Member postings for Shaun Belcher

1 Just skimming the top of the bed is unlikely to recover a worn item to an adequate condition, you will need to address all 4 sides of the shears.

2 The chuck is really too big for the lathe and if it has been used extensively or for a long period on that machine it will have caused accelerated wear to the front spindle bearing. There is a reason why Myford recommend you stick to a lighter 4 inch chuck on the ML7 . The other more obvious reason is that the larger chuck can rarely accommodate larger workpieces without the risk of the jaws engaging the lathe (as the damage to your machine so convincingly reveals).

3 The spindle bearings are not trivial items to deal with if worn. Yes in theory all you need to do is rip off a shim layer and check the fit to spindle , giving a scrape or two if needed (metal is very soft, grind up an old hacksaw blade for your scraping tools). In reality, front at back bearing wear at different rates and usually into an oval condition. This may give you some issues when setting them to re-establish correct spindle alignment. Expect to spend a considerable amount of time when re-setting the old bearings.

The fortunate thing about owning a Myford is that all the parts are available, second hand or new. Secondly, the knowledge base is huge. I have never seen a manual chuck made by Kitagawa before, they specialise in top end power chucks for cnc machines.

Shaun,

For oiling all the oil-nipples and the two headstock lubricators use ISO32 hydraulic oil and for the bed/leadscrews, etc use ISO VG68, both hydraulic oils should be easily available at agricultural dealers and are the direct equivalents for all the recommended Esso/Shell etc oils. If you want to treat the gears (after cleaning!) you can use the VG68 sparingly or some use motorcycle chain lube as it sticks a bit better to the gears.
HTH
DaveD

forgot to add good luck !

I'd start by making a list of obvious defects then review the situation. Some problems, like a badly worn bed, leadscrew or bearings might cost more to fix than you want to spend. Ditto cracked headstock, duff motor and bad electrics. Keep an eye on the small stuff like gears, belts, and oilers too - costs soon add up.

Not sure what prices are like in NZ but in the UK Myford parts attract premium prices and can take a little time to source. Might not matter if the main interest is in restoring an old machine, could be a mistake if on a budget and the lathe is wanted quickly for work. Also depends on facilities, having a well-equipped workshop already is much better than starting from scratch if awkward faults are found. Paying someone else to do the work is likely to be prohibitive.

It's hard to assess a lathe just by looking at it. What appears to be a wreck may actually be in good order whilst an apparently clean machine could be scrap. Best thing in the absence of a helpful expert is to fire her up and see if it will cut metal. Putting a machine through it's paces will soon reveal shortcomings; loose slides, severe backlash, dicky half-nut, scored or seized bearings, misalignments, damaged gears, faulty switches, motor problems, bad chuck, bent tool-post etc. Don't panic though, quite a few faults on straightforward lathes like the ML7 are not difficult to fix. But risky enough to be worth knowing what you're getting into! Be a mistake I think to spend lots of time and money fixing minor issues only to discover something truly awful at the end, like a dished bed that can't be put right with a regrind.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 08/09/2019 12:49:52

Hi Shaun,

Don't despair! It may just be that your introduction to the engineering hobby is restoring that lathe rather than making things with it. Time and effort can compensate for anything equipment and money can't fix. For example, more than one person has repaired gears like those by silver soldering in bits of steel and filing them to match the profile of the intact teeth (advice on silver soldering cast iron can be found on this forum!)

The latest MEW has an article on assessing bed wear on an ML7.

MIght be worth you reading it, we will be following up with the 'wide guide conversion' which is the best way out of the guides are worn on an old ML7.

Neil

From the pictures, the unit is in very poor shape and has obviously had some serious abuse. It will need a considerable sum of money spent on it to bring it to a usable condition. If you are prepared to do that and you enjoy restoring old machinery then crack on, at the moment, oilers are the least of your problem and suggest you don't waste any money on these until you have carried out the test below...

