Don,
Great question regarding the Unimat milling head moving out of tram over time. I was not aware of this happening so I measured this morning the front-to-back tram. I had originally added to the milling support base a 0.0015 thick shim to bring the vertical column into tram...
Since my last posting of photos to the Unimat SL 1000 lathe improvements, I have several more tool additions and posted the thread at http://www.homemadetools.net/lathe-modifications . Below are more photos of the Unimat.
Photo 1 shows the lathe as of April 2016
Photo 2 shows an extension arm I...
Hi Ken,
I recognize you from your work on HomemadeTools.net. I too post tools and tool modifications/improvements at that website as "Paul Jones" with the link http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Paul+Jones
Good luck with your Unimat build.
Paul
Dave,
Thanks for the compliment and tip for the book by Rex Tingey. I too have a copy and enjoyed reading about his tools and modification. In addition, I own a 7"x14" mini lathe and a 12"x37" geared-head lathe and now limit the small 3" swing Unimat to special jobs too small for the other...
This new stationary steam engine project will be for a small compound marine steam engine model that can run on either steam or compressed air (but compressed air requires different lubrication techniques). I just finished collecting all the raw materials so I am ready to start building. The...
Thanks. The lathe improvements have been a fun project. The QCTP has been very useful for switching between HSS and carbide insert cutting tools. Recently, I have been making more tool holders for the QCTP using a 60 degree dovetail cutter I purchased from eBay. Here is the link to the finished...
I like the clean design for the dial indicator holder and easy to adjust for maximum range of the DI. I did something similar for my old Unimat SL 1000 lathe with a 3" swing. I posted the overall lathe view photos at
http://www.homemadetools.net/lathe-modifications
and the dial indicator...
Wow, the cabinet and lathe look great and very handy for keeping the tooling together. I like the location of the power controls so you don't have to reach over the lathe when it is running. Nice set up to indeed!
The chromed cast iron hand wheels look really nice. I did something similar but could not find any hand wheels in a smaller size like what you found on Amazon. I will check this out and thanks for the source. I purchased from Enco.com and all they had was the larger handles. I also purchased the...
Gus,
I too had planned to make my own index plates but a found a great source for one with 40, 50 and 60 holes that was only 4.1" in diameter. I bought mine for $75.00 from Nick Carter (a well published Taig lathe and milling machine enthusiast). The plate was machined on a CNC machine and is...
Taig indexing plate supplied by Nick Carter was adapted to my Unimat SL 1000 lathe and milling/drilling head modification. The plates can index 40, 50, and 60 divisions. Index plates are attached with adapters made from 12L14 steel. The first version of the adapter uses a set screw to secure it...
Thank you for the compliments and for the miniature steam engine recommendations. I have also started building some of the lathe tools shown at http://watchmaking.weebly.com/toolmaking.html, the website "Adventures in Watchmaking". It seems as if we can never have enough specialized tooling when...
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...