Machinery
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NEW 21/06/02
This page gives a quick description of the tooling which we are using to build (most of) Conway.
Harrison 140 Lathe
This is a metric version of the Harrison 11" (model L5A). The largest lathe we use, this was purchased second-hand from Toolco in Stroud, and had apparently come from a school. This was evident since, apart from the paint damage which any lathe suffers after a couple of weeks, it is in good mechanical condition. Also, it was built from new as a single phase machine, which is unusual for a lathe of this size. It was constructed in 1973, according to its serial number. The "vital statistics" are shown in the table below:
| Description | Dimension |
| Swing over bed | 290 mm / 11 3/8 " |
| Between Centres | 610 mm / 24" |
| Bed Length | 1295 mm / 51" |
| Swing over saddle | 205 mm / 8.125" |
| Swing in gap | 475 mm / 18.75" |
| Cross slide travel | 180mm / 7" |
| Top slide travel | 75mm / 2.875" |
| Tailstock stroke | 100mm / 4" |
| Spindle speeds | 8 (32 to 750 rpm) |
| Spindle Bore | 35mm / 1.375" |
| Centres | MT3 |
| Range of pitches (6mm pitch leadscrew) | 0.5 to 9mm / 4 to 24 tpi |
| Range of sliding feeds | 0.066 to 1.098 mm/rev |
| Range of surfacing feeds | 0.008 to 0.160 mm/rev |
Here's a picture of a similar machine - this is a slightly earlier version than ours as it appears to be fitted with an ungated speed selector lever on the front.
Thanks must go to the spares department at Harrison, who, despite no longer producing or stocking spares for this machine, were able to supply a nicely bound copy of the manual, free of charge!! Since the lathe is metric, and all of the Conway drawings are imperial, it becomes slightly awkward! The solution which I use is to convert the drawings to metric dimensions, and work to these. This is far easier, since all of the lathe's dials are graduated in millimetres. The Harrison is virtually bomb-proof, and does everything we ask of it. It's a bit big for some things, and that's where our other lathe comes in.
Unimat 4 lathe
This lathe is a lot smaller than the Harrison - it could quite comfortably sit on the Harrison's cross-slide! However, equipped with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, and a vertical slide, it provides small turning and milling capabilities. Its dimensions are shown below:
| Description | Dimension |
| Centre Height | 46 mm |
| Between Centres | 200 mm |
| Cross Slide Travel | 62 mm |
| Weight | 7 kg |
| Spindle Bore | 10.2 mm |
| Spindle / Tailstock Nose | M14 x 1 |
| Spindle Speeds (as delivered) | 8 (130 - 4000 rpm) |
| Spindle Speeds (with modifications) | Variable Speed up to 4000 rpm |
| Tailstock stroke | 23 mm |
| Motor | 95 W DC |
Again, this machine is metric. It has been modified to provide a continuously variable speed with electronic controller, as described on the Unimat Modification page. Here's a picture of the modified lathe with tailstock removed.
Performance Power Drill
A cheap job from B & Q. Subject to "you get what you pay for", but excellent value for £40! It doesn't have any speeds slow enough for reaming, but very few of the Far Eastern machines feature such slow speeds anyway.
This was purchased via Ebay and is a Taiwanese-built mini mill. It's similar to those available from Chester and Warco in the UK. We bought it to provide improved milling capacity compared to the Unimat, and it certainly provides that!! Once we'd adjusted the gibs and given everything the "once over" the machine performed well, and can take relatively heavy cuts for its size. It has fully variable speed, driving via a geared head with high and low gears. The design, with the head running on a dovetail slide, is far better than mill/drills where the head runs on a round column. With this machine, you can move the head up and down all day and you don't loose alignment. The vital statistics are:
| Description | Dimension |
| X axis travel | 228 mm |
| Y axis travel | 100 mm |
| Z axis travel | 250 mm |
| Max spindle nose to table | 300 mm |
| Spindle Speed range | 300 to 2800 rpm variable speed |
| Spindle | 3MT x M12 drawbar |
| T Slots | Three 12 mm T slots |
| Table Size | 385x90 mm |
| Milling capacity | 12mm end mill/slot drill 25mm face milling 12mm drilling |
