Many thanks 1944.
I bought a Unimat 3 years ago. I thought it in my interests to part it out, as I was dispensing with loads of excess.baggage. Sold everything but the bed casting. And it's been staring at me ... The first lathe I ever planned on buying, quite naturally, as it was advertised everywhere, was a Sherline. But then in the midst of the planning stage they raised the price 15$. The nerve! This was around 1995. So, as is always the case, I continued researching, I wouldn't have any of the shenanigans. And it's kind of a genetic thing as my brother is exactly the same way
. I owned 22 lathes at one point! Now it's about 6 or 7. Really all.partials except for one. And if all goes well I'll have an 8", no typo, Southbend tomorrow (most already know this, but it's similar to the Boxford sold in the UK and Australia).
I still have a hankering for a complete U3. And even a Sherline. So ... I'll buy raw stock, 6061 for now, maybe eventually cast iron, and build a lathe around that stupid bed.
I can't believe I parted out pieces of my Prazi SD-300, but was lucky enough to get a few.things back very reasonably. Still have a ways to.go. I am very interested in experimental machines, in fact one day not too far away I'll build a small lathe totally from raw stock. Tricks would have to be.employed to get everything aligned.properly, as I want to be able to do it with only the.help of a drill press, or a small vertical mill acting as one. Somewhere in my stash I have photos of a small commercial vertical mill that uses.round stock and aluminum plate plus a Sherline headstock. Nothing quite lights my fire as "homemade" machinery.
I had been planning to cast the parts for the reborn Unimat, but doing a bit of reading on metallurgy, it may not pan out as I think, as commercial stock is extruded, and hardened and stretched, etc. to produce a stable material that won't change much after it's machined.
And if it turns out I can't actually.make a headstock somehow, I can just buy a Sherline headstock and build an adapter.for.the.bed.