# Best Homemade Tools >  Modifications and Improvements to a Unimat SL 1000 Lathe

## Paul Jones

I want to share some photos of the recent improvements I made to my Unimat SL 1000 lathe which has a 3" swing. I bought this lathe new in 1970, used for a few years and then put into storage. I recently started to use the lathe again and decided it needed a make-over after being inspired by the book series "The Shop Wisdom" by Rudy Kouhoupt.

I decided to build a storage platform with a drawer ( see Homemade Lathe Cabinet ), add a permanently installed milling/drilling head and more intermediate pulleys for slower spindle RPM, raise the whole lathe up on 1" tall riser blocks and added spare threaded holes in the riser blocks for future attachments (e.g., the indexing pin arm (http://www.homemadetools.net/homemad...nimat-sl-lathe) and yet to be designed attachments), add dial indicators for the x, y and z directions (I usually work in inches, see Homemade Cross Slide Dial Indicator ), and add adjustable carriage stops to the x-direction ( see Homemade Lathe Carriage and Milling Stops ). 

It took many iterations to align the x, y, and z axes to each other but everything seems to remain in alignment with each axis. Along the way I replaced the motors with continuous duty U-100 motors. There are many more future features I want to add such a longitudinal power feed for the x-axis and a dividing plate for the spindles ( Homemade Indexing Plate for Unimat SL Lathe ). Some of the most fun I have is designing the parts before anything is machined and then making a hard copy for recording my changes as the parts are built (and then adding these changes back on the original drawings). 

Eventually I want to start building stationary steam engines but I am having too much fun with the Unimat.

I plan to post more of my photos as the Unimat improvements progress.

Paul Jones

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AmateurMachinist (Mar 24, 2019),

asterix (Feb 9, 2022),

big o (Nov 12, 2016),

C-Bag (Sep 4, 2015),

Captainleeward (Nov 11, 2015),

DIYSwede (May 30, 2019),

Hemi (Jun 21, 2018),

Home-PC (Mar 19, 2021),

jjr2001 (Feb 15, 2018),

Jon (Jul 31, 2020),

kbalch (Jul 7, 2014),

mklotz (Oct 17, 2016),

morsa (Oct 13, 2016),

nevadablue (Aug 16, 2015),

NortonDommi (Jun 21, 2018),

old_toolmaker (Mar 3, 2018),

PJs (Sep 29, 2015),

rendoman (Jul 4, 2016),

sparky42 (Feb 9, 2022),

Tonyg (Aug 1, 2020),

Toolmaker51 (Jun 28, 2017),

vafthrudnir (Feb 26, 2018),

Workshopshed (Jul 7, 2014),

zhekov1234 (Feb 5, 2017)

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## DIYer

Cool mods! I look forward to your tool contributions here.

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Paul Jones (Aug 13, 2014)

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## Paul Jones

DIYer -- Thank you for the feedback. There is so much to see and learn from the HMT website -- Paul

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## kbalch

Thanks Paul! I've added your Lathe Modifications to our Lathes category, as well as to your builder page: Paul Jones' Homemade Tools. Your receipt:





 






Lathe Modifications  by Paul Jones 

tags:
lathe, modification

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Paul Jones (Aug 13, 2014),

zhekov1234 (Feb 5, 2017)

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## Paul Jones

Since first publishing the Unimat modifications, I have added a few more features to the 3" swing lathe including indexing plates for both the headstock and milling head, plus some specialized tooling e.g., http://www.homemadetools.net/qctp-holders and http://www.homemadetools.net/slotting-saw-arbor ). The additional improvements have been posted at Homemade Tools as separate articles with descriptions and pictures.

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kbalch (Apr 3, 2015),

nevadablue (Jul 17, 2015),

pennswoodsed (Sep 7, 2015),

PJs (Sep 29, 2015),

Tonyg (Aug 1, 2020),

zhekov1234 (Feb 5, 2017)

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## mklotz

Great stuff, Paul. Like you, I added DIs to all three axes of my Unimat. I would rather have forced the USA to go metric but adding the DIs seemed a bit easier.

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Paul Jones (Sep 4, 2015)

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## C-Bag

holy cow Paul!  :Bow:

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Paul Jones (Sep 4, 2015),

PJs (Sep 29, 2015)

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## Paul Jones

Thanks Marv. I like your adjustable collar added below the drilling/milling head on your Unimat. It is something I have do. It is easy to accidentally let the drilling/milling head slip down and damage parts during setup. Also, I plan to add a separate motor drive for performing longitudinal power feeding.

