Lathes & M/C tools

[halfwit]

On 16/12/2019 at 20:31, Isambarduk said:

Yes exactly, the SL, which is one of the very early versions of the Unimat and it was/is not so common.  I was questioning your earlier statement  "You know its a Unimat as the bed was two 1/2" round bars." because most old Unimat lathes do not have two round bars for the bed, that's all.  David

 

Looking at eBay listings and it seems that the SL/DB is far more common than the 3, which in turn is more common than the 4. It would be interesting to know how many of each model were made. 

The bed bars on the SL are 12mm by the way. And are the weak spot of the design.

[JeffP]

The little co-ordinate table, (x-y table) arrived from China.

At first glance, nice, neat and works smoothly. Some adjustment of the x co-ordinate gib strips will be in order as it can be moved off line. I can actually see the movement at the gib. Haven't had time to do owt about it yet.

 

The two handwheels are calibrated and seem to be on 1mm pitch threads, since one full turn equates to 1mm.

I've done a quick test and sure enough, 100 full turns is 100mm.

 

 

Don't know if this would be of use to others, but at £23.66 delivered it might be a bargain? It will be partnered with my new mini-jeweller's drill.

 

Here's a link to a well known auction site for anyone else interested:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6300-Mini-Precision-Multifunction-Worktable-X-Y-axis-Adjust-Coordinate-Table-GZ/143345255837?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

[Vecchio]

The fact that you can adjust the dovetail guides for both x and y movement makes it a very useful tool which should stay accurate as long as you keep it well maintained. and £23.66 is peanuts (well - a jumbo pack  )

[michl080]

On 21/12/2019 at 17:44, JeffP said:

The two handwheels are calibrated and seem to be on 1mm pitch threads, since one full turn equates to 1mm.

I've done a quick test and sure enough, 100 full turns is 100mm.

 

Very nice, especially the 1turn per mm is great. There are many other tables at ebay mostly with 1.5mm per turn.

 

I have ordered one 5 minutes ago :-)

 

Thanks!!

 

 

[ian@stenochs]

I thought about ordering one on Saturday after reading Jeffs post. However when I looked it up on the bay it said ‘Last One’ so thought about it and didn’t bother. I looked again today and it still said last one but also 2 sold in last 24 hours!  Marketing ploy, dodgy stock control or what?

 

Do I really need another tool?  Merry Christmas,

 

Ian.

[polybear]

Pretty sure when I looked at these that they're available from several different sellers (who may well be one and the same, with different seller names.....)

[2mmMark]

I've got one of those set up to fit onto the table of my Clarke bench drill press and very useful it is too.

[jrg1]

On 22/12/2019 at 03:44, JeffP said:

The little co-ordinate table, (x-y table) arrived from China.

At first glance, nice, neat and works smoothly. Some adjustment of the x co-ordinate gib strips will be in order as it can be moved off line. I can actually see the movement at the gib. Haven't had time to do owt about it yet.

 

The two handwheels are calibrated and seem to be on 1mm pitch threads, since one full turn equates to 1mm.

I've done a quick test and sure enough, 100 full turns is 100mm.

 

 

Don't know if this would be of use to others, but at £23.66 delivered it might be a bargain? It will be partnered with my new mini-jeweller's drill.

 

Here's a link to a well known auction site for anyone else interested:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6300-Mini-Precision-Multifunction-Worktable-X-Y-axis-Adjust-Coordinate-Table-GZ/143345255837?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Looks good for matching up with a rivet press..............

[justin1985]

On 24/12/2019 at 09:24, michl080 said:

 

Very nice, especially the 1turn per mm is great. There are many other tables at ebay mostly with 1.5mm per turn.

 

I have ordered one 5 minutes ago :-)

 

Thanks!!

 

 

 

The one I ordered just arrived, but on mine, one turn = 1.25mm!

 

It seems pretty solid and well made, but noticeably lower quality than the one supplied with my Proxxon mill. The mounting points are too wide to fit directly to the Proxxon, but I'm sure it will come in handy in due course. (I did have in mind to use this slightly larger travel table on the mill, and fit the small Proxxon table to the Proxxon drill press that I also have)

[Guest Isambarduk]

53 minutes ago, justin1985 said:

on mine, one turn = 1.25mm!

