Member postings for Lambton

CJ,

What you have been told so far is correct, no iolite or other bush will retain oil. The whole Myford lubrication philosophy is one of "total loss".

Oil should be added up to the level screw and not above. after refilling leave the level screw out for a while as it is of small diameter and it will take some time for the actual level to establish its self.

You do not say what grade of oil you use. Never use Esso Nuto or any other H32 grade oil in the gear box. The instructions that came with my gearbox (one of the last made at Beeston) states on page 2 that K68 oil should be used however later instruction in the book (page 15) specifies SAE 30. Both of these oils have a higher viscosity that H32 and K68 is clingy and less likely to leak through a small gap.

Are you sure about the OD of the bush as Myford would surely have used a standard 3/4" OD bush rather than go to the trouble of machining a standard it down for no good purpose?

I have a 5/8” bore x ¾ x ¾ Oilite bush that you can have or a 5/8” x 7/8 x 7/8 if you have to machine one down to an odd size. Send me a PM if you want one.

If the leadscrew is badly worn or has a rough surface it could be reclaimed by having metal sprayed onto the worn area which is then reground to your required size. When I was running an engineering department I had two very good suppliers that offered this serves with very fast return times. One was in Luton and one in Northampton. This is Avery good and accurate way to reclaim worn shafts.

Eric.

Ron,

You will find that a drill press will not hold a milling cutter reliably unless it has a facility for using a drawbar for securing the Morse taper in the quill when doing anything other than very light cuts indeed.

The action of a milling cutter tends to waggle and will easily make the Morse taper "let go".

If you intend doing any half serious milling get yourself a proper milling machine.

Eric

James,

+1 for dedicated centre drill holder.

My advice is to only use a centre drill when you actually need a centre hole for use with a locating or supporting centre. If you just want to start drilled hole always use a spotting drill as used on CNC machines. Spotting drills do not have the vulnerable small diameter pilot section present on a normal centre drill so they are much more robust.

Eric

James,

Yes it works I use the similar method detailed in my Myford S7 handbook. You must not use tailstock support as it would give a false result. It is best to rough turn a reduced diameter section in the centre of the test bar then just take a light cut at both ends without altering anything. This saves a lot of time when actually making the test cuts. If you cannot take a light cut (just a few thou in this case) without chatter there is something wrong with your chuck, headstock or poorly adjusted slides etc.

Eric

Les,

I have bought quite a few items of Chinese tooling from Arc and have been very pleased with them. I have not had much satisfaction with Indian made tooling from other UK suppliers however I understand that Zither lathe chucks (again from Arc) are of excellent quality.

I have bought one or two items directly from CTC Tools China and found them to be excellent.

Eric

Brian has given a very helpful and lucid explanation as to the correct setting up of the gear train to produce the required 1.25 mm pitch. May I respectfully add that it is also necessary to set the gear box selectors to position 1 and

and position B i.e. to 16 tpi setting - see the gear box chart on page 3 of the handbook and on top of the gearbox.

Thank you Brian.

Eric

John,

I fully agree with all that Hopper has said.

My late father, a skilled RAF trained toolmaker, taught me to finish off a single point screw cut thread with a die or die nut. You can also use a thread repair file to chase along the thread. I always give a vigorous wire brushing over the finished cut thread to remove any burs and debris.

The radius at the root of the thread is there to prevent a sharp root from being a stress raiser thus weakening the thread. However do not bother with the crest radius as it serves no practical purpose.

Just use the data in Zeus chart book as this contains all you need to know.

Eric.

Looking at the chart in the instruction book to my gearbox (repeated on the plate inside the gear box end cover) it looks as if you have not set thinks up quite correctly. Don't forget to set the gear box levers into their correct positions as shown on the chart.

Eric

Brian,

David describes the lathe a an ML7B. The "B" indicates that it is fitted with a gearbox.

eric

I would go for the Myford lathe & the Gate Elliot mill every time. The gear box on the Myford S7 B is a God send also it sounds as if you will also get a lot of other goodies that would be expensive to buy separately.

Eric

Lynne,

I have sent you a PM

Eric

I inherited 4 old copies of Zeus tables from my father but unfortunately non are dated.

The oldest "15 Star Edition" has all hand written artwork and the tables are printed on one side only of the thick card pages. The various table are laid out rather differently than modern editions e.g. one for decimal equivalents of fraction of a inch and a separate table for metric equivalents.

Another one "24 Star Special Edition" obviously dates from the second Word War as inside the front cover it has an advert for the Joint Committee For Soviet Aid which finishes with "Their Fight Is Ours To!." The layout of this edition is very similar to todays versions.

All four sets appear to be accurate and very interesting.

Eric

William,

There is a 0.031" radius between the two faces of the Myford register that is not too apparent when looking at the spindle. I had the same problem as your good self with a new chuck back plate. Just machine a chamfer just large enough to give clearance for this rad.at the back of you collet chuck. Use a fag paper to check for any looseness not engineer's blue. If the back plate or collet chuck is not hard up against the back of the register the screw thread will act as a false register. I have tried to include a copy of the drawing of the Myford spindle but have not been able to. However a copy does appear on page 3.8 of Tubal Cain's Model Engineer's Handbook.

Eric

I guess that both bearings butt against a central section of the housing, of smaller diameter than themselves, and so the spindle will have to be removed first. Looking at your last picture there appears to be a locking collar on the spindle to adjust the preload on the bearings. Try removing this collar and what appears to be a spacer behind it then try gently taping the spindle out with a copper hammer.

Once the spindle is out each bearing can be drifted out from the bore of the housing. I hope this makes sense!

Paul,

Studding washers & a nut will be perfectly OK. Just use a washer with O/D larger than the spindle and don't do it up too much. Drawbars only need "nipping" up not "torqueing" up.

Eric

Robert,

Before you do anything else (unless you already have one) get yourself a copy of the relevant Super 7 handbook which contains the answers to most the likely questions. PDF copies are obtainable on the net. Myford Super 7 lathes are rather different to any modern lathes.

Also is helpful to have copy of Ian Bradley's Myford Series 7 Manual which is in print and readily available.

Eric.

CJ,

Before trying to move it remove anything that is easily removable such as the chuck, tailstock, tool post and the motor (not quite so easy but worthwhile). This will take a surprising amount of weight off the machine.

Wear steel toe capped boots and put something soft below the lifting area just in case you drop it!

As Bazyle has advised never lift any lathe by the headstock spindle / chuck. Take your time and plan the lift.

Eric

Martin,

I have sent you a PM please see the flashing inbox at the top of the site.

Use a smaller centre in a Morse taper adapter sleeve that has a tang. The adapter & centre are then ejected together. Arc sell a variety at very reasonable prices. (page 6 of the current number 10 catalogue. Usual disclaimer

Eric.

It looks like a simple model of James Nasmyth's "steam hammer steam engine " designed for powering screw driven ships in 1848. There is a line drawing of such an engine on page 424 of his excellent autobiography written in edited by Samuel Smiles. This book is fascinating read.

Eric