wefalck

Oh yes, you are right. I had been thinking of lead-screws and changewheels, but the UNIMAT one was of the cartridge-type, where are cartridge with a master-thread that is screwed to the  lathe spindle and there is a follower on a bar behind the lathe that engages with the master-thread and moves the cutting tool along. It the kind you would find mainly on lathes for the optical industry, where short, but very precise threads are needed.
Here is a picture from www.lathes.uk.co:

In nearly 30 years of scanning the Internet for lathe attachments and the likes, I have seen may be two units for sale.
 
Ah, and one more important point to watch out, when buying a lathe: ideally, you want to have zero-ing dials on the handwheels. That makes turning to pre-defined points without calculating so much easier. On the hand, once you have a lathe, you can perhaps retro-fit them yourself - a lathe is a self-replicating tool.

Oh yes, you are right. I had been thinking of lead-screws and changewheels, but the UNIMAT one was of the cartridge-type, where are cartridge with a master-thread that is screwed to the  lathe spindle and there is a follower on a bar behind the lathe that engages with the master-thread and moves the cutting tool along. It the kind you would find mainly on lathes for the optical industry, where short, but very precise threads are needed.
Here is a picture from www.lathes.uk.co:

In nearly 30 years of scanning the Internet for lathe attachments and the likes, I have seen may be two units for sale.
 
Ah, and one more important point to watch out, when buying a lathe: ideally, you want to have zero-ing dials on the handwheels. That makes turning to pre-defined points without calculating so much easier. On the hand, once you have a lathe, you can perhaps retro-fit them yourself - a lathe is a self-replicating tool.

A topic one can discuss for hours and there are already several threads on this topic here on the forum. As @toolmaker said, the first thing to do is to make a list of the enveloppe you think you will need and of the capabilities required - then go for a lathe about twice the size. One always underestimates the distance between centres and swing needed (BTW, in the US the 'swing', i.e. the maximum diameter of parts is given, while in Europe it is the centre height, i.e. the height above the bed or the radius!).
The next key question is, whether you think that one day you may want to cut threads: neither old Unimat nor the Taig doesn't have this capability ex-factory, but there are several suggestions for retro-fitting on the Internet; the Sherline has this as an extra to be purchased; the medium to larger PROXXON models and the the Cowells ME lathe have the capability build in; the various modern Chinese lathes have this capability, but (plastic) change-wheels may need to be purchased as an extra; classical watchmaking lathes do not need thread-cutting capability, but it was offered for some of the WW-type models (Lorch, Schmidt & Co., Wolf, Jahn & Co., Boley, Leinen, and Levin), but prices on the secondhand-market tend to be astronomical.
Personally, I prefer working with collets, rather than three- or four-jaw chucks. Much safer and much better repeatability. Not all lathes have a spindle-cone to take in collets, for some so-called collet-chucks are/were available (Unimat, Proxxon). The Sherline has a spindle-cone and a limited range of collets is available, but with an adapter, standard WW-type watchmaking collets can used (available from Sherline, albeit not the same quality as the original ones). On watchmaking lathes collets are a standard feature.
The 'feel' while working with the handwheels or ball-cranks is important, how smooth are the spindles and what about backlash (the amount you can turn the wheel before a movement of the slide occurs), can it be adjusted?
Related to this is how smoth the slides work and how well the adjustment via gib-strips work. These features can vary from individual lathe to individual lathe. For me these are crucial features to achieve good results.
Another question to consider is, whether one has the space for a permanent set-up or has to move the lathe into storage after use. In the latter case, the Chinese and larger PROXXON lathes are probably out, because they tend to be too large and heavy. The old-time Unimat came with a nice storage case, as did normally all watchmaking lathes. Otherwise, the Sherline and Taig seem to be quite mobile.
And one more thing to consider: the cost of (quite essential) accessories, such as chucks, collets, tooling etc. can be as high as the basic lathe.
 