That's really handy! (I don't think). 

 

Is it really 1.25mm/turn or is 0.050"/turn (ie 50 thou per turn)?  That would make a bit more sense.  

 

David

[justin1985]

26 minutes ago, Isambarduk said:

That's really handy! (I don't think). 

 

Is it really 1.25mm/turn or is 0.050"/turn (ie 50 thou per turn)?  That would make a bit more sense.  

 

David

 

I haven't actually measured the travel, but it certainly looks like it is 1.25mm. The dials are marked out in 0.25mm gradations, with a further 0.25mm gap between 1.0 and 0.0.

 

I don't read any Mandarin at all, and there is not really any English on the box or in the leaflet. It looks like it is listing 1.25mm as a key specification though.

 

And the booklet lists three models - the smallest has something (I'm guessing travel per revolution?) of 1.25mm. On the middle one it's 1.5mm, and on the biggest it's 3mm.

 

[AndyID]

12 minutes ago, justin1985 said:

 

I haven't actually measured the travel, but it certainly looks like it is 1.25mm. The dials are marked out in 0.25mm gradations, with a further 0.25mm gap between 1.0 and 0.0.

 

I don't read any Mandarin at all, and there is not really any English on the box or in the leaflet. It looks like it is listing 1.25mm as a key specification though.

 

And the booklet lists three models - the smallest has something (I'm guessing travel per revolution?) of 1.25mm. On the middle one it's 1.5mm, and on the biggest it's 3mm.

 

 

It's certainly going to provide a lot of mental exercise. I suppose you could pre-calculate all your dimensions in terms of complete revolutions plus quarter mm's.

[richbrummitt]

The movement per revolution are presumably a result of using metric threaded bar for the lead screws. Proxxon use M6 on the table for the MF70, which has the convenient pitch of 1mm. M8 is 1.25 pitch. 

Edited January 3, 2020 by richbrummitt

[Vecchio]

There are always fine threaded versions which would have been useful in this case.

I have 1.5 on some of my spindles, and yes, you get used to it. It is easier as 1.25, but still annoying. And this is EMCO - a good old (and no longer existing) Austrian company.... 

 

[Guest Isambarduk]

 

2 hours ago, justin1985 said:

It looks like it is listing 1.25mm as a key specification though.

 

Good grief!

 

1 hour ago, richbrummitt said:

Proxxon use M6 on the table for the MF70, which has the convenient pitch of 1mm. M8 is 1.25 pitch. 

 

Just so, which is the thread used by Emco on their Unimat 3 - all very sensible and convenient.

To use M8 with a pitch of 1.25mm is madness in my view - it's worse than the equivalent of on my Myford ML7 with a pitch of 1/8" on the lead screw (so the hand wheel is marked for 125 thou) which is fine if you are working in fractions but a bit hard going if you are working in thou, and dealing with more than 1/8".  Having wound the handwheel, I always check with a steel rule that I have done my sums correctly!  Of course, DRO is the real solution ...

 

David

[richbrummitt]

33 minutes ago, Isambarduk said:

 

 

Good grief!

 

 

Just so, which is the thread used by Emco on their Unimat 3 - all very sensible and convenient.

To use M8 with a pitch of 1.25mm is madness in my view - it's worse than the equivalent of on my Myford ML7 with a pitch of 1/8" on the lead screw (so the hand wheel is marked for 125 thou) which is fine if you are working in fractions but a bit hard going if you are working in thou, and dealing with more than 1/8".  Having wound the handwheel, I always check with a steel rule that I have done my sums correctly!  Of course, DRO is the real solution ...

 

David

 

I have a Clisby lathe that I don't use since it has an English lead screw. It's a 1/4" diameter thread whatever that equates to. I really must look at it again with a view to making it more convenient to use because it has a lot of additional items with it that would make it better for normal model railway use than my watchmakers lathe, unless I need a collet. DRO would be quite painful to fit to something so small I fear.

