Myford ML10

Shameless plug mode on>>>

I have a very good Boxford on John/Charles' site (Chris Heapy's too) which is still available...

In message , snipped-for-privacy@boltblue.com writes

First one I used at school was a Smart & Brown, set up mainly for collets, plus there was a single Harrison and two Myfords.

Preferred the Harrison myself, it was a nice machine, the Myfords were all fiddly and lots of bits to dig yourself on!!

First personal lathe was a Raglan Littlejohn which I bought in the early 1970's and still have here at the factory.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

So am off to see a Myford tomorrow, apparently has a couple of minor faults that are reflected in the price!. When I return will try to ascertain the implications before buying.

John.

Allegedly the smallest ones ("7x10" as the Americans call them) aren't bad for the price. There's something to be said for getting one of these to get experience, while keeping an eye open for the right secondhand bargain to come along.

Then the little lathe comes into its own making spares for the "bargain", until the latter has a quorum of working parts!

Plus it's often useful for small jobs without tearing down some elaborate setup on the bigger lathe...

- Brian

So been to see the ML10 tonight. The back gear pair each has a tooth missing, the bed seems ok, the cross slide and top slide seem ok, but needs adjustment. The headstock and countershaft bearings seem ok. Has an upright slide, 3 jaw chuck, small 4 jaw and a 4 jaw that's too big. Has face plate and two male centres. And some adjustable Myford tool bits and a spare motor. Paint is good, some damage to top surface of bed around chuck area. SN is V15 so should be capable of 10 speed and have the longer bed. Finally where can I post a picture of the damaged teeth. Oh yeh, price £150 John.

In article , John writes

Pretty much *anything* is worth £150. Buy it. Now.

Any lathe is better than no lathe, and £150 will get you up and running.

Buy it. Now.

If you don't want it, I'll have it. ;^)

Not if I get there first ;-)

The chucks/faceplate/motor/vertical slide on their own would probably fetch more than 150 on ebay...

Regards, Tony

In article , Tony Jeffree writes

Where did you say it was ??

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

Visit the new Model Engineering adverts page at:-

John,

Bite his hand off :-)

The back gear pair should be replaceable from Myford. I'm wondering how the teeth got broken - someone might have been using the backgear to lock the mandrel when applying a lot of pressure to the mandrel.

I suspect that the chucks will be the 'standards' usually provided for the ML10

- a Burnerd 3 jaw with internal thread and a backplate fitted Burnerd 4 jaw. In good condition, those chucks and the vertical slide would be worth about £150 :-)

Damage to the top of the bed at the chuck end is pretty normal I would think - guess who also has some dings on the bed :-) But such a large flat area shows every mark. (That's another plus for the ML10 - built in surface plate on the bed which I've used many times).

If it's a long bed version, there could be a queue forming :-)

Try and get the special Allen key for releasing the backgear lock on the mandrel if it is still with the lathe. It has the short bit bent at about 45 degrees with a length much shorter than the normal Allen key and it's the only key that can get between the bull wheel and the front headstock bearing to get at the locking dog. Also doubles up as the key which releases the topslide locking screws and all the gib screws. Arguably, it's the most invaluable tool with the lathe :-)

Jim.

Bit of brain fade there :-) The screws clamping the topslide have square heads and require a spanner - not an Allen key. Posting too early in the morning :-)

Jim.

Surely replacement bearings don’t mean the headstock and mandrel need replacing too.

Early ML10s, also known as plain bearing ML10s, had bearings which were machined into the headstock, and so afaik yes, if they got bollixed you probably had to replace the headstock. If by mandrel you mean the main spindle, it depends on what's broken.

The spindle is very (!) hard steel running in cast iron bearings which are part of the headstock, so the spindle may be ok even if the bearings are not. Or vice-versa.

I'm pretty sure the plain bearing lathes use a different spindle than the taper roller bearing lathes (see below), bimbw.

Damage to the bearings/spindle is very rare though, it's a good system for its time.

Keep them lubed and rust-free. Myford's manual says to lube every 4 hours of use, but that may be overly cautious unless you are running at high speed.

And don't remove the shims! If you have to remove the spindle eg to fit a new belt then you can loosen the bearing cap bolts half a turn but leave the bolts in.

If you are thinking of buying an early plain bearing ML10 then check if the bearings are OK and that the shims are fitted, and if so don't worry about it ever again (except for frequent lubing).

Later ML10s (I have 2) - known as taper roller bearing ML10s, from iirc the late 70's on - have taper roller bearings which can be replaced fairly easily.

Fsvo "fairly easily", think puller or hydraulic press..

..or lump hammer. :)

Peter Fairbrother