After contacting UltraTec and being informed that they don't have anymore spare parts for my old V2 since many years, i thought i'll ask the nice people here for help. I am in need of the faceting head spindle and the screw that runs through it. The stainless steel spindle that the index wheel sits on. Mine seams to have developed a wobble. So, if you have an old vintage V2 that just sits unused in your garage or basement, i would be ever so greatful to buy the part off you and pay the shipping cost to Switzerland. Many thanks Vistar
I believe I saw that Wyatt Yaeger (the owner of the rights to Fac-ette and maybe Factetron faceting machines) had a couple for sale on the Fac-ette GemMaster Facebook website. I don't know anything about him or his business but you can look into it.
Hello Vistar. The problem you describe may not be the result of wear. It could be an alignment issue. Information on faceting machine adjustment has been very difficult to find, but happily complete instructions can be found in a link in Facetips, recently mentioned in this forum on Jan.19th by Duncan Miller. You can download the whole book from the link he gives, but the important section on adjustments is from the following USFG link: https://usfacetersguild.org/faceting-machine-alignment/. The author Paul Head explains how to check the quill axis, which I think is what you need, in step 9. On my Ultratec there are three set screws in the quill, at index 96, 24 and 72. It is my suspicion that these three screws enable the dop axis to be aligned with the quill axis, but the adjustment will be subtle. Possibly other members of the forum can offer some advice about this. You might also want to look at a posting by Wilsonintexas entitled "Modified procedure for step 10 in the USFG machine adjustment" in January 2016. He is very knowledgeable, and may be able to offer you more suggestions.
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2018 5:58 am Posts: 3 Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
Play in the quill as you've described can also be a sign of bad quill bearings. They are off the shelf bearings and aren't terribly expensive. I'd suggest getting the highest precision ones you can find. For some reason old UT machines had metal sealed bearings on the quill which aren't the best at keeping out abrasive mist. I'd recommend using rubber sealed bearings of the same designation. It's likely that will fix your problem, but even if not upgrading the bearings is a good idea on an old machine.
Hi again and thank you all for your replies and advices. To describe better what i noticed: by cutting some SRB's lately, i noticed by rounding off the girdle facets that the round stones don't touch the lap evenly. Lets say possitions 96-33 would indicate 90.00 degrees, but 33-69 would indicate 90.05 degrees. I swapped to a ceramic lap, to eliminate the possibility of the lap being at fault. Got the same result. A few days later I then removed the dop and brought the quill itself to rest on the lap. That showed me that the quill is straight. It turned out to be the Spring collet that holds the dop which is out of center. So, problem diagnosed. Since i am also a very bussy Goldsmith with little time on my hands lately, I just packed the UT and brought in my Facetron. Took me 2-3 stones to get fluent again cutting on it, but works great and acurate. So, Thanks again for the helpful advices, appreciated.
Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am Posts: 1322 Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
When I got mine, the bearings and the quail were shot. I end up buying a double angle or DA milling extension that was half-inch this fit into the bearings and then I was able to find a DA Collett that took quarter inch . I found one where or when I took off the screw head I could slide the indexes right over it. Mine was steel so I have to keep it oiled and taken care of for rust. There are some stainless steel ones you can get they were just more expensive than I could afford at the time.
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