[micknich2003]

I have fitted DRO to my Sherline milling machine with no bother, the machine as Imperial feed screws, but now I can work in either metric ort imperial.

[-missy-]

11 hours ago, richbrummitt said:

 

I have a Clisby lathe that I don't use since it has an English lead screw. It's a 1/4" diameter thread whatever that equates to. I really must look at it again with a view to making it more convenient to use because it has a lot of additional items with it that would make it better for normal model railway use than my watchmakers lathe, unless I need a collet. DRO would be quite painful to fit to something so small I fear.

Richard.

 

Have you considered chopping up some digital callipers to make something DRO like? I have seen it done. Callipers can be picked up for not much, i have a plastic pair which cost me less than £5.

 

J.

[polybear]

11 minutes ago, -missy- said:

Richard.

 

Have you considered chopping up some digital callipers to make something DRO like? I have seen it done. Callipers can be picked up for not much, i have a plastic pair which cost me less than £5.

 

J.

 Often done with the metal ones too - I'm in the process (very slowly) for my Taig (Peatol) Lathe, using Aldi Calipers - which appear to be as accurate as my Mitutoyo 0-25mm manual mic.

[45609]

9 hours ago, micknich2003 said:

I have fitted DRO to my Sherline milling machine with no bother, the machine as Imperial feed screws, but now I can work in either metric ort imperial.

 

What sort of DRO arrangement are you using Mick?

[richbrummitt]

40 minutes ago, -missy- said:

Richard.

 

Have you considered chopping up some digital callipers to make something DRO like? I have seen it done. Callipers can be picked up for not much, i have a plastic pair which cost me less than £5.

 

J.

 

Yes; I even bought the calipers a number of years ago (7) but then couldn't figure out how to proceed. I have 2 digital calipers that I have barely had out of their cases. Something I need to look into again. 

[micknich2003]

I bought my DRO's from Arc Euro Trade. The X axis I fitted direct to the machine, the Y axis is fitted to the workbench.

[michl080]

23 hours ago, justin1985 said:

The one I ordered just arrived, but on mine, one turn = 1.25mm!

 

Oh my! That means now it will be 0  -- 1 1/4 -- 2 1/2 -- 3 3/4 -- 5 -- 6 1/4

 

Bad for a continental metric mind.

 

Michael

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

A maybe daft but simplistic question re the above tables.

For the "average" modeller/bodger, is it worth spending up to ten times the price on a more accurate machine over the ebay specials?

 

Mike.

[Huw Griffiths]

8 hours ago, polybear said:

 Often done with the metal ones too - I'm in the process (very slowly) for my Taig (Peatol) Lathe, using Aldi Calipers - which appear to be as accurate as my Mitutoyo 0-25mm manual mic.

 

I suspect they might be accurate enough to be usable for home workshop use.

 

Somehow, though, I'd be surprised if they were actually as accurate as a Mitutoyo micrometer.

 

Mitutoyo - and other premium brands - often tend to be "premium" for a reason - accuracy of calibration (including the possibility of tracing calibration back to a recognised standard) and repeatability of readings are often typical of these reasons.

 

Please don't see this as me taking a "pop" at measuring instruments (and tools) from places like Aldi and Lidl. They've certainly got uses (and my Lidl digital calipers see a lot of use) - but I don't think they're intended as "reference" instruments.

 

 

As for separating the measurement / readout "head" from digital calipers, they're often enclosed in very hard steel housing / jaw assemblies - so some of them might be difficult to break out.

 

Also, I don't know if the "head" would be able to be turned to face in the desired direction.

 

Meanwhile, I don't know if you'd be looking to connect one of these to a computer etc.. Judging by what I've read on some other sites, this might also present some issues since, although a number of "budget" calipers have what look like USB connections on them, different makes appear to use different "codes" for any data which might be available from them.

 

 

Please don't take my comments the wrong way - I certainly don't wish to put a "dampener" on any of this stuff. In fact, I enjoy experimenting - and I've considered doing something quite similar myself in the past.

 

I just don't want you (or anyone else) to fall into any traps without being aware that they might even exist.

 

 

Regards,

 

Huw.