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I was just wondering, what do you guys actually make using your Unimat machines?
I am more of a collector myself but I really should put them to use. (I?have a Unimat SL, Emco 3 and an Emco 3 milling machine.)?
Now my country, like many others is on lock down. I've been looking for a small project I can complete in my home. Any suggestions?
PS. Im not interested in steam engines. ?
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I have made stuff for the U3. Bought a er 16 collet nut and made the holder on the u3. Made a set of the U4 threading gears, think they are in the files. Looking to make the compound top slide, ball turning attachment and new hand wheels
with a reset zero.
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Have a U3 and an SL
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Brian in Spokane wa usa
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Sent: TuesI day, March 24, 2020 2:43 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Unimat] What do you guys make?
?
I was just wondering, what do you guys actually make using your Unimat machines?
I am more of a collector myself but I really should put them to use. (I?have a Unimat SL, Emco 3 and an Emco 3 milling machine.)?
Now my country, like many others is on lock down. I've been looking for a small project I can complete in my home. Any suggestions?
PS. Im not interested in steam engines.
?
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A ball turning attachment might be a nice project. I have made accessories before but I've always cheated and used my bigger lathes. I was thinking a small model project but it's got to be something that excites me otherwise I lack the motivation!?
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Usually I build marine steam engines and small parts for model boats but since that’s not for you, other items I’ve made are pens, rc car suspension systems (mini “gas” and spring pistons) mini hydraulics, rc nitro engine repairs (piston liners and pistons them self’s, headstock ?for water cooling etc) roller bender Dias for small stock and spare parts for my unimat,?
I've also repaired the toilet flush system with a part on the lathe and countless little odds and ends around the house that was easy to make then waste cash on.
although you have said you don’t want to build a steam engine, and given the boiler needed I do understand that maybe a bit to much but other engines you can build are hot air engines, (sterling etc) very simple projects and just require a candle as fuel, or if your a smoker try a making a lighter! I’ve seen some nice ones machines on lathes on YouTube, might try one myself at some point if I get bored.
let us know what you come up with..
good luck!
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I used to be massively into RC cars many years ago. I still have them but ive not run them for probably over 10 years!
I made a few parts back then, ive made lots of other projects over the years too, accessories, pens, knives, a cigarette lighter and even a cannon! ive done quite a lot of gunsmithing too. But I think ive always been a bit spoiled having had a fully equipped workshop ever since I was just a teen.
Making something on my tiny Unimat and not having a huge selection of tools is a different challenge for me. But one ive been looking to get stuck into for a while.?
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I do clock repair.? One of my first unimat projects was an arbor ( shaft) for a clock after a friend broke it trying to repair it.? I also made him a winding key for a key wind watch.? I moved up to a unimat 3, and used it to make a pin and bushing for pressing wrist pins out of a Renault 4 car engine.? I made a bushing for the clutch linkage for a 1954 MG and an adjuster part for the clutch on a 1981 ford pickup.? I made parts to convert the original unimat into a mainspring winding machine, but later used my big lathe and mill to convert those parts to fit an old jewelers lathe that had a larger swing.? I have bought broken or incomplete steam engines on ebay and made parts to make them run again.?? My most recent part was a spacer for the blade guard on a 1930's Sears band saw.? In short, almost anything with small machined parts can be helped with these machines.
Chuck
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Hi all, I got my unimat to make parts for woodwind musical instruments. I recently got hold of a clarinet that needs some keys making up. These include round cup that hold pads in to close off tone holes. I’m sure there will be lots more things I can use my unimat 3 for to make tools to help me renovate and repair more instruments. Mainly will be used to parts for clarinets, flutes and maybe some parts for saxophones.
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On 24 Mar 2020, at 21:43, Unimat Matt <Mrteabaggg@...> wrote:
?I was just wondering, what do you guys actually make using your Unimat machines?
