Lathe Upgrade

Steve AFAIK Myford never made a 12" swing lathe; the most common model, the ML7 or variants of the ML7, are 7" swing. There was a special variant of the ML7 called the "high swing" that had its headstock raised on a spacer but it's rare and not as rigid as you would expect of a 12" lathe. Standard 7 series lathes are 24" between centres; the less common long bed versions are around

31". Other models are similar in size, the biggest I know of is the 254 which is more like a small industrial lathe than the hobbyist lathes that Myford are known for; this is a 9 1/2" swing lathe. If you want more info, take a look at it's probably the best source of data for the various models of Myfords (and many other machines) in one place. Price wise, a nice ML7 will readily fetch 500 UK pounds (US$950) upwards, a Super 7 with a Norton screw cutting box will easily get 1200 UK pounds, so any decent Myford for $1000 is probably a good deal. Martin

What he said.

I recently sold a 1954 super 7 for almost 2k However I love my myfords but they are a bit small for many things and a bit pricy compared to nice old american iron.

chuck