Ace-Garageguy

VERY nice. Some aspects of it make me think of Allard, had they built a full-fendered somethingorother.

When someone highlights a part of a quote with questions in it, the normal assumption is that the highlighted part is what's being addressed. As above. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And though there are some necessary internal similarities among lathe chucks, the means of adjustment, the "operator interface"...two small bars ("tommy bars") stuck in holes in the chuck and the adjustment collar...which is what I was addressing in my first post, is identical on the Unimat and Sherline 4000, and unlike the adjustment means on any conventional full-size lathe I've ever worked with...a T-handled square key that you insert in holes in the chuck, and turn to scroll the jaws open or closed. The very first lesson in Lathe 101 is to NEVER LEAVE THE ADJUSTING KEY IN THE CHUCK...EVER EVER EVER FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. The first time the key hits you in the face indicates exactly why. Big lathe, below, showing the chuck key very clearly "Tommy bars" for opening and closing the chuck jaws on a Unimat, similar to the Sherline, below.

PM'd.

The plan is to make molds of it, and put copies in several Stratos kits. But it'll be a while. I seem to remember that Model Builders Warehouse had a beautiful engine kit, but if so I missed it, and they're gone now.

I got the partial refund I'd asked for on the Testors 246 Dino kit that had a warped body and broken roof pillars and windshield, so that's something.

Amazing fall colors can be found in many parts of the country, with upstate New York and all over New England being among my favorites.

Yup. Stretching and exercise do much good to keep everything functioning, but I have to rely occasionally on aspirin, ibuprofen, and topicals like Bengay to get me to the point where I CAN exercise. That six weeks of immobility with the rib deal has been harder to get back from than I'd anticipated.

Very nice, and the big sparkly flake is really appropriate for that build style.

Yes, I do.

Several stainless socket head capscrews in lengths not available locally. Excellent quality for a very good price with free delivery, from Fastenere. And a roll of heat-shrink tape that's devoid of adhesive, and not anywhere as user-friendly as the great stuff that used to be available from Radio Shack. Heat-shrink tape is particularly useful when building custom wiring harnesses where branches sprout from the main wiring bundle, and you want a permanent un-sticky solution that won't let go and unravel over time, but if it's not self-adhesive, installation is much more time consuming and just about requires you to grow a third hand. The alternative, self-vulcanizing sticks-to-itself tape, is easier to use, but it tends to be considerably thicker, and makes klugeier looking junctions. I'm disappointed in this product from one of my regular electrical component suppliers, Sherco.

"South" isn't my favorite region unless it's followed by "west", though there is some very beautiful country down here.

OK, I'm corrected. But the means by which the lathe jaws on the Unimat and the Sherline are adjusted, among a few other things, appear to be absolutely identical. That wasn't coincidence (though I haven't disassembled anything on the Sherline to see how far the similarity goes).

Yup. I've had a full size gap-bed lathe (16" max OD workpiece) since 1995. And a full size Bridgeport clone. Bought a Unimat lathe and mill maybe 6 or 7 years back, about a 1969 issue, and subsequently collected a lot of tooling, parts, upgrades. Great little machine, good for model and other small precision work, but not sufficient power to efficiently work as large pieces as it will accommodate. Bought a pretty complete used Sherline lathe and mill setup with a LOT of tooling back in February of 2024. First time I've really needed it was this week, and it's impressive: well thought out and plenty powerful. And very obviously influenced by the little Unimat.

Austrian. The Unimat.

A learning experience. I set up the Sherline, for the first time, in the shop where I'm finishing up the Chevelle build. Needed to turn multiple parts, some of which have to be hand fitted, so taking the tool to the shop was the most efficient way to do it. Interesting...to anyone who owns a Unimat too, it's obvious that the Sherline's designers had looked very carefully at the Unimat before they put pen to paper.

"Joke, is this a?" is my first reaction watching most news stories these days.

DELETE...WRONG THREAD. DUH.

Late model Ford vans: We do bodywork for vehicles operated by Lockheed here. One common failure is the front door hinge attach points literally ripping out of the pillar at about 30k miles. We developed a reinforcing retrofit that solves the problem permanently. Fleet vehicles...like stripper vans...get used and abused hard by people who just don't care. Seems like Ford might have taken that into consideration during the design phase. Just a little thicker steel in the pillar shell...and maybe a 50 cent doubler plate inside the pillar shell...and there never would have been an issue in the first place. But I guess their billion-dollar computer simulations never simulated the effect of careless operators repeatedly slinging the doors open against the stops. Some human with a reality-aware functioning brain has to tell the simulator what to simulate. The Isuzu Luv trucks had an almost identical problem back in the late '80s-early '90s, which I saw a lot of in my shop, running fleet repair/maintenance for the largest Domino's Pizza franchise on the planet when they still operated small pickups with the 30 minute delivery guarantee. Back then, by the way, the little Toyota pickups were almost indestructible, well outperforming the little Fords, Isuzus, and Mitsubishis in a variety of areas.

Writing with a pen is becoming a lost art.

102F in the shop today at 4:30 PM. Honestly, really not too bad. Glad I'm heat tolerant. Probably drank a gallon of water though.

"Unwell" almost ranks up there with doubleplusungood for clarity.

I just won't spend much on daily transportation. I recently purchased a one-family-owned (real car people) '96 Blazer 2wd 4dr, well maintained but not perfect. Runs and drives like new except for the inop AC (works fine but leaks refrigerant) which is OK by me, as I have no heat-intolerant offspring or wives to deal with, and I prefer having the windows down most of the time if it's not raining or really cold anyway. 15MPG in town, about 20 on the highway. Even handles decent for a top-heavy SUV. Heavily optioned when new, including leather, and the interior is still quite nice. Practical little hauler in town, surprisingly comfortable on the road, one of my favorite all time vehicles. As good as this thing is, I'm surprised I don't see more of them...though there seem to be a fair few of the pickups still running. Like this but different. The '89 GMC longbed 5-speed single-cab fleet stripper still runs fine too. Another one of my all-time favorites, mostly because she has so much heart. Saved her from the crusher for $100, did the top of the engine and a timing chain, a radiator, and after 10 years another new battery, and she just runs and runs and runs. I did have to replace the failed EFI with a 60-year-old 2bbl carb, but she gets the same fuel economy as before, and still starts on the first turn of the key after sitting for weeks. Her engine is getting a little tired (300,000 plus now), but I have another 305 on the stand that just needs to be resealed, so she'll most likely run forever. Two people have crashed into her since I got her maybe 15 years ago, and she has surface rust where the infamous self-stripping GM paint has done its thing, but I have everything to make her pretty again too. Only thing I don't like is her lack of posi, but it's only been an issue once, so... Like this, but on the cheap steel wheels. Just an old truck, and a good one.

Forecast high 98F. Currently 80 with 94% humidity.

Interior appointments for the "Van Candy" vans weren't very luxurious, not helpful for a franchise that was doomed from the start.

"Relaxing" is something I need to get back to more frequently, but it's been tough for the last couple years with demands and obligations pulling me in opposite directions.