BTW, engine and watchmaking lathes in their 'modern' form have been around since the 1870s to 1880s, not only since the 1920s. Strangely enough many watchmakers/-repairers today still prefer to work with handgravers rather than sliderests with toolbits (as on engine lathes) - this works for the generally short workpieces they need, but making multiple parts to the same dimensions with this method is a pain unless you are well-practiced. The handgraver together with a so-called T-rest (inexplicably expensive attachment to the Sherline ...) is excellent for shaping parts such as bells.
 
Another point: Babbitt-bearings to the best of my knowledge were never used on such small machine tools. They were not suited to the high speeds at which these machines commonly run (typically between 1000 and 5000 rpm) and probably would not be precise enough. Cheaper machines originally used lapped bronze cone-bearings in which hard steel spindles ran, while the high-end watchmaking lathes have glass-hard steel cone-bearings in which glass-hard steel spindles run. Today model-engineering lathes usually have either a combination of radial and axial ball-bearings or taper roller-bearings that take up both, axial and radial loads.
 

Remember that double-slotted collets, such as the ER-type are designed for holding tools or round stock. The material has to go through the whole length of the collet or nearly so. Pieces of less than half the length of the collet cannot be securely clamped, as tightening the collet has the tendency to squeeze the part out of the collet ... there is also the risk of damaging the collet in this way.

Oh yes, you are right. I had been thinking of lead-screws and changewheels, but the UNIMAT one was of the cartridge-type, where are cartridge with a master-thread that is screwed to the  lathe spindle and there is a follower on a bar behind the lathe that engages with the master-thread and moves the cutting tool along. It the kind you would find mainly on lathes for the optical industry, where short, but very precise threads are needed.
Here is a picture from www.lathes.uk.co:

In nearly 30 years of scanning the Internet for lathe attachments and the likes, I have seen may be two units for sale.
 
Ah, and one more important point to watch out, when buying a lathe: ideally, you want to have zero-ing dials on the handwheels. That makes turning to pre-defined points without calculating so much easier. On the hand, once you have a lathe, you can perhaps retro-fit them yourself - a lathe is a self-replicating tool.

I have started assembling the boiler deck superstructure. This is the starboard side rooms.  The interiors will be hidden when built - except for any window views.  The windows were single pane and slid down into recessed panels.  

The interior view shows the men’s smoker forward and women’s salon aft.  I still need to build and populate those rooms. The port side will be somewhat open to allow the room details to be viewed.
 

 
JHC had a combined galley/kitchen.  It was initially a working boat with passengers a secondary interest and no overnight accommodations.  The dining room was either the open area between the women’s saloon and the toilets, or the main deck if available. The forward stateroom was for the engineer and fireman.
 

I still need to build the entire port side along with all of the furnishings. After that, the railings – which I expect will take a lot of time based upon my experience with the Thistle. 
 
 

A topic one can discuss for hours and there are already several threads on this topic here on the forum. As @toolmaker said, the first thing to do is to make a list of the enveloppe you think you will need and of the capabilities required - then go for a lathe about twice the size. One always underestimates the distance between centres and swing needed (BTW, in the US the 'swing', i.e. the maximum diameter of parts is given, while in Europe it is the centre height, i.e. the height above the bed or the radius!).
The next key question is, whether you think that one day you may want to cut threads: neither old Unimat nor the Taig doesn't have this capability ex-factory, but there are several suggestions for retro-fitting on the Internet; the Sherline has this as an extra to be purchased; the medium to larger PROXXON models and the the Cowells ME lathe have the capability build in; the various modern Chinese lathes have this capability, but (plastic) change-wheels may need to be purchased as an extra; classical watchmaking lathes do not need thread-cutting capability, but it was offered for some of the WW-type models (Lorch, Schmidt & Co., Wolf, Jahn & Co., Boley, Leinen, and Levin), but prices on the secondhand-market tend to be astronomical.
Personally, I prefer working with collets, rather than three- or four-jaw chucks. Much safer and much better repeatability. Not all lathes have a spindle-cone to take in collets, for some so-called collet-chucks are/were available (Unimat, Proxxon). The Sherline has a spindle-cone and a limited range of collets is available, but with an adapter, standard WW-type watchmaking collets can used (available from Sherline, albeit not the same quality as the original ones). On watchmaking lathes collets are a standard feature.
The 'feel' while working with the handwheels or ball-cranks is important, how smooth are the spindles and what about backlash (the amount you can turn the wheel before a movement of the slide occurs), can it be adjusted?
Related to this is how smoth the slides work and how well the adjustment via gib-strips work. These features can vary from individual lathe to individual lathe. For me these are crucial features to achieve good results.
Another question to consider is, whether one has the space for a permanent set-up or has to move the lathe into storage after use. In the latter case, the Chinese and larger PROXXON lathes are probably out, because they tend to be too large and heavy. The old-time Unimat came with a nice storage case, as did normally all watchmaking lathes. Otherwise, the Sherline and Taig seem to be quite mobile.
And one more thing to consider: the cost of (quite essential) accessories, such as chucks, collets, tooling etc. can be as high as the basic lathe.
 