I am more of a collector myself but I really should put them to use. (I?have a Unimat SL, Emco 3 and an Emco 3 milling machine.)?
Now my country, like many others is on lock down. I've been looking for a small project I can complete in my home. Any suggestions?
PS. Im not interested in steam engines. ?
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I originally bought my unimat so I could make thrust washers for wheel bearings on motorcycles.? Since then I used it a lot to make small antique motorcycle and car pieces and lately I've made a bunch of Teflon throttle shaft bushings for various carburetors.?
I won't touch it several months, then use it every day for a few weeks.? Depends on the project.??
? Ultimately I would like to make model engines, but I need to learn a lot before that can happen.?
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I do clock repair.? One of my first unimat projects was an arbor ( shaft) for a clock after a friend broke it trying to repair it.? I also made him a winding key for a key wind watch.? I moved up to a unimat 3, and used it to make a pin and bushing for pressing
wrist pins out of a Renault 4 car engine.? I made a bushing for the clutch linkage for a 1954 MG and an adjuster part for the clutch on a 1981 ford pickup.? I made parts to convert the original unimat into a mainspring winding machine, but later used my big
lathe and mill to convert those parts to fit an old jewelers lathe that had a larger swing.? I have bought broken or incomplete steam engines on ebay and made parts to make them run again.?? My most recent part was a spacer for the blade guard on a 1930's
Sears band saw.? In short, almost anything with small machined parts can be helped with these machines.
Chuck
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As a hobbyist and a collector, I like to make wood boxes... DH was fighting me when I was trying to buy a bone the other day to make a tiny bone box... I would really like to make a Unimat cabinet though, it seems sad to have it covered up in that plywood box lid!
I generally work in brass; I still want to make a brass bed, and was looking at that last night, a tiny miniature threaded oil can, wicker buggy wheels... you know totally useless stuff in 1/12th scale that captures my imagination and makes me wonder if I can make it.? The oil can reminds me of my Dad, he was a mechanic and it instantly reminds me of him working on cars for friends - knowing how easily I can disassemble something and sometimes it doesn't work after I re-assemble, I have great respect for my Dad's skills.? But I don't want to make just an oil can, I want to make one that is threaded, and the tip is tapered inside and hollowed so oil can actually be used out of the can... yes, totally useless stuff!
Useless, except it brings me joy, knowing that I made it and why it is important to me.
For the useful stuff, I would love to make other tooling for my lathe, but I think a larger lathe is infinitely more practical.
Somewhere in the archives of this group there was a post about making a brass bed and a website, so I will be searching for it next.? I am thankful that the group decided to archive the yahoo messages and transitioned to groups.io as everything would have been lost in the group's history at Yahoo.
Tamra
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I bought my first Unimat in 1965 (I was in high school) to support my model railroad hobby. I did modify a couple of locos so they would run at correct scale speeds. Added pulley reductions and flywheels, that sort of thing. This was before the electronic controllers were available.
I also started doing photography at the same time, also to support model railroad hobby. Take photos of the real prototypes to model, etc.
In one of those life ironies, I gave up model railroading when I entered college, but Unimats and photography have been lifelong hobbies.
I made a Sterling hot air engine as a science project when in the 11th grade.
Over the years I have used my Unimat(s) to make repair parts for various things about the house and vehicles. Also made a few things to sell on eBay. And making more Unimat accessories!
"When" I eventually retire, I hope to make engine models, maybe model boats. Mostly I just like tinkering with the Unimats themselves.
Martin P.
