My New Toy!!

[Crimson Sky]

My father-in-law Peter who is one of the coolest guys I know, decided to get rid of some stuff at his home. He is a tinkerer and gun enthusiast, and has accumulated some very sweet tools over the years. I have been dreaming of the Unimat for 25 years, and BAM!--he just happens to have one in mint condition, and he gives it to me. :banana: How cool is that?

I had first heard of these precision made German machines when I was into making stop-motion animations in highschool. I would drool over the pics of the pros using these this gem to create amazing machined parts for armatures and miniature models. They have been around since the 50's, and according to the original receipt (Peter saves everything) he purchased this one in 1970. He had also drooled over it as a younger man, never able to afford it until years later. Life is strange and beautiful.

Here's what the Unimat SL1000 does:



It's a precision metal lathe
It's a jewelers quality drill press
It's a vertical milling machine
It's a hand drill
It's a scroll saw
It's a table saw
It's a gear cutter
It's a flexible shaft rotary tool
It's a grinder, buffer & polisher


You can still get parts and accessories for it, although its quite expensive for some of them. It's still the #1 tool for model makers and miniature machinists. I cant wait to make stuff with it!!

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/misc/unimat/PICT0038.jpg

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/misc/unimat/PICT0048.jpg

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/misc/unimat/PICT0052.jpg

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/misc/unimat/PICT0051.jpg

[simon275]

Wow what a great tool. Having a lathe is so sweet. You know what this means Crimson. We expected are more intricate mods from now on. :)

[Crimson Sky]

Oh, great. But I just wanna look at it for a while...

[Zephik]

Grab a lawn chair, get a beer or two and just sit there. You'll probably enjoy that more than Smallville. ;)

On another note, you know what? That color kicks ass!

[d_stilgar]

Is there anywhere that has pics of stuff that it can make?

[xmastree]

That really is lovely. :)




It's a flexible shaft rotary tool

Hmm... you mean it's the mother of all Dremels?

[Bucko]

That is sweet! I always love quality tools.
*tries not to be jealous*

[Crimson Sky]

That really is lovely. :)


Hmm... you mean it's the mother of all Dremels?

I have seen the rotary attachment for sale on ebay. unfortunatly they are probably not very reliable only because of their age--new technology has made the flexible shaft attachments much stronger in recent years. The older ones, if you get a kink in them while working you can break it easily. It must have been cool back in the day though. :glasses:

[xmastree]

Can't you get a modern shaft and adapt it to fit that? Think of the torque...

[Crimson Sky]

Yeah I actually have a flexshaft from a delta drill press that would work, I would just attach it with the jacobs chuck to the Unimat. I suppose if all my other flexshaft tools failed I could use it in a pinch.

[SgtM]

That thing is sweet! I'm happy for ya.

[Drew]

So I take it the next mod'll be all turned ali and machined billet and shiiny and metally and

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f253/drew555/homer-drool.gif

Mmmmmm.... machined metal.....

[FPMachine]

Wow that looks like an amazing tool.

[Canadian Eh?]

i think you can get newr ones on ThinkGeek but vintage is always cooler, so is free...

[jdbnsn]

It's a precision metal lathe
It's a jewelers quality drill press
It's a vertical milling machine
It's a hand drill
It's a scroll saw
It's a table saw
It's a gear cutter
It's a flexible shaft rotary tool
It's a grinder, buffer & polisher

Sounds like a Ginsu...and you sound like Ron Popeil! Lol!

[Commando]

How the hell does something that old stay in such good shape? That's awesome.

[Tale Gunner]

It's a precision metal lathe
It's a jewelers quality drill press
It's a vertical milling machine
It's a hand drill
It's a scroll saw
It's a table saw
It's a gear cutter
It's a flexible shaft rotary tool
It's a grinder, buffer & polisher

Man we need to share! LOL I l would love to take that thing for a spin. :D

[Slug Toy]

one question. how can i get my hands on one of those? the way you talk it sounds like they arent made anymore.

that would be so handy for a few projects i have in mind. they involve quite a few small machined parts that are best done by me. guys at a machine shop would just laugh at me.

[Wannabeamodder]

I found this one on ebay not the same one that Crimson has but close.

Here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200091145683 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200091145683)

Charles

[Crimson Sky]

Most people who have these part them out. Expect to pay about $1000 or more for all the parts. Here is a link. (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=unimat)

[progbuddy]

Oh, great. But I just wanna look at it for a while...

lol. I'm thinking something else. Just don't :hurt: yourself.

<custom heatsinks/>
<cool ass cases/>
<annoying someone/>

[DaveW]

That's pretty sweet man. I wish i had space for tools like that. I'm sure i could get them if i had a place to keep them...my little shed isn't that big!

-Dave

[Crimson Sky]

it's the ultimate in space-saving! thats the whole idea with the Unimat. It's only 16" long by 6" wide ;) Granted, its for small-scale work, but I bet I could mill out a waterblock on it from a slab of copper

[Redundant]

Now that you have an awesome versatile tool...

let's time you on how fast you can reconfigure it! ;)

EDIT: The 2 last pictures make it look like it's some kind of laser. lol

[DaveW]

It's only 16" long by 6" wide

Crikey. It looks bigger in the pictures. Solid Copper custom waterblocks, milled from a single piece? You're crazy man! :p

-Dave

[Ticien]

sad part is i dont even think i could fit a 16"x6" tool where i live :( but that thing looks very handy