Good morning Paul. I'm really enjoying your progress with this Unimat-SL tear down. I have only ever seen one of these in real life. I believe they are rare and not easily to find these days? Hope your well buddy and staying safe. Warm regards from you convict cousin from downunder. Aaron 👍
Hi Aaron, They do appear quite often here in the UK but normally I poor condition but nevertheless quite expensive. I would like to be able to find a repeatable and cost effective way to bring them back to life... I think i need to complete one before getting carried away. Thanks for visiting. Paul,,
Thank you Paul, I used my clock hand pullers and removed the pulley. I am having such a great time cleaning and fixing all of the little stuff. Most girls want to go shopping…me, I love to get into the meat of the matter. Learning is the most fun even if I get dirty. 🙃 Take care, Leslie
Great to see the disassembly of this small vintage machine tool in to its component parts. Makes a pleasant change from viewing big iron castings, lifting gear, puffing and grunting. Tony
Nice walk through Paul, very interesting to see the workmanship that went into manufacturing the Unimat and easy to see how they would be revered by hobbyists. Cheers!
Hi Paul, well documented strip down. I like the tool count idea, you have used less tools than I lost during my mill head strip! It looks very well made and incredibly uncomplicated design, you can tell it was designed by Engineers as opposed to copied by the uneducated which is what I have been dealing with. Cheers, Jon
Hi Jon, I think the design engineers got is spot on... it sold from 1953 - 1977 which says a lot about the little machine... Thanks for watching and subscribing. Take care Paul,,
Gday Paul, there a very well made machine, you can see the quality in it, I’m amazed just how small the components are, great video mate and your subs are going up to👌🏼,take care Matty
Hi Matty, I am definitely not going to be making a move on Adam Booth's viewers with this tiny lathe - hehe... I am grateful for your help with the subs. Take care Paul,,
I was searching the web for info on these, and found a “Lathecity” site that had some info/history. They state that it won’t work on metal, even aluminum, that it’s motor stalls with even the slightest depth of cut. Do you agree with that? Neat looking lathe though! Enjoying your channel! Stay well!
@@tomt9543 Hi Tom, Once I have the lathe up and running I plan to make another playlist where I test the performance of the Unimat SL on various materials... Hopefully we can work out the limitations of the lathe. Thanks for watching. Take care Paul,,
I agree that the recess in the spindle that houses the bearing is machined to receive a seal. I also like the way they machined the outside of the spindle to act like a rack and pinion affair.
Hi Matt, I hope to get a larger lathe up and running in the next month or so which should help me make some bit and bobs to repair the Unimat... It is a nice design. Take care Paul,,
Hi Vernon, Thank you... When you think they were designed 70 years ago and some are still about it does make you think they got it right... Take care Paul,,
Hi Paul. Looking forward to the spindle disassembly and inspection, I have not done mine yet. The U-100 motor has an internal fan and I've run mine for extended periods without overheating, but need to learn how to service it. The U-100 is occasionally available on eBay but quite expensive. Also watching for details on the auto-feed, don't have the attachment yet but looking for one. Thanks again for this video series !
Hi Rich, Thank you very much for the info on the motor's... I was aware there are some overheating problems with the SL motors... sounds like the U-100 is the one to get, I will tell everyone this information in the next episode. Take care Paul,,
Hello Paul, I love the videos and I know that it has been a year since you started these begging ones but I have a small problem that I hope you can help with. The prior owner of my lathe put the motor pulley on backwards and I can’t access the two flush screws to remove the motor from the support. Help!!! The support is bent and I have a new one to reinstall. Your video has helped me so much on my tailstock also, the parts inside were not moving. But watching your video I followed your great work and now it’s all great. Thank you so much. It has been a big help for us girl clockmakers who wish to dive in with our Unimat. Take care and I hope you have a solution for me. God bless you Paul. Your friend Leslie
Hi Everett, Thanks for your kind comments... Hopefully it will help SL owners and show others you don't have to over engineer things to work well. Take care Paul,,
Hi Joseph, You have just given my a good idea... I think once I've finished the restoration and the performance playlists I will make a video called "Top 10 things to look for when buying a Unimat SL lathe". Thanks for sparking the idea. Paul,,
Hi Ben, When I was an apprentice... The instructors said anyone can take something apart, the trick is being able to put it back together again. I guess time will tell - hehe. Thanks for watching. Paul,,
Paul, is the finish Hammer tone on the lathe like it is on the motor? Will you go back with the same finish? You mentioned the head being vertical and used as a mill. How does that work? Thanks for sharing. Joe
Hi Joe, Yes the finish is hammer tone and i would like it to be original if possible. If you watch my video on taper turning on the SL you can see it setup as a mill. Take care Paul,,
Hello I’m going have take my tail stock apart. When it’s all the way in harder to turn after couple revolutions you can use one finger on stinger handle. The rest the way smooth as butter. Sam way going back in. Smooth then last few revs harder.watch this video think clean mine up , I hope not threads. Any thanks for information as always Stay safe Ur W.V. pal
Hi Paul, My tailstock quill was just the same... all it did was disassemble it, clean all the component parts and remove some burrs that were on the keyway. The only thing to beware of is that it quite easy to assemble back to front (I did)... As the restoration continues I will show the reassembly of the tailstock. Thanks for watching. Paul,,
I just got a Unimat SL but the tailstock spindle, cross slide, and apron are stuck. I've made sure the hex locks are loose, and tried to use liquid wrench and mallet but they are still stuck.
Hi, Sounds like you've got a bit of a challenge there... I can only suggest take a cautious approach and clean around the stuck areas and then reapply the Liquid Wrench... you may need to do this a few times but hopefully some will eventually penetrate into the stuck areas and free it... Take care. Paul,,
@@TheKnacklersWorkshop Thanks, I was finally able to get everything unstuck today, I had to pry the tailstock spindle out using a screwdriver as a lever, and I used clamps to force the cross slide and carriage out from their stuck position.
Hi Craig, I wanted to do some turning again so needed a small lathe... liked the look of these but when it arrived i was surprised how small it was (should have done homework). I liked the form and simple engineering so thought i would keep it. I also wanted to start this RU-vid stuff so thought it would work well to get me going with engineering and RU-vid. Take care Paul,,