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## nevadablue

Paul, I found that a standard 1" split collar, as used on line shafts, works great for the column/mill head backup support.

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Paul Jones (Sep 18, 2015)

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## Paul Jones

Thanks Ken, I remember seeing the split collar in the photo for your Unimat setup, and like Marv's version, I thought it would be very useful. Thank you for the advice, Paul

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## Paul Jones

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 my old Unimat SL 1000 lathe when I added a vertical milling head. Like Rick’s work my adjustments required aligning all six different parameters for X, Y, Z, roll, pitch, and yaw. 

The fixed rod supports for the x and y lathe ways proved to be a challenge because the rods are supported in a die cast lathe bed. A combination of twisting the cast bed and adding opposing set screws to a cross slide way rod (see photo of taping screw holes) brought this into alignment. It is essential to align the x and y-axes orthogonal to the lathe cabinet before adding the vertical column for the milling head. All axes were less than 0.003" out of alignment and required very slight and iterative changes to bring everything into alignment.

Adding the new z-axis dimension with a milling head column and column support required the most iterative process to bring the x, y and z axis into orthogonal alignment with each other. The milling column attachment base was made from 3”x12”x1” aluminum bar and bolted to the lathe cabinet. The vertical column support base was machined flat and square on my mini lathe using a custom mandrel, and then removed and bolted to the aluminum attachment base. The milling support base has a 0.0015” thick shim that brings the vertical column orthogonal to the lathe x and y-axes (the shim is shown in the 9th photo below). The last photo shows tramming left to right rotational adjustment of the milling head to be parallel with the lathe ways support rods. The photos below show some of the measurements and adjustments that were made during the alignment processes.

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kbalch (Nov 12, 2015),

PJs (Nov 13, 2015),

zhekov1234 (Feb 5, 2017)

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## Paul Jones

This is just a short note about another improvement. I never really liked the crudely made pressed aluminum spring cups that are factory installed on the Unimat SL lathes. I replaced these with a new set machined from 1018 Cold Rolled Steel. This was just a cosmetic improvement but long overdue considering I bought this lathe new in 1970. The machining was performed on my 12" swing lathe because it is faster but the 3" swing Unimat has the capacity to do this machining.

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kbalch (Nov 12, 2015),

PJs (Nov 13, 2015),

Toolmaker51 (Jun 28, 2017)

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## DIYer

Thanks Paul! We've added your Unimat Headstock Spring Cups to our Lathes category, as well as to your builder page: Paul Jones' Homemade Tools. Your receipt:












Unimat Headstock Spring Cups
 by Paul Jones

tags: lathe, modification

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Paul Jones (Nov 12, 2015)

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## Mr.Pete

these are real nice and I bet they will out live us all...

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Paul Jones (Nov 12, 2015)

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## Mr.Pete

Oh my god! I never taught about doing all this on mine when I bought it, but it's the only way to do precise work... 
Thanks for all the pictures and the great info. 
p.s I was thinking of adding a 4x4 extruded aluminium posts to hold my lathe head to middle of my sb200 ... I liked your idea but the cost of buying a other unimat is a little steep around here it took about 6yrs to find one ( I paid $300 and it came full loaded with lots of extras) I'm watching EBAY for a head stock & motor there are a few but most are incomplet or really in bad shape... Iwas going t swap the head stock lathe to milling then back ... the setup is oh so l o n g... did any one try drilling the zero to a more precise dia and putting a tighter fitting dowel pin!

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Paul Jones (Nov 12, 2015)

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## Mr.Pete

Oh my god! I never taught about doing all this on mine when I bought it, but it's the only way to do precise work... 
Thanks for all the pictures and the great info. 
p.s I was thinking of adding a 4x4 extruded aluminium posts to hold my lathe head to middle of my sb200 ... I liked your idea but the cost of buying a other unimat is a little steep around here it took about 6yrs to find one ( I paid $300 and it came full loaded with lots of extras) I'm watching EBAY for a head stock & motor there are a few but most are incomplet or really in bad shape... Iwas going t swap the head stock lathe to milling then back ... the setup is oh so l o n g... did any one try drilling the zero to a more precise dia and putting a tighter fitting dowel pin!

