Mountain Goat Waggon & Carriage Works.

[Mountain Goat]

Still have not tested it yet but I was up between 2am to 4 am (Lost track of the time) assembling it. I took my time... When assembled the first thing that struck me is how heavy it is. It feels in a different league to the Unimat 1. Certainly a vast improvement. Can't wait to test it...

[Steve M]

I still have no idea what it is or what it does.

[mijj]

MG compares it to the Unimat1 so I assume it is a modelers lathe (but a bit larger perhaps).
Jim.

[Mountain Goat]

Here it is set up as a lathe. It can be set up as a table jigsaw, a bench sander, a bench drill, a miller, a hand sander, a hand drill and a lathe. It is an interesting universal tool. I don't think I would use it as a drill or a sander as I have a minicraft sander and a minicraft drill which I sometimes also use as a pillar drill. A lathe or a miller and the jigsaw would likely be the most useful aspects to me.

It is only small. About 30cm long? But it is quite heavy for its size.

[Steve M]

Nice looking piece of kit MG.
Wish I, a) had one and b) knew how to use it.

[Walkingthedog]

What make is it MG, or have you said elsewhere?

[Mountain Goat]

Make is Unimat. It is their 6 in 1 Metalline kit. Should keep me busy!

It is basically a much improved version of the Unimat 1 so parts of Unimat 1 will fit this and vice versa. Everything on this version is much better quality and more precise.

I was surprised to see in the Unimat catalogue that came with it that there was quite a range from an impressive 4 in 1 set designed for young children to use (Called the Playmat), to various CNC type machines some of which are more at home in light industrial use.

[Walkingthedog]

Thank you. I really need one. Well don’t need one at all but............

[Mountain Goat]

Was a difficult decision I had as money is tight. I had the choice of this or save a bit more and go for a larger traditional lathe but it would be dedicated as a lathe. It also ran on 240v rather then the 12v the Unimat uses. For me it was a gamble as to which is more suitable. This option was preferred also because it is fully compatible with the Unimat 1 which I already had.
I can think of one dedicated lathe that is cheaper but it is currently out of stock.
Here are pictures of my Unimat 1 and the metalline showing the similarities. I also had the option to upgrade the Unimat 1 to have the Metalline parts but to be honest, though it would have been slightly cheaper, not knowing if the parts will be in stock when you order them and not really knowing which parts are better and which are identical without actually having a metalline can be difficult. (Turns out that most parts are better (Some exceptionally so like the slides and the tool post) except for things like the main beam, the motor (Which is upgradable though I noticed it has a flange to guide the belt when the other one does not) and a few things like that).
I'm not knocking the Unimat 1 too much as if one is working with plastics or wood then it is ideal. I would say aluminium is its limit. I did turn aluminium on it and it was OK, but slow going. I did find the Unimat 1 slides to have unwanted slackness. (The secondhand olded 6 volt Unimat 1 I purchased has tighter slides so it could be that over the years the castings are not as accurate? This slackness is not present with the Unimat Metalline slides and if it were present, there are adjusters to tighten them up. A nice touch). The other big advantage with the Metalline so far as I have not tried it yet, is the tool post. This has a proper tool post which can take the 4 mm Unimat tools, 6mm and even more standard 8mm lathe tools. It feels so much firmer then the clamps used on the Unimat 1, but I don't know if the tool post is ideal for clamping to the hard plastic slides of the Unimat 1. Bearings are heavier made on the Metalline from the look of it. They are about twice the weight!
Here is a photo of the Unimat 1 and another of the Metalline. Metalline is the one to go for if you can. (I had removed the tailstock on tries Unimat 1 the last time I used it hence it looks different, and I had assembled it without the riser blocks which can be seen in place on the Metalline).

[Mountain Goat]

I have just tried it and I can say that it is a big improvement in operation over the Unimat 1. When I tried it on the ultimate test, which is the very thing the Unimat 1 had found it struggled with... The coins... I mean... Discs. It doesn't vibrate and chatter like the Unimat 1 did. I believe this is due to the fact that having better slides and a stronger way of clamping the tool means that it is less likely to have those issues. I reversed the toolholder as normally the tool is held on the right (When I saw photos and diagrams) but as I was so near the chuck (To keep the work rigid), there was a concern that the tool holder may come into contact with the chuck.
I only turned a little way in from where I left off and I took it slowly and gently. It seems to work ok. I wouldn't work fast with these discs as they are much tougher then expected. It turns to a dull grey after being worked so there may be steel mixed with the material. The discs can be picked up witn a magnet so it maybe steel?