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Unimat Hobby Lathe Restoration

ive checked the rails n tool xy for trueness n all seems good. im out of gas too. its a mystery... but it haunts me the tailstock clam only tightens down on one side... thats an uneven pressure and may be pulling the rails out of alignment somehow. i cant measure it with my surface gage because i cant get a sturdy enough mount.

something i thought of though, drill the other blind screw hole through the tailstock then put a screw in to help the clam close more evenly.

thanks for the time pugwash.
 
You're welcome, Paul.

The more I hear, the more I suspect you may have a faulty tailstock.

It's a shame you can't borrow one to see if that's the case.

Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck.
 
i dont think its faulty. i think there is a reason for that second screw. ill work on it some more. i have a feeling that screw is missing.

btw i found o rings on amazon to use for drive belts. i just have to find the correct hardness. they have m in 50 durometer and 70 durometer. im not sure which to get.
 
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Ok, is your tail stock bottom piece same width as the top?

There is a second tool the stead rest, which also clamps to bottom rails, and it has two screws, but is a bit narrower than the bottom of tail stock bottom piece.
 
Kurt Konrath said:
Ok, is your tail stock bottom piece same width as the top?

There is a second tool the stead rest, which also clamps to bottom rails, and it has two screws, but is a bit narrower than the bottom of tail stock bottom piece.
Click to expand...
Well spotted, Kurt.
paul ron said:
i dont think its faulty. i think there is a reason for that second screw. ill work on it some more. i have a feeling that screw is missing.

btw i found o rings on amazon to use for drive belts. i just have to find the correct hardness. they have m in 50 durometer and 70 durometer. im not sure which to get.
Click to expand...
Do you mean diameter, not durometer, a term I haven't come across before?
The 'o' rings will have internal diameter (id) and outside diameter (od).

Let us know how this all works out.

6 s-l1600.jpg
 
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pugwash said:
ALL the double bar bed Unimat's could be configured for milling/drill press set up.
So I'm none the wiser.

Your issue is the lead screw/saddle traverse problem once the tail stock is locked down.
If the tail stock saddle isn't warped or the lead screw and bars aren't bent and the bed isn't warped, then I'm out of ideas.
There's a slim possibility some debris was trapped somewhere during the rebuild.
Click to expand...
Sorry for duplicate.
 
no, my parts match up perfectly plus the screw holes are not symetrical. i spoke to a retired tool n die friend, he'll check it out for me next week. he thinks its to keep the clam even pressure when clamping down. either by design or design fault to compensate.
.
durometer

Guide to Durometer Testing for Rubbers & Plastics

Get accurate data on rubber and plastic stiffness. Learn Shore vs IRHD scales, compliance standards, and choose the correct Qualitest hardness tester.
www.worldoftest.com www.worldoftest.com

the other belts i made from the no hubs do work but being square, they may put undue wear on the pullies. i did that for my grandma's singer n its worked for many years.
 
paul ron said:
wow what a mess the storm left you with.

unimats are tough machines and restore nicely... and even in bad condition, they still sell at a good price. i see yours has the threading accessory which by itself gets over $150.

doucing with oil is the best thing to do till someone can restore it.

yes postage will be about $80 ground advantage. even with your $100, its still a real bargain... even with a burnt out motor.

for a good perspective on restoration, check out someones post here on his restoration of a heavily rusted unimat, where he completely tore it down and repainted it. its definately a must read.


Unimat Hobby Lathe Restoration

Well I have been encouraged to post a "cleaning and restoring" log of the Unimat, that I recently bought from a fellow member of SoS. Yesterday I received the unit from him thru my local shop that I have UPS things delivered to, and got a chance to give it a once over for what needed to be done...
shipsofscale.com

good luck recovering.
Click to expand...
Well, Son and Grandson looked at it and decided it would be too much of a distraction. I'm not interested in fixing it up. so it's up for grabs. I'd like to see someone from SOS get it; is there a way to list it or post it here. I'd want to do that before listing it with eBay.
 
Hi Paul, think I have the same issue. If i super tighten the tailstock, cross slide can't travel at all
 
mine just gets a bit tighter. i think the clam isnt closing even causing the rails to distort... its not the lead screw.

i did notice mine, sd200, has a screw hole on the underside on the outboard side of the clam. my friend is going to check it for me n hopefully we'll work it out. he feels the second screw is to ensure the clam closes evenly on the rails.
 
paul ron said:
mine just gets a bit tighter. i think the clam isnt closing even causing the rails to distort... its not the lead screw.

i did notice mine, sd200, has a screw hole on the underside on the outboard side of the clam. my friend is going to check it for me n hopefully we'll work it out. he feels the second screw is to ensure the clam closes evenly on the rails.
Click to expand...
There is the slim possibility Unimat produced 'a bad batch'.
 
pugwash, would you know if the db200 takes a morse taper 0 shaft in the headstock? i noticed the pully end hole is 1/4" and the threaded chuck end is @7mm.

btw ill see my friend fri to check out my machine.
 
paul ron said:
pugwash, would you know if the db200 takes a morse taper 0 shaft in the headstock? i noticed the pully end hole is 1/4" and the threaded chuck end is @7mm.

btw ill see my friend fri to check out my machine.
Click to expand...
No morse tapers used by Unimat
 
ok my friend went over my machine. rails are parallel, tool xy is square, headstock is now aligned with the tail. but what we noticed...

when tightening the tail, it closed unevenly and ever so slightly pushed a rail out of alignment. when the tailstock clam is closed down, you'll notice the gap on the outboard vs indoard sides are different. thats why the xy is stiffer.

that extra screw i told you about above is the fix. a previous owner must have installed it. that screw is installed to adjust the gap exactly right so when tightening the operator screw the clam closes evenly on both rails.

without the extra screw, its still accurate within specs as long as its not overtightened to the point the xy gets locked up.

we made an alignment bar with both ends at 7.1 mm, same as the live center shaft. it slips in perfectly into the head and tail. if its out of alignment, you have to losen the head and slightly turn it till the rod slips in. once in, tighten down the head and all is good.

btw my 3jaw chuck is not accurate. my jacobs drill chuck runs on the money. maybe a better chuck is in my future.

also O rings 70durometer are perfect for drive belts. you can get m cheap on amazon. ill put up a link later.
 
paul ron said:
ok my friend went over my machine. rails are parallel, tool xy is square, headstock is now aligned with the tail. but what we noticed...

when tightening the tail, it closed unevenly and ever so slightly pushed a rail out of alignment. when the tailstock clam is closed down, you'll notice the gap on the outboard vs indoard sides are different. thats why the xy is stiffer.

that extra screw i told you about above is the fix. a previous owner must have installed it. that screw is installed to adjust the gap exactly right so when tightening the operator screw the clam closes evenly on both rails.

without the extra screw, its still accurate within specs as long as its not overtightened to the point the xy gets locked up.

we made an alignment bar with both ends at 7.1 mm, same as the live center shaft. it slips in perfectly into the head and tail. if its out of alignment, you have to losen the head and slightly turn it till the rod slips in. once in, tighten down the head and all is good.

btw my 3jaw chuck is not accurate. my jacobs drill chuck runs on the money. maybe a better chuck is in my future.

also O rings 70durometer are perfect for drive belts. you can get m cheap on amazon. ill put up a link later.
Click to expand...
Yes, because the headstock rotates, an alignment aid is a must have.

I think I had a guess earlier that that 2nd screw was an owner mod; what I don't understand is why it should have been necessary at all?

Glad your issues are being resolved.
 
 
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