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My first Unimat ?(DB 200) was given to me by my Dad about 25 years ago. He acquired it from an old man who wanted ?to give it to someone who would appreciate it before he died. ?My dad was a tool and die maker and knew what he had but he considered it just a toy so passed it along to me. ?I liked the little machine and remember seeing the ads in Popular Science magazine when I was a kid. ?Now I had one of my very own. ?After my Dad passed away I was clearing out his shop and came across a full set of thread masters in boxes for the Unimat but did not know what they were so I tossed them in the garbage. I now kick myself for my ignorance. I use mine for a multitude of small projects including Unimat accessories and parts to sell on EBay. ?I once needed to have a lathe to help me upgrade my Minilathe when I did not have access to another machine. ?The Unimat came through with flying colors. ?I often use the Uni headstock mounted on the minilathe for milling and drilling. I recently moved to SW Florida and am in the process of setting up a new shop in a spare bedroom so it can be air conditioned. I want to focus on small model railway locomotives HO or N gage. Also model engines. ?I am going to keep future projects small because of limited space. Can’t wait to get involved in miniature machining hobby again. Dick
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Tossing those thread masters and followers is an easy way to make a grown man cry.
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A neighbor of mine had an old Mercedes Airport Bus converted into a camper.? His alternator pivot bushing was no good.? I sent him to the local bearing supplier for an appropriate bronze bearing/bushing to make the mounting bushing to fit.? Used my U3 to trim the bushing to fit.? It was not the rubber and bronze original, but it worked and is still working 10 years later.
I make pens of all kinds including acrylic and wood.?
I make parts for amateur radio antennas a a shouldered spacer and end plugs for a 2m VHF? 3/4 Delrin turned to fit 1/2" water pipe to separate the two antenna elements and to plug the open ends
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I inherited my father's SL.? He used it for building HO scale brass engines and small wood turning. For many, many years it was my only drill press/mill/lathe, so I pushed the poor thing past its' limits all the time.? End mills up to 3/8, etc.? I used it for all sorts of small parts that normally are needed when repairing/building random items.? It doesn't get much use now that I've wised up and have larger mills and lathes, but it still gets used when I need a sensitive drill press, high speeds or things I can't do on my other machines.? Last summer I used it to manually cut an external left hand metric thread in an oddball size.??
-Dave
On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 02:43:11 PM PDT, Unimat Matt <mrteabaggg@...> wrote:
I was just wondering, what do you guys actually make using your Unimat machines?
I am more of a collector myself but I really should put them to use. (I?have a Unimat SL, Emco 3 and an Emco 3 milling machine.)?
Now my country, like many others is on lock down. I've been looking for a small project I can complete in my home. Any suggestions?
PS. Im not interested in steam engines. ?
|
I'm in the UK, NW? London not far from a world famous football ground -? strangely quiet at these difficult time.? I got my SL from Buck & Ryan around 1970, and upgraded it in various ways. The most useful option that I took a very long time ago was to fit the watchmakers collet assembly (8mm) which includes a dedicated quill/bearing assembly. In this form it is now vertically mounted on my (fairly old) Myford Super Seven as lightweight mill/drill. To do this I reversed the motor so it is above the headstock. It is mounted behind the bed using the pre-tapped holes. With the very long cross-slide this is great and I can see what I'm doing. As before, any heavy milling is done horizontally on the S7 using the vertical slide. The main application is to my model railway hobby where I work in S scale (gauge), (fairly rare in the UK), the all imperial 1:64 (3/16ins) scale. The job done last week was to mill out a window recess in a signal cabin and I have attached a pic of that process. It was bolted directly onto the cross slide. The only thing that I am looking at doing soon is to fit a counterweight to take the weight of the headstock (no spring and even if I had it, it would probably not be strong enough now) as suggested to me on this group. The other option is a spring to the workshop ceiling - again a kind suggestion from this group. However, at the moment I'm in 'layout scenery mode' rather than mini-engineering. After that I will continue with the S scale Great Western Railway 'Flying Banana' which is radio controlled with sound etc etc.This is now painted & at detailing stage. I also have some 0 gauge (handmade clockwork and r/c) - this can be run from under the workbench onto the retaining walls in the garden so it blends in well. The theoretical objective is for the line to end up by the kitchen door so essential sustenance can be loaded by domestic authorities on to the train!? So everyone, stay safe &? make the most of the time if banned from going out and thank goodness for absorbing hobbies! Leslie
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Thanks for all the replies! Some interesting stuff!?
