BAZMAK-Diary of a Myford ML7 lathe restoration

Good Morning Barry( and all)
I'm back to being able to hear a bit as one of my paired hearing aids was lost to the 'Beast of Siberia' Storm and my poor eyesight wasn't any good to find it.

Several points arise. I suspect that your new BSF tap and die set will follow the same route as my couple of Metric ones and that you will find the tap holder to be very soft. Yours looks identical to my rubbish!

I'd glad to note that you have mastered the intricacies of the headstock oilers from Myford. I hated mine! So now it is a supply of ISO32 hydraulic oil as standard?

As better dials, I would go for one of the ones which Thomas fitted and as described in his Model Engineers Workshop Manual book.

So briefly, I've got his small versatile dividing head ( ex my Super 7) onto the Sieg4 by way of 10mm steel subplot. The Myford vertical slide( and little vice) will also go on the subplate. My rotary table(ex Model Engineering Services) will fit the same useful 'bit of plate'

I now need to make the tee nuts to hold another '10mm bit o'plate' to take the Thomas inverted rear parting tool that has gone onto a lot of machinery.
Per your earlier suggestions, I hasten to add!

The sit on lawn mower now 'works' as my son discovered that I had forgotten to charge its battery. Such is the price of forgetful old age.

Pity- the old longer Myford ML7 slide is lingering unused. Is there any way that it could be taken out to you in OZ.?

My tribe from Leeds are fully loaded on their way to Sydney and thence- who knows?

Keep up the progress reports


Happy Easter to all

Norm

Nice job on the number stamping there. What did you use to get the numbers lined up and square?
Tap n die set looks good for the price. Who did you buy them from? (I recently paid way more than that for a set of 1.2mm to 2.5mm tap and dies from Jaycar!)

The numbers were stamped freehand Hopper,but i did toy with making a small jig,but decided it wasnt worth the effort.Maybe another time
Thanks for your offer of the long cross slide Norm i dont have anyone coming over here but maybe you can get an estimate for postage. Regards barry

LOL, you seem to get them straighter freehand than I do with a jig!

That was the 3rd arrempt and the photos show the best ones ,the far side not as good

Well i enjoyed restoring the Myford so much that i bought a 2nd one
I bought this one for about $400 more than the first from a chap a mile down the road so saving $250 on shipping.This one is an early model no 4843
made in 1948. Although it has been heavily greased thru the oil nipples which made it more difficult to clean up,it surprisingly has a lot less wear than the first. The ways were less than 2 thou down in the worst area and the leadscrew
and bushes were within 1 thou.No need for new oilite bearings. Speaking of which this lathe came with a metal 24 drawer cabinet filled with misc goodies and junk,part of which was over 200 oilite/bronze bearings.I have just separated the drawers from the timber stand and fitted them in my new shed
Still have to collate all the drawer contents but most of the oilite bushes look
brand new and considering i considered paying $120 for 8 no for the first lathe
i think i got a bargain.Lathe also came with a new double swivel Myford vertical slide and vice with a couple of chucks,face plate and 2 no homemade steadies
I have stripped down and started on the bed.I will not repeat the full refurb as the first one but will highlite any problems.Dont think i have a full set of changegears as the gearchain is missing a stud and had a direct drive on the
banjo.Will have to make a new stud etc etc.I have also made a pair of riser/levelling mounts as the first lathe,they look good and worked well
Well worth the effort

Hi Baz

Congrats on your new acquisition
So you could set up in business selling non ferrous bushes!

Two likes are the Griptru chuck and the adjustable vertical slide. I'm rather jealous.

As far as my own Sieg is concerned, the Myford ordinary slide and the one which probably is one from a Perfecto lathe have gone onto the very simple bit of mild steel subplate.

With better weather here, I've made the suggested lathe tool holder for my Beijing tool and cutter grinder. If you recall, the South California Home Shop Machinist ( Schism.org) one.

More problems with macular degeneration things here

Regards



N

Well i sold myford no 1 and have amassed my total outlay less about $200
and i now have a free Myford lathe which i have just finished and about to buy
no 3. No 2 was similar to no 1 but i had to spend more time on the motor
Everything is finished and the lathe advertised for sale.I was hoping to accumulate my fnancial stash and work up to a super 7 with gearbox
However another ML7 has become available at a good price.I had 2nd thoughts
as the end pulley guard is missing but decided it might be fun trying to make one.Onward and upward

G'Day Barry.

Most interesting saga. Of course, I'm simply waiting for a newer one when you tackle a Myford Super7 with its gearbox.
Where I'm at with mine is whether to change the Mark1 clutch or refurbish it. A 2nd hand Mk2 clutch requires a new end cover and the guts are also expensive at about £200.

However I'm awaiting delivery of a 4 jaw Self centering chuck for the SiegC4 and a possibly unusual 1" 5C collet to allow me to interchange Quorn, Stent with the new Asiatic Deckel clone tooling.

