Myford ML7 Operation / Testing

Indeed Mark, when I bought my Speed 10 new in 1984 it didn't come with a motor at all. If you needed that it cost another arm and leg.

regards

Keith

Was it treadle ?

-- Regards,

John Stevenson Nottingham, England.

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Just to prove the point. This is my (ex my late father's) ML7B with the motor that it's had since new :-

:-)

Mark Rand RTFM

In article , Mark Rand writes

Er ... first lathe (Unimat 3) late 70s ...

David

at:-

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John might have been better for my waistline if it had been. Then again when you have had to give "an arm and leg" to get it a treadle is not much good. Anyway too much physical exertion spills the beer but I suppose you northern ale drinkers would say that is the best thing for it.

Regards

Keith

Mark, judging from the nice "blue" colour of some of that swarf the motor is still well up to the job.

Regards

Keith

Mark,

Yep! Looks identical to mine! (see pic). I notice it is not rubbe mounted (nor is mine). Any thoughs from anyone on what mounts to use?

Regards,

Garth

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Has anyone noticed that the 'Plasti-Cote' spray in medium grey is an

exact match for Myford Grey (at least mine anyway)? Perfect for cosmetic work. I will post some pics later this week to prove it!

Regards,

Garth

-- DR_

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In article , DR_G writes

Yes, I just discovered this; I would say it is nearly right, though to be fair the various bits of my lathe show about as much variation between themselves anyway.

However, as Halfords only had one can on the shelf, I decided to paint my "new" stand last week in Dulux mixed by the scanning machine at Homebase. Big mistake, the colour is noticeably darker, and he brush strokes look bad**. I thought I would sand it down and overspray with the Plasti-Cote (Halfords by now having found more cans) but it reacted badly, fortunately on an out-of-sight bit I tested.

So I now have a streaky lathe stand and two un-necessary cans of Plasti-Cote! Still, will come in useful for painting engine castings at some point.

*It is an ex-254 stand and came in green. Would have left it as-is, but it had some rust damage and had to be partially sanded down and primed. *When I fitted a gearbox 15 years ago I bought a small tin of Myford grey paint, which looked fine with brush painting. Either the Dulux is inferior for brushing, or I have got worse at painting.

David

I don't think you should blame yourself David, there were so many "nasty" chemicals in those old paints that used to work properly I suspect modern "green" paints have no chance. In my youth you could spend a day with a good brush and a tin of "coach" paint and another day with some serious "elbow grease" and end up with a finish you could shave in. I'm sure those comments will show my age. I'm not sure which is rarer now good paint or elbow grease? I think good brushing paints are still available from specialist suppliers but for the mass market (Dulux?) I suspect "green" rules, if you see what I mean :-)

My Myford also shows the "grey camouflage" effect, I suspect that it is the oil/coolant over the years that have a different affect on various parts of the machine. The belt cover is always the lightest shade but then that's the easiest part to polish. I'm sorry to say I believe the only way with your stand is to take the paint off and start again, although there are some "sealing" primers that you might be able to use to isolate the Dulux and then overcoat successfully.

Regards

Keith

I got some mixed by a scanning machine at B&Q. It also came out too dark and the wrong shade. I matched it by adding about 3% of yellow and a dash of white and it came out a fat better match. I am now very dubious about these machines. I got a reasonable finish on the stand, but I wouldn't accept it on a house door. On the other hand, I'd paint a house door horizontal and let the paint flow out.

Mark Rand RTFM

Thanks, Keith. However, I just finished moving over to the new stand, and I'm certainly not about to reverse it right now - took a good part of the day, though to be fair it was 90% wiring issues.

I guess I will just live with the streaky finish, at least for a long-ish time. Maybe if I ever move....

David

In article , Mark Rand writes

Well Mark, I thought the horizontal bits would be easier to get looking right, but in the event the top looks as bad as the sides! Still, by the time it is covered with swarf, oil and tools (the usual state) I'll probably have a hard enough time telling even what colour it is.

David

Yep, I can sympathise with the paint issues. I got some 'colour matched

2 two pack spray paint mixed at a local car paint shop, to a sample fro the lathe (it was to paint the drip tray). This colour is way out. Th plasti cote - unbelievably - is great, and I didn't get any reactio with the existing paint either. I was careful to wipe the areas touched in with thinners before spraying though.

