Made originally in what used to be "East Germany", by VEB Prazisionsdrehmaschinen (now, Unitech) and marketed in the UK as the HOBBYMAT MD 65, in the USA as part of the Prazimat range (and in parts of Europe as the Saupe & Sohn), this neat little lathe of 65 mm (2.6") centre height by 300 mm (12") between centres, found great favour amongst the makers of smaller models, jewellers and watch repairers - and has long proved a very-popular second-hand buy. There were four spindle speeds from 250 to 2000 rpm and, although provided with changewheels and a leadscrew, the high bottom speed rather mitigated against attempting to use the lathe for screwcutting - unless you employed the inexpensive third-party supplied "low-speed" pulley assembly.
Held in place by a  rather inconvenient 3-stud bolt-on arrangement, chucks are found with three different recess diameters: 55 mm and 56 mm each with M6 bolts, and 63 mm with M5 bolts. The most common is the 56 mm, originally fitted with a Polish-made 3-jaw chuck identifiable by its single key hole. The 63 mm recess units had a chuck of TOS manufacture whilst the rarest version, the 55mm, was fitted only to very late-model examples. A very useful and well-made 4-speed  powered vertical milling head was also manufactured (it was mounted on back of the lathe bed) and turned the lathe into a compact "machining centre".
In its original "Cold War" form the lathe was a comparative bargain and very well equipped. Supplied as standard were: a compound-slide rest, 3-jaw chuck and guard, standard and rotating centres, machine vice, angle plate, tailstock chuck, changewheels, spanners and even a set of screwdrivers - but no faceplate. With German re-unification, and the arrival of the West German Mark, the company could no longer compete at the lower end of the market and production stopped for several years. It has recently resumed and both the lathe, now somewhat modified and known as the BFW300, together with its optional milling head - and a complete milling machine - are once again available. The Chinese made an exact copy of the MD65, (even to painting it the same shade of yellow) that can easily be distinguished from the real thing by its use of a very heavy cast-iron (rather than aluminium) base plate, poor detail finishing and a lack of standard accessories.
Fitted to a light baseboard with handles a Hobbymat can just about be lifted on and off a bench by one man - or very easily by two - making it ideal for situations where space is tight or the machine will be only be brought out for occasional use.
There are few problems with the machines, but the method of locking the carriage and tailstock to the bed, and the setting of the all-important "limit screws", must be understood if over tightening and cracked castings are to be avoided - it is best to consult the handbook on this point. Machines manufactured until about 1990 had two rotary electrical switches with a rather "sticky" action; subsequent models had one rotary and two push-button controls.
Milling Heads
The Vertical Milling Heads made after approximately 1992, and used both on the stand-alone miller and fastened to the back of the lathe bed, were fitted with 'nylon' gears in place of the earlier fibre type. These plastic gears can suffer from loose bushes that allow the gears to slip down and partially engage the face dogs of those beneath, so locking the drive. Fiddling with the control levers and twisting the spindle backwards and forwards usually enables the machine to start up again - and run in an apparently normal manner. Even if stopped and started several times the symptoms may not reappear so, if you are contemplating a used example, be sure to do a stop-start test at least a dozen times (working through the every speed several times) before accepting that all is well. If the fault is present, the bushes can be 'Loctited' back in place - but dismantling and reassembling the head is a very awkward and time-consuming job.
Two interesting points concern the mounting of the vertical head within the bracket that fastens to the back of the bed: the bracket bolts into place, and can be adjusted by two screws each of which bears against a dowel pressed into the bed, so as to tilt the column left or right, but not towards or away from the operator. Hence, should the column prove to be out of line in a fore and aft direction, the only solution is to use shims at the top or bottom of the bracket.
The casting is closed down onto the column by two cap-head screws, with a third screw acting to open the column (rather in the manner of the tailstock fitting to the bed). If these screws are mishandled the block will be cracked - thus any adjustment should be approached with caution..