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Re: Unimat 3 - solving some issues
What do you have in the way of shop equipment other than your Unimat? What do you have in the way of materials to work with?? If you have a hacksaw, some files and a caliper you can make stuff you need out of bits and pieces of scrap metal. ??First book listed in that link is the Workshop Practice Series book #18, Basic Benchwork. This is a guide to the techniques used by the guys who invented machine tools to make stuff before they had machine tools. I like it well enough that I have both digital and dead-tree copies.? A few years back, I got an Atlas TH42 lathe from Craigslist, and bought it a QCTP from Amazon.com. It came with a blank T-nut to mount itself to the lathe. At the time, I didn't have any of my machines either accessible or working, and the lantern toolpost that came with the lathe was missing pieces. I cut the T-nut to fit with a hacksaw and files, and made a rocker from a bit of 1/2" key stock also using files. I couldn't even get to a vise, so all the work was done holding the pieces in my hands while cutting and filing the pieces to fit. The T-nut took about 4 hours, but it fits about as perfectly as anything I've ever made in a lifetime of making stuff. The rocker is a little less perfect, but it still worked. ;)? These days, it's traditional to use High Speed Steel (HSS) lathe tools, but back in the olden days, they used hand-forged high-carbon tool steel. You can still do that, or buy tool blanks or even pre-ground tooling in HSS. Tool steel is available in many forms, including old broken tool. :) A block of steel for an anvil, a hammer, and pliers, propane torch and a small bucket or can of used motor oil would let you forge your own tooling. For aluminum or plastic, you can even use mild steel, which isn't hardenable. Unimats are a bit "weak" for cutting metals with carbide tooling, but it can be done, and you can get carbide tooling that will fit on the Unimat, but you mostly won't need it. HSS or high-carbon tool steel will work fine for most materials. Spring steel is a high carbon steel, and could be used as a cutting tool. Likewise broken hacksaw blades. K&S Precision Metals sells music wire (spring steel) in 3' lengths, and is available in most good hardware and hobby stores in the US. I don't have a good feel for where you're located, but my area's ACE hardware stores carry it. Amazon has a bunch of HSS and other steels, when and if your wallet ever recovers. OTH, you could make do with salvaged or scavenged materials, too.? I've been collecting tools for more than 50 years, so I have multiple hacksaw frames with different blades, lots of files, etc, but I started with a scrounged hammer and coathanger wire. My brother and I had G.I. Joes with forged swords, spears, and arrowheads, among other things, when I was 10 years old. Sharpened on a bit of broken concrete... Hi! My name is Bill, and I'm a Toolohaulic! Bill in OKC? William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.) Aphorisms to live by: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.? SEMPER GUMBY! Physics doesn't care about your schedule. The only reason I know anything is because I've done it wrong enough times to START to know better
On Saturday, June 18, 2022, 08:28:44 AM CDT, sawbona@... <sawbona@...> wrote:
Hello: > ... have a lathe now. Yes !? 8^D > ... make your own hand wheels ... I have been thinking about that quite a bit. >? ... can also get digital linear travel scales that will read in metric and imperial. Yes. I like that idea, but my wallet is still complaining about my Unimat spending spree. And I still have to get myself some decent tooling. Thanks for your input. Best, JHM |
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Re: Unimat 3 - solving some issues
Hello:
> ... fitted re-settable handwheels to my U3 ... Yes, I've seen them on the web while searching for a solution to this. There was a listing on the German ebay for €79+€10 shiping,? no idea of the date. These days they go for ~ US$80+shipping on ebay. These are nice but (imo) a bit too pricey for molded plastic and non-engraced scales. I have yet to finish refurbishing my Unimat milling table: I find that the two handwheels are also a bit small for me to use comfortably but even though they are also 35mm, they do have more heft to them. Maybe I should get a pair of readily available 63mm handwheels for the table and graft these on to the Uni. Food for thought ... Thanks for your input and the link. JHM |
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Re: Unimat 3 and rust
