- Joined
- Apr 27, 2011
- Messages
- 68
Hello All,
Just trying to get into the swing things on this forum, thought I'd post the restorations of my two major pieces of equipment. (I'll post the mill restoration in the appropriate location.)
I originally started out a few years back (maybe a bit longer!) with a Unimat SL1000 with the U100 motor, but quickly realized it wasn't up to the demands I was making. Then found an Atlas 101 6X18 locally and completely refurbished it as per the first attached pdf.
While perusing Craig's List December 31st, 2009, I saw a listing for a chuck that came with a lathe, and in the body of the ad it was listed as a Maximat! Needless to say, I was a bit confused but at the price listed figured it was worth a telephone call. The seller was anxious to make a deal and agreed to bring the lathe and all accessories/parts out to my house for me to 'take a look', which he did on January 1st, 2010 during a major blizzard. I looked at it, plugged it in (while still sitting on the back of the truck) and made him an offer.
The lathe had been used/abused for many years as a 'site lathe' - the company would take the lathe to the site where they were doing equipment installations and use it for any needed mods. I think it's fair to say most of the people who used the lathe were not machinists!
Fortunately the important elements of the lathe were still in good shape and after ~six months of concerted effort I was very happy with the results. The 'little' 6X18 was invaluable during the restoration, and if I only had a bit more room would have kept it but with space being at a premium it had to be moved along.
The 'chuck' that was the original listing is a 6 1/2" Bison with the removable hard jaws, and they sell for ~$500. This one is in almost perfect condition, tight and square, other than some scratches on the body from normal use.
As a very pleasant side benefit, the 'extras' and spares included some relatively rare and very desirable items in duplicates that I was able to sell along that netted me more than I paid for the whole thing!
Just trying to get into the swing things on this forum, thought I'd post the restorations of my two major pieces of equipment. (I'll post the mill restoration in the appropriate location.)
I originally started out a few years back (maybe a bit longer!) with a Unimat SL1000 with the U100 motor, but quickly realized it wasn't up to the demands I was making. Then found an Atlas 101 6X18 locally and completely refurbished it as per the first attached pdf.
While perusing Craig's List December 31st, 2009, I saw a listing for a chuck that came with a lathe, and in the body of the ad it was listed as a Maximat! Needless to say, I was a bit confused but at the price listed figured it was worth a telephone call. The seller was anxious to make a deal and agreed to bring the lathe and all accessories/parts out to my house for me to 'take a look', which he did on January 1st, 2010 during a major blizzard. I looked at it, plugged it in (while still sitting on the back of the truck) and made him an offer.
The lathe had been used/abused for many years as a 'site lathe' - the company would take the lathe to the site where they were doing equipment installations and use it for any needed mods. I think it's fair to say most of the people who used the lathe were not machinists!
Fortunately the important elements of the lathe were still in good shape and after ~six months of concerted effort I was very happy with the results. The 'little' 6X18 was invaluable during the restoration, and if I only had a bit more room would have kept it but with space being at a premium it had to be moved along.
The 'chuck' that was the original listing is a 6 1/2" Bison with the removable hard jaws, and they sell for ~$500. This one is in almost perfect condition, tight and square, other than some scratches on the body from normal use.
As a very pleasant side benefit, the 'extras' and spares included some relatively rare and very desirable items in duplicates that I was able to sell along that netted me more than I paid for the whole thing!