The first thing you need to do is wind up the saddle to 2 to 4 inches from the chuck and adjust the gibs to give smooth movement with no play at this position. slowly begin winding the saddle back towards the tailstock. If you notice the movement becoming progressively tighter and needing more effort, the then the bed is to badly worn for normal use and will need regrinding (together with the saddle and probably cross and top slides). Even if you can find a commercial operator willing to do it, these days it you are already talking north of 300 quid for a full job, plus transport.

If the bed and other sliding components are good, or money is no object and you want to cost up the other components from the Myford web site for restoration, from your description I would consider you will need to replace:

All olite bushings on the leadscrew and countershaft and carriage pinion drive assembly

possibly the counter shaft, if worn

All feed screws and feed screw nuts on top and cross slide

Leadscrew nut and possibly leadscrew, although you could get by turning the leadscrew around or if you want to convert it to metric, then all leadscrews and feedscew components can be replaced with the appropriate metric equivalent if available.

carriage drive pinion and possibly rack if worn

Spindle gear pinion and by the look of it some of the basic lead screw drive train

Headstock and back gear clusters

rear spindle thrust bearing

Check also the condition of the spindle nose and fit of spindle in the white metal bearings. If there is damage here, your only recourse will be to find a second hand spindle, most of which will be as bad as your specimen. you will need to check runout and deflection under load to assess headstock bearing condition

sundry nuts bolts grubs lock nuts, oilers, oil nipples, change gears etc to suit, plus bits I have forgotten

If all that is to your liking, there is a good 8 or 9 part vid on utube by someone from NZ that takes you through a comprehensive re-build that shows you the teardown and testing sequence ( where it definitely helps to have another lathe available in order to restore the one that is the basket case).

Enjoy, as they say.

Edited By Martin of Wick on 08/09/2019 10:29:56

Edited By Martin of Wick on 08/09/2019 10:31:41

My 1949 ML7 came with a pair of Rotherams oilers, which are really just a pair of oil cups with rotating closable tops and which require topping up at each use. I later bought a pair of "cheap" oilers with sight glasses off of eBay, but could never seem to get them adjusted to deliver the right amount when in use and to stop oiling when they were off. Eventually I bit the bullet and bought a S/H pair of Adams oilers, as fitted by Myford on ML7s later than mine, and over a few days of occasional tweaking I can now say that oil is delivered when needed and stops completely in the off position. Adams are still out there, but at a price I guess: www.lubecontrol.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Adams-Oilers/pdf Good luck with your lathe, I still have mine, I couldn't let it go after the amount of TLC I lavished on it and it now resides in my workshop in a state of semi-retirement, alongside a 1963 S7 which now does most of the work.

Don

Lathe only cost me $800 NZD, ive seen way worse ones sell here for more.

Looks in good solid usable condition, but due for a full restoration.

Providing the white metal bushings are OK, this should not need too much spent other than my time and a gear or two, some new knobs, washers, etc.

Most attention appears to be on the cross and top slides for me. Ive restored classic cars, so im sure this will be way, way more simple than an engine!

Posted by Martin Whittle on 07/09/2019 21:49:25:

OK the lathe has teeeth missing on some of the gears. So a problem for screwcutting, or for use of back gear for low speeds

Don't worry about the gear with a bit ground (?) off the side.

However, most of the time on the lathe, one is not screwcutting or using back gear (although clearly essential when necessary)

But please just try using your lathe, to learn about now to use it, about cutting tool use. metal properties etc - you can stil llearn a lot from it, and decide whether you want something more capable, or to use and repair the lathe.

Also - backlash on any control screw is quite usual - don't worry about it, but it may be reduced with adlustment.

Lubrication - I use Esso Nuto 32 on my Zyto headstock spindle, and Mobil Vactra 68 on bed and slideways of the Zyto and the Warco lathes (also using a kitchen tissue for giving a wipe to any metal surface that I feel would like a little protection). Both available on eBay. No grease used.

For a while, don't worry about fitting the 'recommended drip feed oilers', just make sure it gets a squirt often enough to make sure it is wet.

Hope this helps

Martin