Between 1965 and 1977 Emco of Austria produced the venerable SL mini lathe/mill and they have quite the following among collectors and hobbyists who want or need a lathe that excels at making small precise parts.
It is only 16 inches wide and the maximum capacity for parts is three inches in diameter, with a bed that will handle nothing over 5 inches… my small Atlas will handle 6 inch parts with 18 inches on the bed. It has a motor that is the same size as a sewing machine (1 amp) while my main lathe has a 1/2 hp motor.
It can also be set up to be used as a small mill, and there were also other attachments like a table saw that could have been ordered.
The first thing I made was a locknut for a pair of Gingher scissors I found at an antique mall, modifying an 8/32 locknut and turning it down to better match the profile of the original.
It does a beautiful job turning brass and aluminium as it was designed for softer metals, but handles the steel locknut just fine, as I did upgrade the tooling to carbide.
With my vintage Atlas (1977) and my drill / mill set up I made a carriage stop for the wee lathe.
