

ask questions here, theres lots of very good and clever folks that are happy to help.

and good luck and enjoy

cheers

jack

 

[shred]

Thanks guys.

Yes Bernd, I'm in the US. I like the Sherlines but they are a little pricey. I'm also considering a HF model, maybe the micro or mini. Anyone here have the Micro?

I started in about the spot you are now not that long ago with a Taig lathe-- similar in size to the Sherline, less expensive to get going, but also a little more 'figure it out' going on. The Chinese 7x10/12/14's also seem to be very popular as starter lathes and while there's limited factory support, there's an enthusiastic online user base.

 

[wackyvorlon]

I always encourage people who are looking for machines to check with used machinery dealers. If you have room, you can go to a bigger manual machine and get a really good price on it.

 

[dwentz]

Welcome,

As others have stated the 7x10, Taig, and Sherline are all good lathes. Even though I have a Larger lathe, I still have my Taig, and 7x10. I find I use the Taig when I am working on smaller stuff, and the 7x10 still gets used from time to time. The big advantage of the 7x10 is that it will cut threads out of the box. The Taig does not have an option to cut threads, and the Sherline is an expensive add on.

Good luck on your lather purchase, and welcome to the group.

Dale

 

[itowbig]

howdy hey & WELCOME to the best place ever for a newbie. i too am sorta new to machining & these folks here are the best.

 

[Mark-One]

G'day

I'm in the same spot as you, having just gotten a couple old Unimats passed on to me.

Nice little machines, for all that I know with only about a dozen hours on one, and lots of parts on ebay.

 

[Kludge]

Another voice favoring the Taig and the Unimat.

The former is an extremely good machine and can be used in a number of fancy ways with some cleverness and a sot of Jameson's in the coffee. There are ways to get around everything, including the lack of a direct means of threading, with the only drawback I've really found is that they don't have a longer bed.

The Unimat DB-200/SL-1000 has a decent set of accessories like the Taig, with the advantage of having the vertical mill/drill column. It's a little light on power and the rails tend to flex if provoked o'er much but "sharp tools, light cuts" handles that pretty well.

The 7" lathes seem to be popular and they seem to be in a good number of the shops represented here. Bigger than that ... well, the sky's the limit.

If you like going even smaller, the Seig C0, watchmaker's lathes and the CLisby can all handle that end of the world nicely. (I have all except the C0 and it's on the list.)

In any event, welcome aboard and don't mind that slob from Hawaii. He just refuses to go away.

BEst regards,

Kludge