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Paul Jones (Nov 12, 2015)

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## Paul Jones

Mr. Pete,
I think of all the improvements I added to this lathe, it was the continuous duty U-100 motors that were the most important changes. The the U-100 motors can run for hours without any need for shutting down for a cooling off period. The original Unimat motor was designed for intermittent duty with a duty cycle of ~80% (e.g., 8 minutes on and 2 minutes off). If the motors become very hot to the touch (~130 to 140 degrees F) then let them cool or risk destroying the motors. The U-100 motors make the machine fun to use and takes the worry out of ruining the motors due to over heating.

I wish you success with your changes. Post your improvements as you complete them so we can see the progress.

Thank you for the feedback, Paul Jones

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PJs (Nov 13, 2015),

Toolmaker51 (Jun 28, 2017)

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## Paul Jones

During the second half of 2015, there have been several more improvements to the Unimat SL and the lathe is still used on many of my projects despite having larger 7" and 12" swing metal lathes (and these have been modified as well). 

Recent Unimat improvements have been minor but useful features such as lever action clamping screws for locking the sliding headstocks and tailstock (see Homemade Lever Action Clamping Screws and Homemade Tailstock Clamping Screws ), nicer looking spring cups (see Homemade Unimat Headstock Spring Cups ), an adjustable drill press stop (see Homemade Unimat SL Adjustable Drill Stop ), and my own version of a slotting saw arbor that fits directly on the M12X1 spindle ( http://www.homemadetools.net/slotting-saw-arbor ). 

Here are some photos showing the progress and there are more detailed articles and photos published elsewhere in Homemadetools.net.

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kbalch (Dec 24, 2015),

PJs (Jan 26, 2016)

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## Paul Jones

During the first half of 2016 there have been several new additions to the Unimat modifications.

1) Unimat Boring Head Adapter for Criterion Boring Head
A single point insert tool was used to machine 7/8x20 threads to precisely fit the Criterion S-1 ½ small boring head and the opposite end attaches to the Unimat M12X1 spindle (see http://www.homemadetools.net/boring-head-adaptor-2 ).





2) ER16 Collet Chuck for Unimat M12X1 Spindle
The collet chuck uses a commercially available ER16 collet nut with a M22X1.5 thread. The combined collet chuck and collet has a measured 0.0004” TIR (see http://www.homemadetools.net/unimat-er16-collet-chuck ).





3) Unimat SL Lathe Headstock Alignment Tool (Test Bar)
Measuring the difference between the machined diameters and divided by two provides the approximate distance to swing the Unimat headstock. The Unimat lathe has a headstock that can be rotated for machining tapers and is locked in place with a special set screw. The process takes several iterations and the alignment can be set to within 0.0001 to 0.0002” in alignment over 5” (see http://www.homemadetools.net/unimat-...ignment-method ).








4) A fixture to hold an adjustable arm for a dial indicator (side view and parts view).This adjustable arm can also hold a 3/8" dia. handle to a diamond dresser (same dia. as a dial indicator) for dressing the grinding stones when using a Dremel tool in the QCTP.







Below is a recent closeup photo of the lathe.




Below is a recent photo of the complete view that includes the milling/drilling head, home made ER16 collet chuck with a Shars collet nut, and machining a small compound steam engine cylinder head entablature where the 1-2-3 blocks ensure parallel alignment when drilling the holes (note the x and y holes are positioned with the dial indicators).

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C-Bag (Apr 18, 2016),

PJs (Apr 18, 2016)

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## C-Bag

Thanks for compiling everything in one place Paul. Most of this was posted before I found this place. Your improvements have singlehandedly changed my opinion of the Unimat. I know there are a lot of fans of the machine but I thought it a toy. The stuff you are making on it and with amazing precision boggles. My neighbor down the street has one and he thinks of it as a toy. I'm going to give the link to this thread and see if he thinks that after he takes a look.

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Paul Jones (Apr 18, 2016),

PJs (Apr 18, 2016),

Toolmaker51 (Jun 28, 2017)

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## Paul Jones

C-Bag,

Thank you for the encouragement. I like to periodically update the progress and have it in one place. As with any machine tool, once you know its limits and idiosyncrasies, it is possible to do exacting work. The problem with any 3" swing lathe is the depth of cut is much less than larger lathes so the machining takes much longer to complete. This is why I sometimes use my other lathes instead of the Unimat to make parts for the Unimat. It is just faster.

