Member postings for Martin King 2

Hi all,

I thought I would post some pics of the kit I have already got to help sort out what I might need.

I have been using a Derbyshire Elect that I got at a bric a brac sale to make some small parts for about a year now but it is really not man enough for my needs so I intend to sell it to partially finance the purchase of a mill.

I believe it is quite desirable with all its tooling.

I have also collected a fair amount of tooling and odds and sods while in anticipation of getting the ML7 so am pretty much up and running with that but finding it a steep learning curve all the same. There is a small local precision engineers who have kindly let me use their power hacksaw to cut stuff up for rollers etc that need replacing on bookbinding tools. I must take care not to wear out my welcome!

There is a pic of the ML7 as well.

Cheers,

Martin

I thought that perhaps DRO's would prove a little contraversial, seems I was correct!

Thanks for the useful model club links, I will follow them up.

I am still a little confused regarding the plethora of collets , chucks and drawbars etc available so I will try and take some pics of what I already have with the ML7 to perhaps get a better feel for a this.

Thank you so much to everyone for all the help so far.

Cheers,

Martin

Hi All,

Oompa Lumpa: re 'business'; your point is taken completely and agreed with. In my case when I need to make a part for a tool it is usually to replace a missing item or effect a repair. The missing part or damage was taken into account when the tool was acquired; (boot sale or posh auction) and the price paid allows the fix to be taken into consideration. Of course the fact that I am a complete novice means that the time taken will be out of all proportion to the actual calculated 'cost; but that will be the price I pay for learning and the 'enjoyment' is hard to quantify! Most of the time I do things like turn a new wooden handle for a chisel, I am good at this so less than 10 mins. The same thing in brass will take me over an hour at the moment!

Re DRO; is it better to just get the one that comes with the machine as an option (warco) or get an addon from a dedicated maker of DRO's? Vice needs are now understood, best I can afford! I do have an unused 6" rotary table that came with the lathe so thats helpful. Got a 2MTfly cutter also with it.

The collets I have (12 off) and holder are for the MYFORD so should fit the mill I hope. Also 2MT

Nobby: Sorry, I am being very dim here, what are those parts for please?

BAZYLE; Any idea where the nearest club is to me? is there one in Weymouth perhaps? I'll stop junking stuff at once! Can I pass any complaints on this matter from my wife directly to you please? I do already donate normal modern wood working tools to Tools for Africa on a regular basis.

Michael G: Thanks for the clear explanation, next question is what is 'climb milling please? Is this like feeding a router bit the wrong way? If so, stop there I know ALL about that to my cost.

Russell E: I have ordered the book, many thanks. As touched on earlier by Oompa Lumpa i am unlikely to have the considerable time to make anything other than extremely simple tooling as the machine must 'try' to earn its keep in the most basic way.

One other question, is power feed a total luxury or essential? Bet there are varying opinions on this

Cheers,

Martin

Hi All,

Thanks for the helpful replies!

So it would appear that all the cutters with threaded ends do not have to be used in a special holder to take that thread?

Hmmm, must have scrapped hundreds of those! Dohhh!

Any particular things to look for in the machine vice, I have only ever had nasty looking ones that come with woodworking drill presses?

BOB, the machine mentioned is 'R8', what is that please?

The general opinion on the WARCO units seems positive,am I right in assuming that these are ChiWanese built?

I was always pretty anti Far Eastern stuff but have had to radically adjust that opinion as some of the woodworking kit these days is VERY good, hopefully the same with these machine tools.

Not quite sure of the differentiation between slot and end mills, probably a daft question but how do I tell please?

Cheers,

martin

Hi all,

I am very new here so please bear with me!

I have recently got a very nice clutched ML7 of 70's vintage, 3 & 4 jaw chucks, swivelling vertical slide, full set of collets & holder with draw bar, knurling tool, centres, faceplates, quite a bit of tooling, indicators, stands etc. NO steadies; quick change tool post and 4 holders, rotary table etc

Has a boxed complete Myford dividing head and manual. NO Riser block

I have manged to set this lathe up on its cabinet and got it leveled out. Using a 2MT test bar the run out is about .001" at 8" from the headstock, Is this OK?

Had a few problems getting the oil feeders to work consistently they either emptied in 3 mins or did not seem to let any oil at all through.

I have made a few REALLY SIMPLE bits and pieces for our woodwork tool restoration business which have come out OK. Things like ferrules, pins, collars, etc all of which has been good practice for my newbie skills, (last metalwork was at school 50 years ago!).

Although I know it is possible to mill on this lathe I am leaning towards getting a dedicated milling machine as I have the room for a smaller unit.

I do not however want a 'micro-mill' type as they would seem to me too light for my needs. I am leaning towards something like a WARCO 16 or 18. which is within budget.

What worries me is what all the 'extras' are going to cost so I wonder if you all can tell me the basic stuff the I 'MUST' have and some 'would be nice' bits and pieces.

Is DRO a 'must have' ?

I do have quite a lot of milling cutters of various diameters, many have threaded ends so may not be of use, the different sorts of designs are a bit baffling to me

Obviously it would be good if any of the Myford bits could also be used on the mill.

Will be mainly working brass and alloy and mild steel, nothing too massive.

I would like to think that after a while I might have a go at making some of the simpler tooling that I have seen here and elsewhere to stretch me a bit.

I live in South Dorset and if anyone is close by I would appreciate any help or advice they might be able to offer, perhaps in exchange for some free tools or materials, we get a lot of engineering type stuff that we do not really want, usually comes in the engineers tool cabinets that we buy a lot of. Loads of drill bits reamers, tool steel cutters etc etc, often just gets scrapped!

Any help and advice will be much appreciated.

Cheers, Martin