Next topic: Bushes.

My replacement apron handwheel bushes arrived today, but they seem bit tight (will presumably be even tighter when fitted. How do you ge the fit right? The spares man at Myford said these bushes shouldn' need reaming, but the leadscrew ones might.

Suggestions?

Thanks a lot,

Garth

-- DR_

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That's the attitude David, use it not "show" it. One of the major problems with buying a new small Myford when I was younger was that I was forever worried about marking it. Not a problem with the mechanically excellent but cosmetically challenged one I have now I'm glad to say. Much more relaxing to use. Oil/coolant?........splash it all over as Henry would say :-)

Best regards

Keith

I've actually had the S7 (bought second-hand) for 20+ years, and been using it on a rather rickety stand welded up from angle iron by the previous owner. It is also in excellent mechanical condition, with several improvements, and what I guess would be described as reasonable cosmetic condition for its age. The paint finish seems to be of battleship grade.

I have to say the £750 I paid for it in the 80s was one of the best purchases I ever made - the hours of enjoyment it has given must have cost pence each. Though I suppose if I added in all the extra tooling and workshop equipment I have bought over the years it would go up quite a lot!

Still wish it had PXF though...

David

Just want to clarify the smallest of points. I didnt feel like I passed a test, it was more like I was walking off with the old boys cherished dog, because he couldn't care for it any more. Its was more an emotional loss than a question of my worthyness, although, I was doing my best to get across the idea that I was gonna take care of it. It was actually very sad. I couldnt quite look him in the eye as I left.

On the upside, it has motivated me to really take care of the lathe. Its like preserving one man's history. If feel sort of responsible for the health of it. (And all I wanted was a quality lathe to re-learn on!!!)

That link; bloody excelent. I found that when I was poking around doing my lathe research, months before I even bought my shed. Its a great resource and really got me going again. So much so, that I even downloaded the whole thing and burnt it to CD when I heard about the author giving it up. Now way was that resource gong to disappear!!! Im glad that others are hosting it so others can benefit. I reckon some one should edit it in to a book and sell it ( with much deserved royalties going to the author).

AC

Garth Hi,

Yes I do understand how you felt and in my clumsey way I was trying to say that if you were able to convince the guy you would look after his lathe (dog?) after the emotion of the moment he will reflect and at least take comfort in the fact that you will care for it. The responsibility you feel to look after it can be worse you know. I became friendly with an instructor of mine many years ago and spent a considerable time in his workshop. When he passed away and his workshop was cleared I was honoured to have been trusted with a set of micrometers. I can't use them without sensing that he is there looking over my shoulder and depending on how the job goes either, nodding quietly or shaking his head and saying "try it this way boy". Those are the sort of things that have little monetry value but are worth the earth.

Regards

Keith

Hello again everyone,

Just thought I'd post s few pics of the ML7 (the subject of the star of this thread!) after a week or so of fettling. This was mostl cosmetic, but I have also replaced both belts, stripped about 75% o the machine down, checked and lubed all bearings etc. Under the camer flash, you can see the bits that I sprayed with Plasti-cote grey, bu in normal light it is not as noticeable.

I refurbished the home made stand and the tray with some grey paint an some varnished plywood. While I was at it I put adjustable feet on th base (from a bath), and made some bed levelling screws from som threaded rod. I am now in the process of fitting the drawers back t the cabinet, and also trying to reset the gibs (difficult).

I am getting about 0.004" of run out in the cleaned & rebuilt chuck. get about 0.001" of 'rock' in the slideways (measured with a dti). I this good or bad? The bed is a bit worn, but I am simply not confiden enough to start scraping the ways!

My aim is to eventually build a small steam engine from a castings kit

Since I don't have any real tools, can anyone suggest a minimum o tooling that I should be thinking about (eg boring bars, profilin tools, cutting tools, millers, dead centres, drills, reamers etc? Th tool post is home made (I think) and does not lock in its indexe positions. Is this a problem, or should I get a new one?

Thanks as always for the advice,

Regards,

Garth

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