halfwit

I did source one in the end, but cannot remember from where. Job done now.

Both the Unimat 3 and the SL use M8 x 1 threads for the lead and cross slide screws rather than M6, as you say very sensible and convenient. Leadscrews are left hand thread, which makes it a bit of a sod when trying to source a decent tap to clear out a bunged up cross slide thread...

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.

Another option would be to set up the Unimat 3 as a mill/drill press (assuming that you still have access to it), perhaps not as good or as versatile as the Proxxon but would take up less bench space.

Very sad news indeed. I had the pleasure of meeting Peter and Ginny on a couple of occasions, lovely people. I have a couple of his more whimsical books, and a couple of his prints as well. A highly gifted artist, and a true gent.

And I should also mention that there's a couple of Unimat Yahoo groups, one for the DB/SL and one for the later machines (Unimat 3 onwards).

Had the same problem with my U3. Luckily I found an electric motor specialist not far from home who took the job on. They stripped and cleaned the thing out for £20. It was the smallest motor that they'd seen, they usually deal with larger jobs for woodworking equipment. So, try googling for motor repairers in your area, you might get lucky.

Some waffle and out-of-focus pics regarding turning boiler fitting on the Unimat on me blog for them wots interested. The Unimat is a fine machine for 4mm work, I use mine on the dining table.

Q.scapes - is your tapered brake standard flanged top and bottom? If so try holding the finished item gently in a 3 jaw or better still a collet gripping the job by the top flange and the part of the column that is of equal diameter (so that the job is held in two places). Then, rather than turn a spigot, drill a hole and insert a length of suitable sized rod. Another dodge would be to hold the job on its largest dia. with the outside of the jaws butting up to the bottom flange, with a modicum of care the job will run true enough. Carefull work with a drill won't put any undue pressure on the job, allowing a gentle grip, and of course there's no sideways pressure to worry about. I have done this myself, both when drilling out tapered chimneys (using a home made split collet) and making a brake standard for a OO9 small quarry Hunslet.

A neat job on an awkward kit. I've built three so far, one for myself and two for a customer, and can honestly say that it requires a fair amount of work, but the results are worth the effort. But, and I've said this before, its not a Summers wagon but an ICI one despite what the packaging says. The body is higher and longer than on the Summers wagons, check the position of the end of the hopper against the bogie pivot point for example. One worthwhile improvement is to substitute Cambrian brake wheels for the flat etched ones supplied. It'll look great once painted.

Tender - that does indeed look like a pipe centre in your last photo, very usefull for tube work. But make sure that the end of the tube is square before using it (either filed square or faced off) otherwise the tube will be held eccentrically. They come in all sizes, I used to use one that was at least 300mm dia. Rather heavy to lift... The handle is interesting, and nicely made. I've seen a photo of a similar one fitted to a Unimat SL in Laidlaw Dickson's 'The Book of the Unimat', used (by an editor of 'Model Engineering') for turning cast iron at low speed. As you suggest it looks very usefull for cutting threads, either with tap or die holder.

Interesting youtube video that. Note the m/c running in reverse, suggesting that the operator (I wouldn't describe him as a turner) is unskilled, and running at fairly low revs as well. Gloves are a big no-no, as are loose sleeves. And I would have moved the saddle out of the way and covered the bed with card to protect it from dust. Polishing isn't usually a problem (I used to do a fair amount of long shaft work, and often polished jobs in a similar fashion) as long as both hands are used so that the paper/emery cloth can be gripped at each end, so if it does grab its easy to let go. And use a long strip of cloth to keep hands away from the job. But the main problem appears to be training, as in the lad looks he's had none!

Thanks for the replies - much appreciated. Now I just need to find a blowtorch (I didn't see any in the local DIY emporium yesterday). The reason that I want to use silver steel is that I can file the cutter to shape, harden it, then lightly finish with a stone.

A quick query, I've made a cutter from silver steel and want to harden it (a little overkill perhaps as it will only be used on brass but hey, good practice and all that). This means heating to cherry red and quenching in water. The cutter is 4mm dia. and 10mm long. Would a domestic common or garden blowtorch do the job (the ones that sit on a butan/propane canister)? I'm not used to heating things up and haven't currently got such a torch to hand. The cutter by the way is for flycutting chimney/dome bases.

Roxey Mouldings plan to supply Summers transfers for their kit, it might be worth contacting them if Summers transfers you want. (The Roxey kit, although advertised as a Summers wagon is in fact an ICI wagon. The body is longer and higher on an ICI wagon than on a Summers job). Some prototype detail pics here for them wots interested.

RT Models make a nice etched Hudson side tipper, a lot of which were used for colliery spoil.

Concerning stops, and moving away from Myfords for a moment, I use one of these on my Unimat SL along with a 30mm travel Mitutoyo DTI (bear in mind that the SL is a small m/c and I only make small stuff, chimneys for OO9 locos being the largest jobs tackled so far). Mine can be seen here, albeit with a different DTI fitted. I often wonder of something similar could be made for a larger m/c. And yes a could have made my own rather than buying one but I prefer to spend my limited spare time making loco parts rather than tooling.

Partly insulation and partly fatigue. A duckboard will have a bit of 'spring' in it which will help prevent tired legs. Back in my m/c shop days we had duckboards made up from wood, new ones soon got a layer of swarf embedded into the top...

The problem with using cutting mats is that when you cut out small parts with a knife (curved bladed scalpel is my usual weapon of choice) the mat deforms under the pressure of the blade and the part being cut can bend, only slightly perhaps but still in need of straightening. I'm experimenting using an offcut of MDF as a mat, which should keep everything flat as its being cut whilst still keeping the blade keen and not slipping.

Nice work on that Deutz, I like the grubby finish. I've yet to build mine but it looks like it goes together without fuss. For those interested Small Run Batch now have a Facebook page, which can be seen by us non-Facebook users.

Paul - note the ladder in Brian's photo above. On a Summers wagon the bottom of the ladder should sit on the edge of the crossbrace (bogie support), close to the angled tray. On the Roxey kit it sits further out on the triangular gusset, as above, which points to the body being overlength for a Summers wagon. When I noticed this on my first build I did a bit of measuring which confirmed by belief that the kit is pure ICI, not Summers! Apologies to Brian for the thread hijack!

A neat job on an awkward, but highly satisfying, kit Brian. Cambrian sell a sprue of various brake wheels, one of which is a decent match and far better than using the etched job supplied with the kit. Paul - I believe it to be an ICI rather than a Summers wagon, check the body dimensions against a drawing, and the body length against the chassis. My latest build can be seen here.

I've produced wheels for split-framed OO9 locos by removing the tyres from Parkside wheelsets and pressing them onto turned brass centres, as explained here. I know thats not much use if you haven't access to a lathe though!

Good grief! When I found them I honestly thought that they were far beyond saving!

Hot of the workbench, a pair of Robert's Dinorwic wagons; The maintenence wagon on the left has had the cast end supports replaced with brass strip. Couplings are RT with the larger size loop.