Lathe

O

olmontanaboy

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Anyone have any experience with the Unimat DB200 mini lathe? I inherited it and was wondering if it might be usefull for minor gunsmithing or reloading. It seems pretty old bit seems to run well. Don,t know if it would be worth my time learning how to use it.

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It would be good for making small parts like firing pins and other similar things. Don't know how it would be good for reloading unless you make a complex case trimmer.
 
I had access to one in the 70's.Mostly forgot about using it.

Sure,you can learn some,and do a few things.But they are limited.

You can learn about grinding and stoning a lathe tool,and setting it up to cut.

You can make a pin ,or a punch. Reshape a screw head.Drill and tap a hole in the middle of a round. Make a few hand tools.
IIRC,they are far from rigid or precise.IIRC,no power feed,or threading.

But you can figure out ways to get something done.

No,you aren't going to thread and chamber.

I'd use it for what you can do with it.I would not spend a lot of money on it.
 
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Great for making small parts.

Take a machine shop class at a junior college to learn how to use it. Cutting speeds, cutting bits (you need to buy a grinder). If there are no classes, plan two weeks off to take Machine Shop I and II with Keith Gipson at Trinidad State J.C. Gipson is the most gifted instructor there (IMO).

You should make a test bar to ensure that the lathe is spinning true (if no, you might have to adjust the tail stock or worse case, the bearings).

If you don't already have one, you will need a dial indicator and some sort of magnetic base to hold it.
 
They are great for turning small objects like firing pins. I used one for several years before upgrading and made a lot of money making firing pins on it.
 
You can skip the idea of paying for classes locally, learn as much as you can on Youtube and textbooks first, practice at home, and if you still need some instruction, then look into courses.

But yeah, a small lathe like that you can be turning out your own firing pins and muzzle brakes, and suppressors all by yourself :D
 
Thanks everyone, maybe it could be fun playing around on those winter days when it's too nasty to be outside much. I'll see what I can learn. Years ago I knew a guy who was a machinist and was in awe of what he could do, of course he was a professional and had access to great equipment lol, still it could better than watching the tv:eek:
 
Doesn't even look like it has graduated collars? If not, how can you use something like that to make parts?
 
Learn how to use it. They're very decidedly limited as to what you can do with 'em, but as mentioned, small parts. No reloading application at all.
Biggest issue is the tooling. A 4 jaw chuck with key runs $155. A 3 jaw is $135. Adds up in a hurry.
http://www.tomstoolstore.com/
And you need a solid work bench.
"...on Youtube and textbooks first..." That'd be zip. You cannot learn machining from a video.
 
I see Cannon barrels !!!

Learn how to use it. They're very decidedly limited as to what you can do with 'em, but as mentioned, small parts.
Click to expand...
What about "Small Cannon" barrels? A friend of mine inherited one and he has made a number of scaled down cannon barrels and I help him with the carriages. After he gave a few away, he started selling them, on a limited basis.... :D

Be Safe !!!
 
Not quite true there is no reloading application.
If you stuck a case in a die,the lathe would help drill/tap for a puller screw.

If you want to make a custom size expander ball for your old,slightly worn 115 yr old 30-40 Krag barrel,you can attack a .303 Brit expander ball with polishing paper.

Seems like some folks convert 357 magnum brass to 351Win SL by modding the rim to an extractor groove with a form tool.Boring some creative pot chuck to hold the cases might get that done.Likewise trimming 200 .308 cases to .300 savage,or modifying a seater punch for a bullet configuration.Especially if its a standard size like 3/8 24 or 7/16 20.

Sometimes a guy just needs a sleeve or bushing.

If you get fancy enough to make or buy a threading die holder that will hold a thread die square and aligned via the tailsock,yet it allows the die to travel as it cuts,you can get kits of blank gunsmith screws.

If you get a Dayton Speed control for brush type motors,you will have variable speed down to quite slow.There are even foot controllers.

I worked in an R+D lab that sometimes needed custom motor coil bobbins wound.A mandrel and a counter was rigged with a cam.If you needed 325 windings of .008 copper wire,no problem.

Same setup might work winding thread around a fishing rod.

Don't let the things you cannot do with that Unimat talk you out of doing the things you can do.

And,yes,the day may come when you decide to upgrade...to a little Craftsman,or a Logan or a South Bend...OR a 10 in Monarch EE ,a Regal LeBlond,A Colchester or Cincinnati HydraShift...or a Harrison,,or a Hardinge.

How else you gonna know?
 
I'd look for something you can make and work it keeping the money towards an upgrade. Fake Damascus pens seem to be selling quite well at the minute. Tolerances are pretty wide and they are fast. I think many are turning them with threaded attachment points, but I believe one can also turn barrels to go on brass blanks from kits.
You may need to anneal the steel before turning it.

The only lathes designs I have seen like that are watchmakers.
 
Well,

I don't see a tailstock...

That means forget about working anything that's more than a few inches from the chuck. If it's possible it might be "somewhere", I'd do a thorough search if possible to see if it's squirreled away in a cabinet or something...

Faceplate and dog, etc. are useless without it.

I do see some sort of rotary table (?) at the far end, I'm sure someone here that's familiar with them knows what it is. What kind of spindle nose is on that? Threaded? Morse taper?

If you want to learn machining, I'd look into whether it has any value to a collector (?) and I'd sell it and get a 7" Chinese lathe. They're much more practical to learn on, hold reasonable tolerances despite lack of rigidity and you'll always have a use for it even when you get a bigger machine. I know I still use mine once or twice a week for something small when the bigger one is in use.
 
Possibly the tailstock is disassembled in the white box in the foreground.At least the little handwheel looks about right and the unfocused jumble with it could be a tailstock.
 
Yes, somebody gave me a mill when I was a kid. That is because they are for kids. It was made for machining plastic. Mine had a round sewing machine belt on it. You would be better off clamping you old mans 3/4 inch drill in a bench vise and using a file and sandpaper to make pins from cut off bolts. That is what us farm kids did. Do what you want, but I would not waste money on the extras for it.
 
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