JHM, I hope this helps you... I have had similar rust issues with some of my tools in my unheated work shed up here in Canada's deep south. ?Temps range from 36C+ down to -30C or lower here, and the humidity (especially today) gets very high. ?The beds of my lathe, drill press, band and table saws would have a coat of rust on them in the spring after sitting all winter (unused) in the shed. ? Before I'd close the shed for winter I tried cleaning the rust off with WD-40, then mineral spirits, drying it and waxing with high grade paste waxes - that didn't work. ?It always came back. ?I tried WD-40, nope. ?I tried motor oil, that helped but the tools were unusable during the warmer months, unless I cleaned that off completely, what a chore - then, the rust started again. ? Their website states:?Boeshield T-9? gives superior corrosion protection and waterproof lubrication in an easy-to-apply, long-lasting formula. --?On a seafaring yacht, a dusty ATV or a shower door, T-9 has you covered. T-9 endures muddy bike trails, rain-soaked back roads and salted highways. It withstands farmer¡¯s fields, offshore oil rigs and carpenter¡¯s workshops. For everyone from firefighters and road crews to cyclists and sailors, Boeshield T-9??is the proven solution." ?? Try it, it works. I use it on all my tools now, after de-rusting, or just general maintenance of ferrous metals, incl. cast iron tool beds, etc. ?I get mine at Lee Valley Tools, or online, or at various locations throughout the world. Check that link for more details. Let us know what you think! Scott ? ? |
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Re: Unimat 3 and rust
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýMy shed lathe has a blanket over it and a lead lamp with an 11W bulb to keep it less cold over the winter. It has kept the rust away for two British winters. ? 11W is the actual power rating¡ not the ¡®tungsten bulb equivalent¡¯. ? It¡¯s a 3 ? inch lathe so you¡¯d need a good deal less than 11W for a Unimat. ? No idea if it would work in hot climates but I guess it¡¯s all relative ¨C if the metal is colder than the air and there is humidity then you will get condensation. ? Regards, Andy ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of sawbona@... ? Hello: |
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Re: Unimat 3 and rust
Hello: |
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Re: Unimat 3 and rust
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýHello JHM: Cold metal and moist air means condensation. Two options: 1) keep the metal warm, 2) keep the moist air away from the cold metal. You could also keep the metal coated with oil, but this is messy and the condensation still happens. Model
Engineer Magazine had endless discussion letters on how to
keep moisture and condensation from their tools. Heating the
shop first seemed to be the only clear answer. Years
ago I had a "Tool Bus" and I would open it up on spring days
and then watch as everything in the bus got wet. I would end
up starting a fire in the stove to warm up the metals. So perhaps you can put an air tight plastic cover over your Unimat to keep it dry? Best
wishes, Carl. On 6/15/2022 11:17 AM,
sawbona@... wrote:
Hello: |
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Unimat 3 and rust
Hello:
Cleaning up my newly acquired Unimat 3 is still an ongoing task. The chuck, lead screw and guides under the saddle were the worse parts, years of old caked gunk all over. I got some things cleaned up so that the chuck wouid open/close, the lead screw? work properly but ... Now I have a thin layer of rust on the chuck and the lead screw. I made pasta for friends yesterday and my small apartment must have had an serious increase in RH. Which in these cold months makes for condensation on all the cold metal parts. Hence the rust, I guess. For maintenance on some bare metal parts I have around, I have many times used a locally available degreaser+rust remover/converter that generates a non-soluble microscopic layer of iron phosphate (ferrous or ferric?) which protects the piece and helps paint adherence. ? ? ? ? Would this do? Not too happy, please advise. Thanks in advance, JHM |
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Re: Unimat 3 - 150.250 Lathe theading attachment query
Hello:
> ... covered on the owner manuals ... Yes. I have the same manual as the one I downloaded both here and on the web some time ago. But I'd say (YMMV) that covered is a bit of a stretch. Maybe it's just me, but I see a very ingenious albeit rather complex mechanism that needs a careful setup and quite a bit of adjusting to get it working properly. Since it was an attachment that was sold separately, I'd expect that it came with a set of precise instructions on how to operate it. But I have not been able to find anything on the web. Best, JHM |
Bill in OKC too
OldToolmaker
Scott Hughes
Carl
