Thanks!
Thanks!
I think his name is Jack Erbes - anybody heard from him?
Excellent post.
One also might mention in cutting dovetails for example..a new dovetail cutter may well cost as much as an entire shaper.
Gunner
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
- John Stewart Mill
Seen the dovetail section on my website? ;-) I did that as an experiment, but it was a lot of fun and the result was pretty. Unfortunately, when it came time to do the dovetails on the new cross slide for my lathe, the shaper was juuust a little bit too small. I had to do that job on the POS milldrill. Owell.
Thats why I borrowed the 36" Smith-Hall. I was making a dovetail/slide 2' long for a custom feed attachment that went under a horizontal mill cutter and was air/oil powered. The customer/friend wanted to be able to fixture up 20 round parts and slot/groove square em fast. With stacked cutters, he does all 20 in about 1.5 minutes now. Even faster than on the latest hip slick and cool CNC mill.
It was fun actually and getting the gib right was a challenge (translated..took me 3 trys to get the gib angle proper...)
Gunner
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
- John Stewart Mill
Man. It'd be a real kick using a shaper that big. (But what would I cut with it? Anvils?)
I just want to say three things
1) Now that I've read all of the posts I'm going to start shopping and when I find something I'll post back to get some input. 2) Because of all the posts I now want a mill and a Lathe. 3) THANKS, I think. somehow now wanting two machines is going to cost me more. Any chance that some of the tooling is interchangeable?
Not likely. If you were to get a minimill and a small lathe, it's possible they could both have an MT3 pindle taper. That would really only be useful if you do some milling on the lathe. In all but a few cases, your mill will be the better choice for milling (duh).
But don't let that influence your purchase, because it's seldom an issue. Mill tooling works with mills, lathe tooling with lathes, with little crossover.
Drill bits
Gunner
"Considering the events of recent years, the world has a long way to go to regain its credibility and reputation with the US." unknown
Since I have a 5C collet setup for my lathe, and (someday) will get the Hardinge TM running, plus the Hardinge dividing head, I can use 5C collets a lot. Otherwise, drill bits as noted by Gunner, and measurment / layout tools, which will represent a sizeable investment as you head down this trail.
Pete Keillor
I've used a Myford Super 7. I own a Colchester Chipmaster. The Colchester is a better machine and a more capable machine than the Myford in every respect that I can think of, except (maybe) accuracy when new, as they were both damn fine. However, you aren't gonna fit
1.375" dia 4140 bar into a Myford headstock and you aren't gonna rough it down taking .100 deep cuts either. Also, IIRC, the Myford doesn't go from 35 to 3000 rpm and it certainly isn't variable speed. A nice machine, a well made machine, an accurate machine, but compared to a Colchester, a hobbyist toy.PDW
There are many lathes that will outcut a myford, and all of them weigh 5 times as much, so I don't feel like you are comparing apples to apples. A myford is small enough that two people can carry it into a basement and it can do some serious work. For its size, it is an outstanding machine. Its capabilities for its size is what made it famous. Yes, there are better machines but not in the 200 lb class.
The myford is probably best described as a hobbiest machine. BUT I am a hobbiest!
OK, compare it to an Emco Maximat 11, which I also own but rarely use. The Emco eats the Myford and 2 people can (just) move one. The Myford is the English equivalent to a South Bend. Nice design for a pre-WW2 machine, sold these days at a ridiculous price compared with what else is on offer.
If you're going to limit lathes to what 2 people can lift as a basis for comparison, sorry, not interested. That's never been one of my criteria.
PDW
A better weight criteria might be a lathe whose chuck can be lifted by one person (:
When the movers 'packed' my Sheldon 11-44, (ways are 44" under headstock to under tail stock.) it took three of them to lift the Head end high enough for me to shove a piano 4 wheeler under it. The tail stock end I can lift. I guess the detail is in the gears :-)
Wish it were 44" between the centers. Oh well.
Martin
In my case, that'd be a lot smaller machine than a couple years ago!
PDW
I believe you have the Myford confused with the Boxford. The Boxford is indeed an SB clone. But Myfords, such as the Super-7 are a different animal.
Boris
It may not be part of your requirements, but I'm sure it part of other's requirments and I'm sure it was an important factor in Myford's success.
When I first started in this hobby, I was very much concerned about how to move a lathe into my basement. I settled for a craftsman/atlas because of its low weight (and low cost). Now I realize there are machines that can easily be disassembled for moving. My point is I think lots of people have this mindset. I know I certainly started out with it and did not change it until I helped my friend move a clausing 12x36 into his basement. At that point I realized there are more options!
Also, many people are limited by how much room they have. I know one guy who's entire workshop is a small room about 5x8. He simply does not have room for a big machine. He bought an import 5x10 because thats all he could fit.
SO my point is that Myford's claim to fame is that it fit the workshop. Yes, If you got the room, there are better and cheaper machines.
chuck
No, I don't. I know both machines; I had a Super 7 in my shop at work for a while. We replaced it with a Taiwanese G/H machine and have never regretted it. I was comparing the lack of changes in design and the lack of features, mass et al. The SB is a heavier machine than the Myford but both are wildly overpriced and thoroughly obsolete compared with machines like the Emco and Colchesters.
The only advantage of a Myford is that it's so small & light that it can easily be moved without mechanical assistance. BFD. 2 of us moved my Emco Maximat 11 sans cranes etc. The Maximat is a geared head machine, has a bigger spindle hole, DIN mounted chucks, separate feed and leadscrews etc etc.
Look, if you're a hobbyist and all you have a need for, space for etc is a Myford, fine. They are nice machines. For hobbyists. With limited space & weight availability. That doesn't mean that they're the best machine compared to others available in the same bed length & centre height.
If you like old iron, fine. I have a pre-WW1 Smith-Drum sliding bed lathe that's 8" CH, 40" BC, flat belt drive, weighs a ton (or more). Nice machine. Well made machine. Accurate machine. Pleasure to use. A modern Taiwanese lathe is at least as accurate and can remove metal at a far greater rate. I paid $100 for the Smith-Drum, which was a fair price. There's no way I'd have paid 2X to 3X the price of a *new* Taiwanese 8X40 lathe for it, tho.
PDW
I have to add my thanks also to all who contributed to this thread. I have just recently resumed welding and playing with metal project this spring after being distracted with other activities for a couple of years. I had almost convinced myself I needed a larger more versatile welder, even though my trusty little Handler 120 and my O/A rig have handled every project I've dreamed up so far.
Now I'm getting the bug to get a small lathe suitable for learning on and performing turning tasks that I'm more and more often wishing I was capable of. This thread has been a wealth of information.
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.