In the midst(mist) of all this, I'm getting over someone sticking a hypodermic needle in my better eye and the 'Fog on the Tyne' is clearing. I've been high on opiates instead of alcohol!
So to a Cardiac thingyesterday and having hit an obstruction with the sit on lawn mower and things are 'out of kilter'

It all prompts me to go to the Doncaster ME Show and see what other people have actually achieved. My pensioner's cheap rail card thing!


Regards

N

On my old ML7 been a tight wads I used an old Ariel Leader motor cycle clutch and have seen a very neat Honda Cub front brake converted
There was a mod in the Model Engineers Workshop that used a cone clutch although I never finished it
cheers

Ah Frazer,
Pity but I part exchanged my Ariel Leader for a Mini Cooper 997cc. I recall that a basic Mini was £497 and the 997 was £565. At that time, a villa in Menorca was £450( seriously).

Later I bought much the same for £7000 which goes to show something! Last year, I sold it for--- well, I paid £11000 on the English Capital Gain and I forget how much the Spanish bit was prior to that!

Probably, I could afford a second hand clutch out of the proceeds- but I, too, am a tite wad.

The mower is now making a funny noise. Merde! Maybe it is the--------CLUTCH.

Keep well

N

Well i have paid for Myford no 3 and it should be here in a few days.Dont know what condition its in but it comes with change gears,a couple of chucks and a vertical slide.Its a cheapie,at half the price of Myford No 2 but has the end pulley guard missing.So before the lathe arrives i decided to start on making a replacement.As an apprentice sheetmetal worker i must have made 100s of similar machine guards and i would have liked to make it from 3mm alum but with no bending or welding equipment thats out of the question.I decided i could make a decent replica fron timber and alum. Progress after 2 hrs work

G'Morning Barry.

Interesting concept by using wood!

A thought for those who have Lidl supermarkets, they are selling inverters and stick welders. Not me, I already have a stick job and a very cheap second hand little Mig.

Good morning Norm.As an engineer my hobby was woodworking so i have combined the two over many years.If it doesnt look right then i will bin it and buy a replacement.Dont want it to look like a bodged job. See what its like when its finished.I have a stick welder but dont have room or inclination at my age to start Mig etc and alum welding

Agreed about working in both mediums.
My Myford Super 7B had a 'brew up' in previous days and part of my gearbox is actually fiberglass.
The thing ran on mahogany dust- well that was in the gearbox!

Incidentally, the SiegC4 has a new 4 jaw self -centering chuck now. It was supposed to come with a 1" 5C collet which would mean that I could swop tool holders on my Clarkson, Quorn and Stent grinders with the new Asiatic affair. So far, I have a 20mm one instead! Thrice merde and a lot of Anglo Saxon words!

N

Hi Norm,i too bought a 5" four jaw self centering chuck.Well worth the investment. Its surprising how much more often you hold square bar rather than hex. Also score and refurbed the 6" four jaw independant for the C4
Myford no 3 should also arrive with what looks like from the photo a 6" slimline
lightweight independant chuck and i am planning to make a collet chuck for the Myford.Will keep posted anything of interest. Regards Barry

bazmak said:

Hi Norm,i am planning to make a collet chuck for the Myford.Will keep posted anything of interest. Regards Barry

Click to expand...

Years ago, I tried to make one from Lawrence Sparey's book, the Amateurs Lathe.

You know the sort of thing about using lorry half shafts for collets. It was far from a success! Today, I have a ER25 system which interchanges between the two Myfords and the Sieg but also takes in the Clarkson t&c and the Vertex DH and Geo Thomas's Versatile Dividing Head.

This leads me to prattle about the Myford no2 Morse taper and the Number 3's which appear on my Mill/drill and the SiegC4. I had a cannibalised jumper between the two but a posher one came from Arceurotrade along with 4 jaw chuck and sadly the wrong 5C collet which is a 20mm rather than the 1" one which I ordered.

Nothing quite works out, does it?

Wistfully

N

bazmak said:

Well i sold myford no 1 and have amassed my total outlay less about $200
and i now have a free Myford lathe which i have just finished and about to buy
no 3. No 2 was similar to no 1 but i had to spend more time on the motor
Everything is finished and the lathe advertised for sale.I was hoping to accumulate my fnancial stash and work up to a super 7 with gearbox
However another ML7 has become available at a good price.I had 2nd thoughts
as the end pulley guard is missing but decided it might be fun trying to make one.Onward and upward



View attachment 95380

Click to expand...

what is the purpose of that plate thing at the back left and the object top right?

The plate thingies left and top right are homemade steadies.The pulley and shaft at the centre top is an electro-magnetic clutch assy which came with the lathe.Advertised as possibly adapted to lathe but i have no use for them

Another few hrs woodworking.Made and fitted the sides fron 11mm thk timber
Laminated pieces of scrap timber together and bandsawed the curves.
Glued and screwed overnight before rough sanding and priming etc.Starting to look like the real thing.Need some 1.5mm alum sheet to make the backplt and to make and assemble the fixing lugs
While paint and glue were setting i stripped down 2 more chucks and reassembled.A 5" four jaw in good condition and a burnard 4" 4 jaw with a bad
jaw/screw so i made another to match.Had to make a 6mm sq broa





ch from a tap to match the others .Lot of work but worth the effort