Myford |ML7 Rebuild

Superb Peter, both the lathe and the article. I've not been very active of late (health issue) but was able to enjoy reading about your re-build. I'm sure with your excellent pictures and detailed write up, that it adds a great deal of information for those interested in re- building their Myford. Well done

Certainly looks a good buy to me.

Best regards

Keith (lost in Wales)

Nice restoration! Now to do mine!

Steve R.

Lovely job.

Were the original dripfeed oilers OK or did you find some replacements ? The ones Myford now sell are nasty, and don't fit properly - the left hand one hits the motor belt guard. I've wondered about replacing them with a continuous feed system with the reservoir somewhere more convenient.

-adrian

Arc's new catalogue has an interesting-looking feed system with a spring-loaded one-shot pump. Not in stock until later in the year though. The fittings are M8, so some not-easily-reversible mods to the lathe would be involved unless you made suitable adapters.

Regards, Tony.

Adrian.

I have also been recently frustrated by the new Myford drip lubricators, as has Tony, so I have today ordered type GSF 130 from Adams who made the original oilers

I'll report back in a few days when they have been fitted and tested.

Cliff Coggin.

How much do the Adams oilers cost? I bought 2 oilers from Myford last year (not fitted them yet), they look very cheap and nothing like the originals. I'm very surprised to see Myford selling such poor quality items when decent ones are obviously available, pity I didn't know about the Adams one's beforehand. I would be very interested in getting 2 of the Adams ones.

Dave

Peter

Congratulations on both a thorough job and a good write-up!

--

Chris Edwards (in deepest Dorset) "....there *must* be an easier way!"

Please do let us know! I bought my ML7 new in the 70s, and the filter screen has come loose in one of the oilers. I would like to replace it, but Vancouver Island is a long way from suppliers!

Steve R. In Sooke, B.C.

If the oilers you bought are like these

I bought from Myford last year, they are utter rubbish. The oil (SAE

32 as recommended) does does not drip off the tip of the needle valve, instead it runs smoothly down the inside of the sight glass so one does not have the faintest idea of flow rate. This was also the experience of another person on the MyMford group who bought them.

I also found that after a few hours of use that the oil flow ceased entirely. I am not certain why this happened but I suspect it is the lack of a vent hole in the lower sight glass allowing the chamber to become air-locked.

Cliff.

which I bought from Myford last year, they are utter rubbish. The oil (SAE

I forgot to mention that the Adams oilers were £50 including postage and tax.

Cliff.

An interesting article but I'm puzzled as to why you didn't pour some new white metal bearings and retain the existing spindle. Surely this would be both an interesting exercise and a significantly cheaper option than new phosphor bronze bearings and a new spindle.

I am told by the fellow who services my car and overhauls a lot of classic cars, that there are still companies in this country that will cast white metal bearings to order. There are no replacement bearings for many old cars so new oness have to be made to keep them running.

Cliff Coggin.

Mike, I suppose it might have been an option, but I know nothing about casting and to be honest I have about as much interest in it as I do with DIY and Gardening, which is to say not a lot!

The other reason was that I was plannning to stick a 3-phase motor and VFD on to get a much higher top end spindle speed, and in my view the hardened spindle and bronze bearings would probably have coped a little better here. As it turns I didn't go that route as I sold the VFD to another NG participant here and used the motor on another job.

On a slightly different note, my rebuild has been given it's 15 minutes of fame (or possibly longer...) as Tony Griffiths has now tacked the entire thing on to the Myford section of the Lathes.co.uk site (hint...it's listed under number 18 on the main Myford page).

Peter

Keith, nice to hear from you again. Glad you're still around, I was going to drop you an e-mail but I've left your addy on the 'old' pc.

Sorry to hear about your ill health, whatever it is I hope you get better soon, and find the urge to get baack in the workshop.

Peter

Thanks Adrian. Yes, the old drip feed oilers work perfectly. Just cleaned 'em up and put new felt filters in them and they're still perfect.

To all those having problems with Oilers, JS & Myford JIm are working on a solution, or they will be as soon as I get of my arse and finish the mould design .

Peter

It is possible to disassemble the oiler, then replace the filter screen. You can either use fine wire mesh or slightly open-weave cloth. The ones on mine are currently made out of strips of old cotton handkerchief sewn into closely fitting cylinders.

Mark Rand RTFM

That's do it yourself with a vengeance

(or is it taking the hobby to work?)

Mark Rand RTFM

The oilers on mine are the later domed plastic type. There is no obvious way to take them apart.

Steve R.

The original bearings were made by Vandervell (SP), who made most of the bearings for the British car industry. When that collapsed, so did the bearing company.

Steve R.