BTW, engine and watchmaking lathes in their 'modern' form have been around since the 1870s to 1880s, not only since the 1920s. Strangely enough many watchmakers/-repairers today still prefer to work with handgravers rather than sliderests with toolbits (as on engine lathes) - this works for the generally short workpieces they need, but making multiple parts to the same dimensions with this method is a pain unless you are well-practiced. The handgraver together with a so-called T-rest (inexplicably expensive attachment to the Sherline ...) is excellent for shaping parts such as bells.
 
Another point: Babbitt-bearings to the best of my knowledge were never used on such small machine tools. They were not suited to the high speeds at which these machines commonly run (typically between 1000 and 5000 rpm) and probably would not be precise enough. Cheaper machines originally used lapped bronze cone-bearings in which hard steel spindles ran, while the high-end watchmaking lathes have glass-hard steel cone-bearings in which glass-hard steel spindles run. Today model-engineering lathes usually have either a combination of radial and axial ball-bearings or taper roller-bearings that take up both, axial and radial loads.
 

A topic one can discuss for hours and there are already several threads on this topic here on the forum. As @toolmaker said, the first thing to do is to make a list of the enveloppe you think you will need and of the capabilities required - then go for a lathe about twice the size. One always underestimates the distance between centres and swing needed (BTW, in the US the 'swing', i.e. the maximum diameter of parts is given, while in Europe it is the centre height, i.e. the height above the bed or the radius!).
The next key question is, whether you think that one day you may want to cut threads: neither old Unimat nor the Taig doesn't have this capability ex-factory, but there are several suggestions for retro-fitting on the Internet; the Sherline has this as an extra to be purchased; the medium to larger PROXXON models and the the Cowells ME lathe have the capability build in; the various modern Chinese lathes have this capability, but (plastic) change-wheels may need to be purchased as an extra; classical watchmaking lathes do not need thread-cutting capability, but it was offered for some of the WW-type models (Lorch, Schmidt & Co., Wolf, Jahn & Co., Boley, Leinen, and Levin), but prices on the secondhand-market tend to be astronomical.
Personally, I prefer working with collets, rather than three- or four-jaw chucks. Much safer and much better repeatability. Not all lathes have a spindle-cone to take in collets, for some so-called collet-chucks are/were available (Unimat, Proxxon). The Sherline has a spindle-cone and a limited range of collets is available, but with an adapter, standard WW-type watchmaking collets can used (available from Sherline, albeit not the same quality as the original ones). On watchmaking lathes collets are a standard feature.
The 'feel' while working with the handwheels or ball-cranks is important, how smooth are the spindles and what about backlash (the amount you can turn the wheel before a movement of the slide occurs), can it be adjusted?
Related to this is how smoth the slides work and how well the adjustment via gib-strips work. These features can vary from individual lathe to individual lathe. For me these are crucial features to achieve good results.
Another question to consider is, whether one has the space for a permanent set-up or has to move the lathe into storage after use. In the latter case, the Chinese and larger PROXXON lathes are probably out, because they tend to be too large and heavy. The old-time Unimat came with a nice storage case, as did normally all watchmaking lathes. Otherwise, the Sherline and Taig seem to be quite mobile.
And one more thing to consider: the cost of (quite essential) accessories, such as chucks, collets, tooling etc. can be as high as the basic lathe.
 