I used this Unimat when I worked as a prototype designer and machinist at the School of Oceanography, University of Washington to help pay for my undergrad education. The shop had fantastic machine tools but the smallest lathe was a Hardinge HLV 11" swing lathe and we needed something even smaller for building some of the parts to the scientific instruments. I bought my Unimat SL 1000 lathe new in 1970 to do this work and it machined perfect parts. Everything had to be made to very exacting standards. We were building scientific equipment designed to sit remotely on the ocean floor at 10,000+ feet below sea level with extreme crushing pressures and temperatures a hair above freezing and to be command remotely and returned to the surface successfully. The most difficult problem in deep ocean equipment was accelerated and unexpected corrosion near the pressure seals designed to protect the equipment from leakage by using multiple o-rings (using two main and one backup o-ring). Most parts were made from stainless steel. Anything made with aluminum had to be soft anodized and machined with no sharp corners where corrosion might start. We discovered hard anodizing aluminum had microscopic surface cracks where the corrosion would get in and under the hard anodized surface. The equipment had to be carefully inspected for reuse because the corrosion was hidden where it was very obvious with soft anodized surface treatments (also more colorful than plain black).

Thanks for looking,

Paul

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C-Bag (Apr 18, 2016),

PJs (Apr 18, 2016)

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## PJs

I'm with C-Bag...Definitely thank you also for putting this all in one place!! Your pictures with descriptive names are great addition to your excellent write ups. I thought your Adj. DI holder was beauty & function at its best...with the big-O' "Reid" gauge...Nice! 

In your pictures 8, 10 & 11 there is a white base under the machine...is that a piece of marble or maybe quartz? I picked up a piece of 12x24x3/4 tile a while back at Restore for $2 and its Very flat although does have a slight dip (~.003) at one end. Though I might use it for the mini as a base maybe framed in wood. Also love the drawer right in the base cabinet with all your other storage areas.

You have done some Amazing things with and to your Unimat over the years...My hats off to you!!  :Hat Tip:  Thank you for sharing all of this with us! ~PJ

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Paul Jones (Apr 18, 2016)

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## C-Bag

> I used this Unimat when I worked as a prototype designer and machinist at the School of Oceanography, University of Washington to help pay for my undergrad education. The shop had fantastic machine tools but the smallest lathe was a Hardinge HLV 11" swing lathe and we needed something even smaller for building some of the parts to the scientific instruments. I bought my Unimat SL 1000 lathe new in 1970 to do this work and it machined perfect parts. Everything had to be made to very exacting standards. We were building scientific equipment designed to sit remotely on the ocean floor at 10,000+ feet below sea level with extreme crushing pressures and temperatures a hair above freezing and to be command remotely and returned to the surface successfully. The most difficult problem in deep ocean equipment was accelerated and unexpected corrosion near the pressure seals designed to protect the equipment from leakage by using multiple o-rings (using two main and one backup o-ring). Most parts were made from stainless steel. Anything made with aluminum had to be soft anodized and machined with no sharp corners where corrosion might start. We discovered hard anodizing aluminum had microscopic surface cracks where the corrosion would get in and under the hard anodized surface. The equipment had to be carefully inspected for reuse because the corrosion was hidden where it was very obvious with soft anodized surface treatments (also more colorful than plain black).



Double thanks for this Paul! I have no idea if anybody here heard this stuff before and I'm the just last to hear it, but I love hearing how people came to their present state. It's not about qualifications necessarily for me, it's how the different disciplines bring different approaches. Basically, "where the hell'd you come up with that!". Being a mechanic at heart makes me curious about cause and effect in machines and people. So hearing the how and why about the unimat puts all the pieces of the puzzle together. I've not had to do anything yet to .0001 tolerances so while it was impressive I now know why you would want to work to those tolerances.

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Paul Jones (Apr 18, 2016),

PJs (Apr 18, 2016)

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## Paul Jones

PJs,

Thank you for all the compliments and new ideas.

I knew you would notice the dial indicator with the Reid Supply Company logo (now part of Essentra Components). It is a six jewel movement DI that Reid gave away as promotional swag with your order. I like analog dial indicators. Most of the time I much prefer an analog DI over the digital DI when machining to a predetermined stop and using a power feed. It is just something about eye-hand coordination when seeing the DI hand sweeping around to its final mark. Digital displays a great for manual feeds.

