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Unimat Hobby Lathe Restoration

Bob, I love your dispassionate appraisal of the UNIMAT.

BTW the 'Alignment Tool' you illustrate is simply a length of what used to be referred to as 'Drill Steel', a rod of carbon steel, ground to a high degree of straightness and roundness.
 
Kurt Konrath said:
And I do have the head stock riser in the package I got with my Unimat.
Only issue with original is no hole for headstock alignment pin!
Click to expand...

If anybody is going to make a tailstock riser, I expect it's going to have to be exactly the same height as the headstock riser and there won't be any way around using an aligning bar to align the headstock and tailstock.
 
Just to complicate alignment issues, how about the extended bed bars... trying to locate photo's.
 
pugwash said:
Just to complicate alignment issues, how about the extended bed bars... trying to locate photo's.
Click to expand...

The extended bed bars are exactly the same as the stock ones, only longer, with the tailstock end bolt holes drilled the same distance apart. The bars extend about six inches beyond the end of the base, as I recall. I don't believe these extended bars are good for much other than freehand woodturning, since the lead screw doesn't extend beyond the machine base and the cross-slide cannot go beyond the standard bed length.

Your question caused me to do a quick check to see if there was a picture of the extended bars on US eBay and, amazingly, I discovered a Unimat attachment I had never seen or heard of before: the "extended rail support."

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See: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3952114402...p2oPMX0irOERVN7mU4yr1qot0=|tkp:Bk9SR6TGzdKLZg

On closer examination, I realized this part is only a cannibalized end of a standard Unimate DB/SL base. It does have a lead screw hole, but one would have to turn a shop-made extended lead screw if they wanted to move a cross-slide on the right-hand side of the stock base's end. I suppose with an extended leadscrew and the tailstock end of the lathe's base cut off (as here pictured above) and an extended leadscrew and rails, one could create a "Supersized DB/SL." :oops: I do expect that the precision of the lathe would suffer in proportion to the length of any bed rod extension and, of course, the alignment of the "extended rail support" would be super-critical.
 
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Bob Cleek said:
The extended bed bars are exactly the same as the stock ones, only longer, with the tailstock end bolt holes drilled the same distance apart. The bars extend about six inches beyond the end of the base, as I recall. I suppose they would be sufficient for freehand wood turning, but they certainly would lack the rigidity you'd want for any serious metal machining. More significantly, while the bars extend beyond the base, the leadscrew does not. The woodturning tool rest bolts to the bar, but the cross-slide's movement is limited by the lead screw and the end of the lathe bed. For this reason, I expect there would be little use for them. I think this is why we don't see them come up very often on the resale market.
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I have a pair, but haven't used them.
These are on ebay.

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Bob Cleek said:
That comes to $132.17 USD! Nice collection of shop-made tooling, but it's lacking a riser for the cross-slide tool holder! :D
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The tool post can easily be packed out and shimmed.
Again, it depends what work you're attempting.
 
Bob, your post #76 ...

'' As a workpiece diameter increases, the faster it turns and the greater leverage it places on the cutting tool''.

The extra swing, using a riser block, may benefit from the additional 'slow speed' pulley bracket.

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Kurt Konrath said:
I do have a few P2K projects hiding in places waiting turn to upgrade them.
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Hey, Kurt, as you're a model railroader as well as shipwright, I wonder if the merger (IF allowed) of NS & UP will be named 'Union Southern!' That would be a bit like kicking the hornets nest Down South Exclamation-Mark Question-Mark :D .After all, NS has got the ex-UP 'Big MACs'. I used to collect the Kato undecorated & CIT (which I stripped & rebuilt & painted) SD90MACs. I built CP, UP, IRR & a GE Demo unit. All sold now, the only loco I have now is a 'Big Boy', in a case.

Stuart [station master, retired]
 
here's some interesting ideas for improvements you can do using the lathe


Unimat SL1000 Lathe Modifications and Improvements

I want to share some photos of the recent improvements I made to my Unimat SL1000 lathe which has a 3" swing. I bought this lathe new in 1970, used it for a few years and then put into storage. I recently started to use the lathe and decided it needed a make-over after being inspired by the book...
www.homemodelenginemachinist.com www.homemodelenginemachinist.com

Modifications and Improvements to a Unimat SL 1000 Lathe - HomemadeTools.net - Page 2

The HomemadeTools.net article by Rick Sparber “Aligning the X axis Leadscrew on a RF-30” reminded me of some of the adjustments I made to
www.homemadetools.net

Customizing a Unimat - HomemadeTools.net

My venerable Unimat has been converted into a decicated precision drill press/mill. I thought a review of what I did might serve to give some other
www.homemadetools.net

 
Stuart Little said:
Hey, Kurt, as you're a model railroader as well as shipwright, I wonder if the merger (IF allowed) of NS & UP will be named 'Union Southern!' That would be a bit like kicking the hornets nest Down South Exclamation-Mark Question-Mark :D .After all, NS has got the ex-UP 'Big MACs'. I used to collect the Kato undecorated & CIT (which I stripped & rebuilt & painted) SD90MACs. I built CP, UP, IRR & a GE Demo unit. All sold now, the only loco I have now is a 'Big Boy', in a case.

Stuart [station master, retired]
Click to expand...
I can really care less about the merger, and don't think the name will change, as the UP is historical and been around a lot longer then NS.

I am really a MoPac Missouri Pacific fan, and did research of the first of the big mergers back in 80's. When UP and MP merged, MoPac was the larger more solvent railroad but management wanted to stay with the UP name, as it had broader name recognition from its historic beginnings.
 
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