A Cavalcade of WO-65-2 Unimatics

[Unimatic1140]

Well I promised myself that I would get my storage unit cleaned out this summer, and you can’t get more summer than mid July so I decided to tackle the two 1952 Unimatics that I got in Tulsa last year. One is in really bad shape, the other is in relatively good shape except its mechanism is shot. So I'll take two machines and make one really good one.

Tonight I brought home the one that's in really bad shape...

 

[Unimatic1140]

The Tub Hangs to the side, in a Unimatic?

 

[Unimatic1140]

Even worse I can turn the entire mechanism around from the bottom.

 

[Unimatic1140]

But at last a very good sign for saving the mechanism.

 

[Unimatic1140]

If this little disaster happened during 1140rpm spin, I can only image the sound that it made!

 

[Unimatic1140]

Four Screws from Hell!

 

[Unimatic1140]

All in all the mechanism doesn’t look that bad, I drained the oil and its perfectly clear of any sign of water or rust, so this means I can probably reuse this mechanism. That’s good because what till you see what happened to the mechanism in the other machine, I’ve never seen anything like it before. More to come when I bring in the other WO-65-2.

 

[rickr]

Can't wait to see the rest!

Great detailed photos and descriptions Robert. I know many of us have never viewed one of these early models like this.
Thanks!

 

[westytoploader]

Great descriptions & pictures--thanks for posting! This really helps us to learn more about these great machines, IMHO.

What do you think happened to cause that crossbrace & base to rust? I knew something wasn't right when you stated that the crossbrace screws were tough; on Glenn's machine they eased right out and everything was in perfect shape after being cleaned up.

Looking forward to seeing the better machine; hopefully the mechanism didn't suffer a "catastrophic oil leak" as Greg would say!

--Austin

 

[Unimatic1140]

Austin if you look at the crossbrace on this machine you can see that it is very rusted, I'm sure that this machine sat outside in the grass or dirt somewhere in Oklahoma for at least a few years.

As for the other machines mechanism, if it only had suffered a "catastrophic oil leak" it would be in good shape, what happened to this poor dear is even worse!

 

[gansky1]

Oh no, I can't wait to see what surprise is waiting inside the other machine! I can totally relate to the crossbrace bolts - the 59 multimatic's were rusted lumps, frozen onto the bottom frame of the cabinet. The funny part is, that turquoise nightmare has never ended. Hope you have better luck ;-0

 

[bostonwash]

Great Pix and details

The suspense continues...
I have to admire your patience.

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Great Pictures Robert,
You make it look so easy!
Can't wait to see the other machine that you said was hurt.
How do you test the unimatic mechanism? Does it need to be in the actual machine, or can you test it alone, free standing so to speak? I think about your Philco when you had it apart and ran it.
Thanks for the pictures.
Brent

 

[veg-o-matic]

Cool machine, but don't you think it's a little dangerous posting a picture of a pink Frigidaire with Bethann so close?

Could you tell me a little more about that TV set that's on your bench?

veg

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hi Brent, one of the nicest things about working on a Unimatic is the mechanism can be taken out and worked on and tested on your workbench.

Good thing the mechanism from this "bad machine" looks and feels pretty good, because the mechanism in the “good machine”, shall we say, needs major work.

More to come on that.

Veg, first off all that Frigidaire is white, it looks white on both my monitor at work and at home? Strange that it looks pink on your monitor.

As for the vintage TV that’s my blonde ’53 Sparton on my workbench, it has a few little minor bugs left in it that I’m slowly but surely troubleshooting but decided to take a “washer break”. I can’t stand putting the chassis back into the tv cabinet until every last bug is worked out, that’s also part of the “sickness” that Greg was referring to.

 

[geoffdelp]

Robert ... summer projects!!! I think it will be a grand machine when you get finished!!!

That is really nice that you can pull the mechanism out and work on it on your workbench. That makes it so much easier than either tipping everything over or trying to work on the floor.

My knee just doesn't like the concrete garage floor right now!