The "white" base under the lathe is a 3/4" melamine bookshelf board cut to size. I used it because I needed something oil proof and could be cut on my table saw. The next cabinet design will use a 1/2" steel plate (even better if Blanchard ground) because the DI mag bases can be placed anywhere on the steel and the extra weight keeps the cabinet from moving (the current cabinet full of Unimat tooling and the lathe/milling is very heavy and doesn't move but more weight the better). 

I think due to stress, twists, and vibration, the 3/4" marble might eventually crack near where the holes are drilled for the hold-down bolts to the machine tool. I would keep the marble slab for a lapping plate. I want to find a 3/8" or 1/2" thick section of plate glass for a lapping plate using 600 or higher grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. 

Thanks again,

Paul

P.S. In late 2017 the modified Unimat with its cabinet full with its tooling weighs 65 pounds and never moves around on the workbench.

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## PJs

Paul,

Thanks for the reply and answers/comments. I agree about the analog DI usage. The thing I liked about the large format dial on the Reid is it's easy to read while focusing on the work and for fine stuff you can read between the lines better. Nice Bonus to an order.

I had the same thoughts on the tile or marble/granite cracking but am considering a wood frame with a plywood bottom and then bond the tile to it with construction adhesive. As for the holes I thought if I bored them oversize and made Delrin bushing inserts (thin "T" top, thick wall) to relieve the pressure a bit, it might work. As you know the 2 hold downs under the head stock are difficult to reach so I also intended to make some out riggers to distribute the load even more and make an easy removal for any maintenance. 

The idea of a steel (Blanchard ground) base...flat, solid and stable is excellent! Being able to stick mag bases to it may be a plus but would worry about pulling swarf to the mag base and maybe any residual magnetism in the plate. 

Also thank you very much for sharing the info on your early work on Very cool projects. Cutting edge stuff!! Almost went to work for Sperry not too long after college because deep ocean stuff fascinates me. Back in the eighties I did work in cryogenics and vacuum systems down to ~10-6 torr. It's the opposite end of the spectrum from your experience but build properties are very similar with seals, feedthru's and flanges. 




> So hearing the how and why about the unimat puts all the pieces of the puzzle together.



C-Bag is right again. Each has a unique set and directions, whence we came and going toward...but being able to help one another, share ideas and history is what make this such a great place.

This is a probably the most comprehensive build log/post for the Unimat I have encountered. Truly a gift to us Paul! Thank You!

~PJ

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C-Bag (Apr 19, 2016),

Paul Jones (Apr 18, 2016)

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## Paul Jones

PJs and C-Bag,

Thank you and I will update this posting as more modifications are created. I use TurboCAD but in the case of the Unimat tooling, all the drawings are hand drawn to scale in pencil in a spiral bound notebook with grid paper. It is my way of relaxing. I plan to convert to CAD drawings because there have been many requests for the plans but not sure when. I have also thought about doing a YouTube series based doing this machine build all over again by buying the Unimat SL part by part from sellers on eBay, machining new parts and being the systems integrator. Definitely a project for retirement.

Tonight, I weighed the Unimat and its single drawer cabinet with tooling and it has put on a some weight since this time last year. The whole system now weights 60.5 pounds due to all the new tooling built over the last two years and now either attached or stored in the cabinet. This explains why the machine and cabinet never moves around when in use on the bench.

Regards,

Paul Jones

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C-Bag (Apr 19, 2016),

PJs (Apr 19, 2016)

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## Paul Jones

I recently made a more accurate ER16 collet chuck for the Unimat (see Homemade Tapering Method for Homemade Collet Chuck ) and while I had the lathe setup for grinding the new chuck, I also ground the taper surface of a commercially available hardened ER16 collet chuck. Several years ago I had bought the hardened ER16 collet chuck with a M12X1 internal thread from a seller on eBay but was disappointed with the TIR of approximately 0.003" and never used the chuck. Using the Dremel tool in the QCTP and a fine grain grinding stone it was possible to grind the TIR to within 0.0001". Now the only real limitation for the collet chuck TIR is the precision of the ER16 collets. 

The 8 degree angle for grinding was determined by using a very precise old style E16 collet chuck I bought new in 1970 when I bought the Unimat SL 1000 lathe.



Before starting the grinding operation the Dremel grinding stone was dressed with a diamond dresser.




Next the old E16 chuck was removed and replaced with the hardened ER16 collet chuck bought on eBay but with a 0.003" TIR.



