myford lathe
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myford lathe
Assuming some of you out there will have experience with lathes. Haven't used one in many years, but interested now. I've been looking at a Myford ML7 made in 1954, it appears to be in good condition, would any of you have comments on its reputation or suitability for an old outboard motor nut. They want the equivalent of 870 GBP for it, it is mounted on a Myford metal cabinet and has a faceplate, 3jaw, and 4 jaw chucks. Thanks for any comments Phil
Phil.
Have a look at lathes.co.uk,there is loads of information on Myfords also general buying tips.
I had one years ago and found it to be excellent.The later ones had a gearbox which did away with the fiddle of setting up change wheels for screwcutting.Spares are readily available I believe.
Steve
Have a look at lathes.co.uk,there is loads of information on Myfords also general buying tips.
I had one years ago and found it to be excellent.The later ones had a gearbox which did away with the fiddle of setting up change wheels for screwcutting.Spares are readily available I believe.
Steve
Myford
I still have my myford its had a hard life, but still works well for me and could not do with out it.
My one was a free bee, but the price also depends on what other bits come with the myford.
My one was a free bee, but the price also depends on what other bits come with the myford.
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Horsley-Anarak
- Posts: 2838
- Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:42 pm
- Location: Surrey
I have used Myfords for tha last thirty years, they are a good simple accurate lathe.
If you can find a Super 7 I find these are much easier to use, but I have owned both.
£870 is quite a lot on money for an old ML7. For that I would expect it to be in mint condition and have a gearbox.
A lot of the Myfords in the UK have had very little use because they are owned by model engineers. On the one you are looking at watch out for wear to the bed up near the headstock. The saddle should move the full length of the bed easily, but have no play when up near the chuck.
Spares are easy to get from Myfords, and are not over priced. Also there are lots of bit on Ebay.
The metal cabinet is well worth having and is worth over £100 on its own.
The best one to find is a green Super 7 with a gear box, on a factory stand, and with power cross feed.
As for size, it is big enough for most Seagull tasks, you can fit a Villiers flywheel on one to polish it. That is probably the biggest bit that you would want to spin up.
Good luck
H-A
If you can find a Super 7 I find these are much easier to use, but I have owned both.
£870 is quite a lot on money for an old ML7. For that I would expect it to be in mint condition and have a gearbox.
A lot of the Myfords in the UK have had very little use because they are owned by model engineers. On the one you are looking at watch out for wear to the bed up near the headstock. The saddle should move the full length of the bed easily, but have no play when up near the chuck.
Spares are easy to get from Myfords, and are not over priced. Also there are lots of bit on Ebay.
The metal cabinet is well worth having and is worth over £100 on its own.
The best one to find is a green Super 7 with a gear box, on a factory stand, and with power cross feed.
As for size, it is big enough for most Seagull tasks, you can fit a Villiers flywheel on one to polish it. That is probably the biggest bit that you would want to spin up.
Good luck
H-A
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40TPI
- Posts: 451
- Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:08 pm
- Location: North Buckinghamshire, 110 miles south of Yorkshire, England.
I like Myfords too. Been using them since the late sixties and currently have a late-ish green Super 7B with power cross feed along with an ordinary ML7. I've made quite a few spares for Seagulls on them but sad to say you can't get a Seagull drive casing to go through a Myford hollow headstock spindle.... Needs to be a much much larger lathe........!
With the large numbers available for sale in the UK I'd agree with H-A on expecting a pristine example with a fair amount of tooling and accessories for that price. Maybe a better value deal is possible over in Canada on a "more local" Southbend?
In addition to the advice on bed wear I'd also want to check that the white metal headstock bearings were 100% totally sound as well as checking for lead screw wear at the headstock end. I think I'd ask to set up the saddle gib screws in front of the headstock and then see if it tightened/jammed when the saddle was traversed back towards the tailstock. There will always be some wear but if it gets tight it is not a good bargain at this price. Walk away and find another if jams! Asking to turn a test piece under power would also be a good move.
The www.lathes.co.uk write up is certainly good and since Myford is still in business up in Nottingham you can also check out their model info/spares pricing at http://www.myford.com Whether they are over priced or not is debatable with a litre of Esso H32 Nuto (bog standard vanilla ISO32 hydraulic oil) at 8.50 quid plus postage.
Ebay is a great place and there are some very honest sellers out there but there are also a lot of obviously very worn Myfords being broken for parts. Caveat emptor! Not a lot different to Seagulls on the 'Bay!
As a final point you can (or could last month) find not only the ML7 but also the Super 7 and Quick-Change Gearbox workshop manuals on the web for download. That would maybe give you some more back ground info to make a judgement. If you can't find the ML7 link PM me.
Peter
With the large numbers available for sale in the UK I'd agree with H-A on expecting a pristine example with a fair amount of tooling and accessories for that price. Maybe a better value deal is possible over in Canada on a "more local" Southbend?
In addition to the advice on bed wear I'd also want to check that the white metal headstock bearings were 100% totally sound as well as checking for lead screw wear at the headstock end. I think I'd ask to set up the saddle gib screws in front of the headstock and then see if it tightened/jammed when the saddle was traversed back towards the tailstock. There will always be some wear but if it gets tight it is not a good bargain at this price. Walk away and find another if jams! Asking to turn a test piece under power would also be a good move.
The www.lathes.co.uk write up is certainly good and since Myford is still in business up in Nottingham you can also check out their model info/spares pricing at http://www.myford.com Whether they are over priced or not is debatable with a litre of Esso H32 Nuto (bog standard vanilla ISO32 hydraulic oil) at 8.50 quid plus postage.
Ebay is a great place and there are some very honest sellers out there but there are also a lot of obviously very worn Myfords being broken for parts. Caveat emptor! Not a lot different to Seagulls on the 'Bay!
As a final point you can (or could last month) find not only the ML7 but also the Super 7 and Quick-Change Gearbox workshop manuals on the web for download. That would maybe give you some more back ground info to make a judgement. If you can't find the ML7 link PM me.
Peter