BTW, engine and watchmaking lathes in their 'modern' form have been around since the 1870s to 1880s, not only since the 1920s. Strangely enough many watchmakers/-repairers today still prefer to work with handgravers rather than sliderests with toolbits (as on engine lathes) - this works for the generally short workpieces they need, but making multiple parts to the same dimensions with this method is a pain unless you are well-practiced. The handgraver together with a so-called T-rest (inexplicably expensive attachment to the Sherline ...) is excellent for shaping parts such as bells.
 
Another point: Babbitt-bearings to the best of my knowledge were never used on such small machine tools. They were not suited to the high speeds at which these machines commonly run (typically between 1000 and 5000 rpm) and probably would not be precise enough. Cheaper machines originally used lapped bronze cone-bearings in which hard steel spindles ran, while the high-end watchmaking lathes have glass-hard steel cone-bearings in which glass-hard steel spindles run. Today model-engineering lathes usually have either a combination of radial and axial ball-bearings or taper roller-bearings that take up both, axial and radial loads.
 

If it's black on white, heat-transfer paper for laser-printers could be another route. Play around with the lettering on a graphics program until you are happy with it, print it onto the transfer-paper and iron it on. The paint underneath, of course, has to be sufficiently heat-resistant. In principle it works also with ordinary printer paper, but the heat-transfer paper gives off the toner completely, while printer paper always retains some.
 

I noticed this feature on the bridges of 'modern' (from my point of view) ships, but never thought about their purpose and function. Thanks for the explanation, makes perfect sense to use the Venturi-effect for deflecting the air-stream.
 

Oh yes, you are right. I had been thinking of lead-screws and changewheels, but the UNIMAT one was of the cartridge-type, where are cartridge with a master-thread that is screwed to the  lathe spindle and there is a follower on a bar behind the lathe that engages with the master-thread and moves the cutting tool along. It the kind you would find mainly on lathes for the optical industry, where short, but very precise threads are needed.
Here is a picture from www.lathes.uk.co:

In nearly 30 years of scanning the Internet for lathe attachments and the likes, I have seen may be two units for sale.
 
Ah, and one more important point to watch out, when buying a lathe: ideally, you want to have zero-ing dials on the handwheels. That makes turning to pre-defined points without calculating so much easier. On the hand, once you have a lathe, you can perhaps retro-fit them yourself - a lathe is a self-replicating tool.

Perhaps neither, but sheet-metal ? At that time die-pressed semi-relief sheet-metal ads were common. The design was added in form of decals and then burnt-in, as was done for porcelain.

Good point 😉 Could be just printed calico-curtains.

If it's black on white, heat-transfer paper for laser-printers could be another route. Play around with the lettering on a graphics program until you are happy with it, print it onto the transfer-paper and iron it on. The paint underneath, of course, has to be sufficiently heat-resistant. In principle it works also with ordinary printer paper, but the heat-transfer paper gives off the toner completely, while printer paper always retains some.
 

If it's black on white, heat-transfer paper for laser-printers could be another route. Play around with the lettering on a graphics program until you are happy with it, print it onto the transfer-paper and iron it on. The paint underneath, of course, has to be sufficiently heat-resistant. In principle it works also with ordinary printer paper, but the heat-transfer paper gives off the toner completely, while printer paper always retains some.
 

If it's black on white, heat-transfer paper for laser-printers could be another route. Play around with the lettering on a graphics program until you are happy with it, print it onto the transfer-paper and iron it on. The paint underneath, of course, has to be sufficiently heat-resistant. In principle it works also with ordinary printer paper, but the heat-transfer paper gives off the toner completely, while printer paper always retains some.
 

Good point 😉 Could be just printed calico-curtains.

Perhaps neither, but sheet-metal ? At that time die-pressed semi-relief sheet-metal ads were common. The design was added in form of decals and then burnt-in, as was done for porcelain.