Measuring the newly ground TIR of the hardened ER16 collet chuck to be within 0.0001". Now the collet chuck can be used again for precision work in the Unimat.



Thank you for looking,

Paul Jones

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PJs (Jul 4, 2016)

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## Paul Jones

I recently received a question from a member of Home Model Engine Machinist forum regarding the Unimat milling head moving out of tram over time. I was not aware of this happening and this morning I measured the front-to-back tram to check for any movement. I had originally added to the milling support base a 0.0015” thick shim to bring the vertical column into tram front-to-back. Today's measurement has the front-to-back tram out by 0.0003" over a 3" distance across a 1-2-3 block and much better than I expected. This may be a slight droop over a two year period but well within the tolerances of this machine because the 25 mm vertical column can flex +/- 0.0005" during milling operations with heavy cuts.

However, I did find the side-to-side tram along the long axis of the Unimat to be out by 0.0015". This has always been a problem with the milling head because it can rotate slightly even with the locking screw and locking pin in place on the Unimat headstock assembly. It took about 15 minutes but I now have the long axis trammed to with 0.0003". This is an operation that should be done ever 3 to 6 months but I usually put it off.

I included a few photos of the Unimat milling head tramming operation including a photo of the dividing plate removed for access to the milling headstock locking screw.

Paul

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PJs (Jul 18, 2016)

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## morsa

Hello, Paul Jones.
Although I joined this forum in Aug-2015, I'm sure I had seen this post long ago and was part of the inspiration for my Unimat stand and drawer. Of course, I got the link saved in one of my Pinterest boards https://es.pinterest.com/morsa00/mecanizado-de-metales/

I know, mentioning Yahoo Unimat group or Pinterest seems impersonal, but now I can thank you for the inspiration.

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Paul Jones (Oct 13, 2016),

PJs (Oct 13, 2016)

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## morsa

Correction: there is more than one link to your posts in this board.  :Smile:

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Paul Jones (Oct 15, 2016)

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## Paul Jones

I am also a member of the Yahoo Unimat group and have found this website very useful. I use Pinterest for discovering many tool ideas and have my own Pinterest pages for saving ideas for future projects. It is a great visual resource.

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Hemi (Jun 21, 2018)

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## morsa

Thanks, Paul Jones. I could not agree with you more. Some time ago, I had difficulty in locating a website that had seen before; now, every time I find a page which could be useful in the future, I simply save the link in Pinterest, so it will be easy to locate at any time.

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Paul Jones (Jun 28, 2017)

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## Toolmaker51

> Thanks for compiling everything in one place Paul. Most of this was posted before I found this place. Your improvements have singlehandedly changed my opinion of the Unimat. I know there are a lot of fans of the machine but I thought it a toy. The stuff you are making on it and with amazing precision boggles. My neighbor down the street has one and he thinks of it as a toy. I'm going to give the link to this thread and see if he thinks that after he takes a look.



A similar situation, just not guy down MY street.  :Smile: 
I'd land on this thread periodically, among general return-on-search posts [lathe, indicator, milling, collets] and more specific searches ie ER collets. Not had or used mini-anything in ages; topics would soak in, but Unimat focus didn't pass "Ah yes, I remember" very far. Until last Sunday! I nearly tripped over my new-to-me mini. Typical scenario, garage sale w/ SO; drive by appraisal said no items of interest for me. Not anything even related to the trade. Overheard a side conversation of neighbors, the widow's "...some kind of machine". I figured a drill press, wood lathe, lapidary...Nope, not even close. 
Count me in fellow mini-men. EMCO Compact 5, milling and all. Emco Compact 5 Lathe Husband absorbed an an estate, seems he wasn't a DIYer, in machining anyway.
Nearly identical, with threading; but no operator in a sweater. Pics have to wait. I'm packing for a 6 week contract gig in Nevada & auto maintenance for a 3200 mile round-trip.

