mklotz
Well-Known Member
Recently we've had some posts about the metalworking tool kits sold by PM Research. I thought it only fair to the woodbutchers in the crowd to mention that PMR also makes casting kits for miniature (1/12 dollhouse scale) overhead belt drive woodworking machines.
The table saw is a nice model to build and relatively simple as PMR kits go. The rip fence and miter gauge are both operable and the saw blade provided will actually cut soft wood.
These old saws had no way of directly adjusting the blade height since the blade axle bearings were integral with the machine frame. Rather, blade height was changed by tilting the table up and down. This picture shows the screw that provided that adjustment. Also shown is the (squarish brass) bracket through which the drive belt was threaded. A kick lever at the front base of the saw allowed the operator to move the belt from the saw drive pulley to a free-wheeling pulley, thus allowing him to turn the saw on and off.
Their treadle operated wood lathe is pretty cute, too. The treadle mechanism works but, despite adding mass to the big pulley, I've never been able to provide enough inertia to actually allow one to drive the lathe from the treadle. (Of course, direct drive from an overhead line shaft is still possible.)
Shown in front of the lathe are a couple of spare centers made from tapered drive pins and a turning tool I made from drill rod (no, it's not hardened) and walnut 'lumber' used in model ship building.
The lathe uses a four-edged spur center to drive the workpiece. You make this from another tapered drive pin. In order to work out the procedure for making this very fiddly little part, I first made a test piece in brass. The picture is admittedly poor but, if you look closely, you'll see the four 'spurs' carved into the end of the 0.080" diameter stud on the end of the stock. This was done 'blind' on the Unimat - I couldn't really see what was happening so all the cuts were made by relying solely on the dials.
The table saw is a nice model to build and relatively simple as PMR kits go. The rip fence and miter gauge are both operable and the saw blade provided will actually cut soft wood.
These old saws had no way of directly adjusting the blade height since the blade axle bearings were integral with the machine frame. Rather, blade height was changed by tilting the table up and down. This picture shows the screw that provided that adjustment. Also shown is the (squarish brass) bracket through which the drive belt was threaded. A kick lever at the front base of the saw allowed the operator to move the belt from the saw drive pulley to a free-wheeling pulley, thus allowing him to turn the saw on and off.
Their treadle operated wood lathe is pretty cute, too. The treadle mechanism works but, despite adding mass to the big pulley, I've never been able to provide enough inertia to actually allow one to drive the lathe from the treadle. (Of course, direct drive from an overhead line shaft is still possible.)
Shown in front of the lathe are a couple of spare centers made from tapered drive pins and a turning tool I made from drill rod (no, it's not hardened) and walnut 'lumber' used in model ship building.
The lathe uses a four-edged spur center to drive the workpiece. You make this from another tapered drive pin. In order to work out the procedure for making this very fiddly little part, I first made a test piece in brass. The picture is admittedly poor but, if you look closely, you'll see the four 'spurs' carved into the end of the 0.080" diameter stud on the end of the stock. This was done 'blind' on the Unimat - I couldn't really see what was happening so all the cuts were made by relying solely on the dials.
