I learnt to turn on one of these lathes when I was 11 years old. I machined a lot of the parts for a Stuart 10V on this lathe and I still have the lathe 43 years later. Earlier this year I taught my daughter to turn using this lathe, it's very forgiving.
They are great little machines and I think learning on a small machine teaches good practice! I started the other way around with bigger machines coming first. My first lathe was a Raglan which I upgraded to a Myford and then a Boxford. I think learning on these larger machines can sometimes mask bad practice such as poor cutter sharpening and understanding rigidity properly. I became interested in miniature lathes when a need for one arose. I quickly became hooked on collecting them! I've since had about a dozen Unimat's a Sherline an Adept and a Cowells. The Cowells being my favourite. 😎
@@machinist_matt I've always wanted a Cowells mill, but never been sure how good they are. I have a tiny Boley lathe from 1934, never used it though, must get a motor
thanks for this, i was very confused as to how in the world am i supposed to run the belt from the powertrain to this power feed system pulley - and now i know that you just simply feed power to it by twisting the feed belt 90 degrees. Unconventional, but hey, it works.