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Paul Jones (Jun 28, 2017)

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## Frank S

The closest thing I have ever owned remotely close to being a mini lathe was my first late the 9" South-bend 36" centers, the next closest was a 12 by 36" Craftsman / Atlas both only had a 1/2 or 3/4 Hp motor but could hardly be considered mini lathes. other than those I had my Do-more Versi-mill II which also had a 48" optional way bed with it I often used it as a lathe purely hand feed though with only a 3" movement for the cross slide. However I have often thought that I might want a modern mini lathe. This poses a problem fort me since the only mini lathes I have had any association with are the ones I've read about here on these and a few other forums, and the ones I have seen at Harbor freight or Northern Tools, they were what I would almost call shirt pocket lathes since they probably didn't' weigh much more than 75 lbs, but those for some reason don't really trip my trigger. I'm sure in their own right they are fine little machines I know several here seem to have made some amassing things with them. I'm looking for one in the 300 to 400 lb range and with the mill option upwards of 500 to 600 lbs. with at least a 1 hp motor with both metric and imperial threading

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Paul Jones (Jun 28, 2017)

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## Paul Jones

Good quality small lathes are fun to use for working on small parts. In college I work as a prototype machinist and did most of the machining of small parts on a well maintained Hardinge HLV-H lathe. It was the ultimate small lathe with a 11" swing over bed and 9" over carriage. Most of my work was machining mostly near the headstock so the 18" limit for the distance between centers was no problem. The lathe is normally setup with 5C collets but I used a set tru 3-jaw chuck. This lathe could machine extremely small and precise parts with tight tolerances. I wish I could afford owning a used one or one of the Hardinge HLV-H clones.

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PJs (Feb 26, 2018)

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## Toolmaker51

> ... I'm looking for one in the 300 to 400 lb range and with the mill option upwards of 500 to 600 lbs. with at least a 1 hp motor with both metric and imperial threading



hey Frank! Lathes one good example are the EMCO [not ENCO lol] #10'S. I'd warrant 99.9% of _real_ combination mill & lathe machines are European, especially England German/ Swiss/ Italy, probably Spain. Those support their broad cottage industies, like Boy mini injection molding presses. The imported derisions we see and to remain unnamed [but feature a mill on headstock over spindle] have decent weight but are by most account huge POS; only thing they're good at. Not rigid, IMO don't what we'd call repeat, and those spiffy "Chinalectrics". Even choice of R8 spindle, short quill complicates holder changes. Another hard to find let alone search is the Hannifin Multi; I've only seen one. Supposedly they were on WWII US subs.


I'm off to Reno NV soon. So I started looking for what to come back with...one a genuine BC Ames Triplex basket case. Good thing, too heavy to lift into trunk.

 

youtube.com/watch?v=8bYNq3vZTPQ

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Paul Jones (Jun 28, 2017)

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## Frank S

TM51, we'er getting ready for a road trip ourselves. We have to make a run up to Vashon island WA. to replace a hydraulic pump on a close friend's home elevator I built for him some 25 years ago. One would think if the pump lasted for 25 years it would last forever. Trying to decide if I want to pull an empty trailer or just take the chance that I won't find more than I can Beverly Hillbilly on my truck. I have my eye on a 46 Willis panel truck or a chushman truckster also 40 something vintage or I may just shove everything AI find in a 48ft dry van that I already have on the island and wait until my partner with his Mack can swing by and haul that back
Weight wise I could disassemble the truckster shove it in the willis and make some redneck ramps to push it up on the rails of the pickup bed. I'll have my wleder and torch anyway so fab work on site is possible LOL

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Paul Jones (Jul 1, 2017)

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## ncollar

Paul
You ave done an amazing job of this article. Very nice improvements done to a small machine that can be adapted to any size lathe. Very good idea for making a more comfortable machine to work.
Very nice.
Nelson

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Paul Jones (Feb 26, 2018),

PJs (Feb 26, 2018)

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## Hemi

Paul,
I just LOVE what ya done to your Unimat! MAN I'm droolin' over here......... IF only.......... I got 2 of the SL-1000's and one as a Lathe, and the other as a Mill as I do a LOT of model work with mine and some small stuff around the house so. those Mods to both of my machines would BE GREAT..... you got any "dimensions" of some of what you did? OR better yet, any way you can walk me through different DI's you done???????

I'm currently making a Lathe cross Slide "stop" for mine, as well as a bit holder for the Mill that will rest at the very bottom of the Head-Stock post of the mill, but thats simple items, the dials and all for measurements you added look as tho something I'd GREATLY use..... and would be a Unimat DRO (Just not "Digital") by sorts I guess..... Old School but WORKS!!!!!

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Paul Jones (Jun 24, 2018)

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## anasazi

Thanks! Some great ideas for the Unimat.

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Paul Jones (Mar 9, 2021)

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