The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum

27ace27 · Last edited by 27ace27 on Thu Jul 26, 2012 4:19 am; edited 1 time in total

Huzzah and Hallelujah, I finally have the lathes my uncle purchased for me several months ago!

I will post pictures tomorrow after work as it is already quite late, but I just wanted to ask a few quick questions before then. Preliminary checks look to be very good; both motors work and nothing is seized. Both lathes appear to be Unimat SL-1000's but of different dates. I have aleady torn one down and cleaned off all of the gunk, so now I have some questions.

Firstly; What can and cannot these lathes do? I assume they cannot thread, but can they knurl and roll and the like?

Secondly; What do I oil, with what, and where? The main slide on the lathe I have already cleaned seems very stiff compared to the secondary slide which I can move no problem. For the time being I have lubricated everything with 3-in-1 oil, but is that correct? and do I need to lubricate the ball-bearings?

Lastly (for now), what more do I need to get up and running? I'll post photos of the tooling and accessories that came with it, but where can I find a general list of things I'll need to buy, things I'll need to check, and things I need to adjust?

The lathes are a lot smaller than I expected, but I'm still very happy with them and cannot wait to start turning up my own parts.

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I think something exploded.

kevin · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:47 am Post subject:

Dont get to hung up on lists mate you need to grow with your lathe, gibs, bearings and surfaces need cleaning and adjustiing all the time to get the accuracy, most of all use it and it will tell you what needs doing, just open your ears and listen for rubs, squeeks, chatter, clunks etc.

As for being small you will soon learn they can do many many things but if it does not have a lead screw or one you can fit screw cutting is not on but dont worry in modeling you almost always use taps and dies. Knurling in soft materials is no problem, make sure its annealed and take it slow.

Remember the lathe is the only machine that can replicate itself IE they can do anything if your clever enough to think of the way

Have fun and start small.

kevin · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:50 am Post subject:

On tooling buy it as and when you need it, 4 things i use most, a paint brush, a plastic kids beach spade, roll of paper kitchen towel and 3in1.

Timonade · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:23 am Post subject:

A brush, yes! Possibly one of the best things a craftsman could have in his toolbox.
I use the kind one paints pictures with. Good for cleaning chips out of tight spots.

As for oiling, just keep all the moving parts slightly lubricated. Ball bearings do run dry, but some grease perhaps wouldn't do any harm I suppose. Just make sure small metal chips don't get in them.
If the cross slide is a bit stiff try adjusting the gib screws on the side. That should take care of it.
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Cheers,

Timo

tmuir · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:24 am Post subject:

As Kevin mentioned already, be careful knurling.
If you put too much presure you can damage small lathes knurling, brass should be ok, but don't try to do deep knurling on steel.

If you haven't already get yourself a good book on lathes, a bench grinder is handy to sharpen the cutting tools.
Carbide tipped tools are good, but a pain to sharpen and you will get a better finish from a properly shaped and honed High Speed cutter than you will from most carbide tools.

As for other tooling only buy it when you need it for a project as they are thousands of dollars worth of accessories you can get, so spend your money wisely and only buy what you need.
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A nice example of an Australian made Scorpion Donkey Engine

kevin · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:57 am Post subject:

Timonade knows his stuff, forget soft jaw chucks and dividing heads You need a brush, I buy packs of cheep ones of ebay, the small ones i use in the workshop and big ones paint the sheds and fences with (then chuck them away they are cheeper than the cleaner.

Re tools 99% of my time I use a LH Index cutter (do i mean LH? i get mixed up) for turning and facing and a parting tool blade for recessing (grind it srtaight across) and parting, change/turn the tip on the cutter when its blunt and touch up the parting tool now and again, keep them both in the same tool post.

You can get clamp knurlers that dont put pressure on the lathe but i cant get on with them.

ozsteamdemon · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:41 am Post subject:

I would also recommend purchasing a book / s
I think there is one called "Get to know your lathe" and another "Simple lathe projects for the beginner"
While your reading , save for some tooling .

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The Denying Dutchman · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:55 am Post subject:

Tons of information can be found on the Unimat yahoo group.

What you can do: a lot.
What you can't do: large projects, machining stainless steel etc. The SL/DB isn't rigid enough so don't try.

For maintenance I use oil for cross slides etc. Every store which sells lathes sells it.

Thread cutting can be done on the SL, but the threading attachment is almost as expensive as the lathe itself, so don't even bother.
_________________
Paul

Les · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:57 am Post subject:

Get some brass and aluminum and start turning it into swarf.

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Les - Don't panic - it's your round next.

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MooseMan · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:11 am Post subject:

I think the most important thing you can get with a lathe is: all the help you can get!

I'm a very occasional lathe user, but I'm lucky to have a couple of master craftsmen near to me, and of course a very large number of experts on the forum, who have saved me from making some costly mistakes. In fact, every time I get the lathe out I imagine Stilldrillin standing behind me with his eyebrows raised, prodding stick in one hand and box of flapjacks in the other....."Now then, Moose!"

_________________
Cheers, Odilon.

Nid wy’n gofyn bywyd moethus,
Aur y byd na’i berlau mân:
Gofyn wyf am galon hapus,
Calon onest, calon lân.

BK · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:05 am Post subject:

Don't buy brushes, save the old tooth brushes, they are handy.
_________________
BK (Bernie)

If it aint broke, don't fix it.

classixs · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:53 pm Post subject:

Bill L. · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:40 pm Post subject:

You might watch some of this guys videos,you will learn a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDr4rYLiAk&feature=plcp

WeedenSteam · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:14 pm Post subject:

Great advice so far, totally agree with not buying extra tooling unless you have a use for it.

Find a metal supermarket in your area that caters to the hobby user that sells metal by the foot or pound. Check their off-cut bins, many of these companies sell shorts for about half the regular price.

Hex stock is often much easier to work with providing you have a three jaw chuck, specially when you are threading with taps or dies, round material will tend to slip whereas you have a positive hold on the hex stock.
_________________
Frank C.
http://weedensteam.com
"A candle lighting another loses nothing."

Stilldrillin · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:39 pm Post subject:

Very good advice so far........

Take the time to learn and develop, with your machines.

My mini lathe and I have been together 8 years. We're both still learning about each other!

"Now then, Moose!"

Thanks O. I love that!

_________________
David...... "Good `ere, innit!"

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