This thread has taken an interesting turn with all the stories about how and when you first acquired your unimats. Im absolutely loving reading them! Keep them coming! ?
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Hello
Leslie:
Nice
looking building.
I
really like your reversed motor. I never liked the spring
wasting 6mm of stroke, so have never used it. A micrometer
stop on the quill would be nice?
If you
are willing to try something different for scenery, you might
like to try foam rubber. It worked for my layout, and I hope
to do a clinic at the Birmingham NMRA convention. I would be
happy to share my clinic notes. Here is a shot of my layout:
Take
care, Carl.
On 3/26/2020 6:58 AM, Leslie
Bevis-Smith wrote:
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Show quoted text
I'm in the UK, NW? London not far from a world
famous football ground -? strangely quiet at these difficult
time.? I got my SL from Buck & Ryan around 1970, and
upgraded it in various ways. The most useful option that I took
a very long time ago was to fit the watchmakers collet assembly
(8mm) which includes a dedicated quill/bearing assembly. In this
form it is now vertically mounted on my (fairly old) Myford
Super Seven as lightweight mill/drill. To do this I reversed the
motor so it is above the headstock. It is mounted behind
the bed using the pre-tapped holes. With the very long
cross-slide this is great and I can see what I'm doing. As
before, any heavy milling is done horizontally on the S7 using
the vertical slide. The main application is to my model railway
hobby where I work in S scale (gauge), (fairly rare in the UK),
the all imperial 1:64 (3/16ins) scale. The job done last week
was to mill out a window recess in a signal cabin and I have
attached a pic of that process. It was bolted directly onto the
cross slide. The only thing that I am looking at doing soon is
to fit a counterweight to take the weight of the headstock (no
spring and even if I had it, it would probably not be strong
enough now) as suggested to me on this group. The other option
is a spring to the workshop ceiling - again a kind suggestion
from this group. However, at the moment I'm in 'layout scenery
mode' rather than mini-engineering. After that I will continue
with the S scale Great Western Railway 'Flying Banana' which is
radio controlled with sound etc etc.This is now painted & at
detailing stage. I also have some 0 gauge (handmade clockwork
and r/c) - this can be run from under the workbench onto the
retaining walls in the garden so it blends in well. The
theoretical objective is for the line to end up by the kitchen
door so essential sustenance can be loaded by domestic
authorities on to the train!? So everyone, stay safe &? make
the most of the time if banned from going out and thank goodness
for absorbing hobbies! Leslie
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have a look at? Unimat III Accessories by Bob Loader, number 32 in?
the Workshop Practice Series.
Camden Minature Steam are still shipping in the UK
Mike
?
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Hi all
For my work I design and make prototypes before going into production.
I have 2 3D printer, an FDM and recently a resin printer.
I got my unimat SL because I needed to turn small parts.
Look at 3D printing, that should keep you busy, it's great fun being able to make all sorts of things.
Lez
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So Tamra, when the power plant was cleaning up one of the machine shops, I came across a small 2 oz pump oil can, with a thumb pump on the top of the handle. Since I am a bit of a tool junkie I grabbed it. To give you an idea of how small I could only get two fingertips in the handle. This was maybe two inches tall and about an inch in diameter. Screw top with rolled threads, internal pump mechanism, ridged spout. When I got to asking around one of the oldest machinists said that was what they had to make in order to graduate out of their apprenticeship program. I gave it to my older brother to include in his antique tool collection. It boggled my mind. It would be the right size for making on a Unimat, but the machinist did it on a 12” lathe, they had to make the dies for the positive and negative rolled thread.
Pat
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Unimat Matt
Tamra
OldToolmaker
Carl
Les Orton