Remember that double-slotted collets, such as the ER-type are designed for holding tools or round stock. The material has to go through the whole length of the collet or nearly so. Pieces of less than half the length of the collet cannot be securely clamped, as tightening the collet has the tendency to squeeze the part out of the collet ... there is also the risk of damaging the collet in this way.

A topic one can discuss for hours and there are already several threads on this topic here on the forum. As @toolmaker said, the first thing to do is to make a list of the enveloppe you think you will need and of the capabilities required - then go for a lathe about twice the size. One always underestimates the distance between centres and swing needed (BTW, in the US the 'swing', i.e. the maximum diameter of parts is given, while in Europe it is the centre height, i.e. the height above the bed or the radius!).
The next key question is, whether you think that one day you may want to cut threads: neither old Unimat nor the Taig doesn't have this capability ex-factory, but there are several suggestions for retro-fitting on the Internet; the Sherline has this as an extra to be purchased; the medium to larger PROXXON models and the the Cowells ME lathe have the capability build in; the various modern Chinese lathes have this capability, but (plastic) change-wheels may need to be purchased as an extra; classical watchmaking lathes do not need thread-cutting capability, but it was offered for some of the WW-type models (Lorch, Schmidt & Co., Wolf, Jahn & Co., Boley, Leinen, and Levin), but prices on the secondhand-market tend to be astronomical.
Personally, I prefer working with collets, rather than three- or four-jaw chucks. Much safer and much better repeatability. Not all lathes have a spindle-cone to take in collets, for some so-called collet-chucks are/were available (Unimat, Proxxon). The Sherline has a spindle-cone and a limited range of collets is available, but with an adapter, standard WW-type watchmaking collets can used (available from Sherline, albeit not the same quality as the original ones). On watchmaking lathes collets are a standard feature.
The 'feel' while working with the handwheels or ball-cranks is important, how smooth are the spindles and what about backlash (the amount you can turn the wheel before a movement of the slide occurs), can it be adjusted?
Related to this is how smoth the slides work and how well the adjustment via gib-strips work. These features can vary from individual lathe to individual lathe. For me these are crucial features to achieve good results.
Another question to consider is, whether one has the space for a permanent set-up or has to move the lathe into storage after use. In the latter case, the Chinese and larger PROXXON lathes are probably out, because they tend to be too large and heavy. The old-time Unimat came with a nice storage case, as did normally all watchmaking lathes. Otherwise, the Sherline and Taig seem to be quite mobile.
And one more thing to consider: the cost of (quite essential) accessories, such as chucks, collets, tooling etc. can be as high as the basic lathe.
 
BTW, engine and watchmaking lathes in their 'modern' form have been around since the 1870s to 1880s, not only since the 1920s. Strangely enough many watchmakers/-repairers today still prefer to work with handgravers rather than sliderests with toolbits (as on engine lathes) - this works for the generally short workpieces they need, but making multiple parts to the same dimensions with this method is a pain unless you are well-practiced. The handgraver together with a so-called T-rest (inexplicably expensive attachment to the Sherline ...) is excellent for shaping parts such as bells.
 
Another point: Babbitt-bearings to the best of my knowledge were never used on such small machine tools. They were not suited to the high speeds at which these machines commonly run (typically between 1000 and 5000 rpm) and probably would not be precise enough. Cheaper machines originally used lapped bronze cone-bearings in which hard steel spindles ran, while the high-end watchmaking lathes have glass-hard steel cone-bearings in which glass-hard steel spindles run. Today model-engineering lathes usually have either a combination of radial and axial ball-bearings or taper roller-bearings that take up both, axial and radial loads.
 

Good point 😉 Could be just printed calico-curtains.

Perhaps neither, but sheet-metal ? At that time die-pressed semi-relief sheet-metal ads were common. The design was added in form of decals and then burnt-in, as was done for porcelain.

Good point 😉 Could be just printed calico-curtains.

I noticed this feature on the bridges of 'modern' (from my point of view) ships, but never thought about their purpose and function. Thanks for the explanation, makes perfect sense to use the Venturi-effect for deflecting the air-stream.
 

Good point 😉 Could be just printed calico-curtains.