Member postings for Lambton

+ for Skoda.

Myford are certainly not alone in using components from sub-contractors or specialist suppliers. Every manufacture has to do this as they cannot be competitive making small quantities against specialist suppliers. A very simple example is threaded fasteners a more complicated exampled are ball bearings, castings, electrical components etc.

Of course cost has to be taken into consideration. All manufacturers try to purchase specified components at the lowest price. This often means going to countries with lower manufacturing and wage costs than the UK.

Alan Shepard became the first American in space when the Freedom 7 spacecraft blasted off from Florida on May 5, 1961and during the flight had the following disturbing thought:

"It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract."

Garry,

There must first be a definite preload on the rear pair of bearings otherwise the following adjustments will not be correct. The purpose of the rear pair of bearings is to take the end load on the spindle when doing any turning towards the chuck and especially when drilling from the tailstock. You should not be able to detect any endplay on the spindle once it has been refitted correctly. Of course the tiny clearance between the bronze bush and the spindle must be maintained.

I know one owner who did not adjust this pair of bearings correctly leaving them with " negative preload" and then found that during drilling from the tailstock the spindle came to a stop and the drive belt slipped (fortunately) as the mandrel reacted to the high end load by moving back with the tapered end forced into contact with the bronze bush. All was well after he carefully adjusted the end float of the rear bearings.

After completing a spindle replacement it is advisable to gently tap the spindle from both ends using a soft hammer to ensure that the ball bearing rings are not jammed a bit on the mandrel or the outer casting. The bearing rings are a very close fit and can stall a little.in their locations.

Edited By Lambton on 17/02/2018 11:17:58

Garry,

Don't start scraping the front bush until you have tried properly and carefully adjusting the spindle bearings exactly as described in the Myford handbook. Metal removed in error cannot be replaced. (An official Myford handbook is essential).Take time to read the instructions carefully as the Super 7 bearing arrangements are a bit unusual. It is important to do the adjustments in the correct order. bearings starting with the preload on the pair of ball bearings at the rear end of the spindle making sure the bearings are located back to back.

It is worth obtaining a proper C spanner for a few pounds (an old Sturmy Archer bottom bracket spanner can be used even though the radius of the C is not quite correct).When adjusting the very small clearance of the front bearing I have found it useful to have the catch plate mounted on the spindle which give you something to get hold of and get an initial feel to see if the bearing is too tight or loose.

Eric

Ian,

I have sent you a personal message please look for the INBOX at the top left of the home page which should be flashing.

Eric

Colin,

I cannot see your picture. What horse power is the motor?

I have a Meddings MB4 drill fitted with a 1 hp single phase motor which has never blown a normal 13 amp fuse in 20 years of use.

Eric

Colin,

It is hard to be able to offer any help with so little information to go on.

A good picture of the motor data plate would be most helpful. Try these simple things first.

Try the motor alone with the belt taken off

With the belt off try turning the drill by hand to see if there is any great resistance .

I do not know where the 7amp plug top fuse came from as this is not a standard size. Try a 13 amp fuse rather than bizarre suggestions (even in jest) about using nails or bolts.

Eric

Tractor man,

They may be "a well known carrier" but the people actually doing the work were definitely cowboys.

Many times whist at work I used carriers to move machinery and in my experience it is matter of luck if you happen to get a good crew for the job. I have very carefully briefed well know carriers about the value and vulnerability of certain machines only to be faced with a similar result to your Raglan lathe at the end of the job.

If you want a good outcome from moving machines you need to personally supervise the loading and securing of the machine and if practicable go ahead to also supervise the unloading. This way I always achieved good results

. left to themselves machinery removal operatives will usually look for the quickest and "least trouble" means of getting the job done without much regard to the needs of the load itself.

I know some people will disagree and quote that such and such always do a perfect job - you have been very fortunate!

+1 for Proops old shop in Tottenham Court Road alas gone many years ago.

Proops took over K R Whiston of New Mills Stockport and added Whiston's wide range of surplus items to their catalogue. They probably still have some of the more obscure items left.

Originally Whiston had a folksy way of describing items that made the most obscure look useful. Along these lines; " I don't know what its is for but it has two shafts at right angles on a flat base, must be of use to experimenters or inventors"

I still have a copy of a late catalogue Noii4 from 1986 which lists all sorts of new and surplus fasteners, bar stock, pulleys, tools etc. with fewer folksy descriptions. Included in the catalogue is a pre-printed labile for your order envelope! The prices would be unbelievable today.

Todays Proops sell a wide range of inexpensive tools etc. most of which appear to be made in India.

Posted by An Other on 15/01/2018 18:56:54:

If they both do the same job to the required accuracy, who cares?,

So do I - fake goods rob us all.

Eric

Mike is quite correct - get purpose made tapping lubricants. I have used Ambersil Tufcut for years it is not expensive and a little goes a long way. It is especially good for use on tough materials such as stainless steel, silver steel etc. but I use it on all materials and have not had a broken tap - yet!. One bottle is cheaper than a broken HSS quality tap or a scrapping a component with a tap broken off in it.

Eric

I suggest that you first remove any easily removable parts such as chucks, tailstock, tool post, etc. and store them inside somewhere dry.

Make sure the lathe is stored off the ground on bricks or slabs but not wood.

Ensure that vital areas such as the bed, spindle (nose and inside), top and cross slide etc. are well greased with a thick coat all over. "Paint" on your chosen rest prevention oil e.g. the Myford product that you have quoted.. Alternatively spray on one of the Ambersil corrosion products or Finnegans Waxoil (AKA Hammerite)

A suggested by Brian make sure you deal with the underside of everything and inside the cabinet.

Inspect the lathe whenever there is a nice dry day and deal immediately with any corrosion found.

Eric

Mike,

Perhaps I'm being particularly dim this morning, but surely the frame is bound to rotate unless somebody has invented a totally frictionless bearing, which logic tells me is impossible. It's just a matter of keeping the frame rotation as slow as possible.............or is it?

Properly designed and adjusted "point and cup" bearings will not create enough torque to overcome the inertia of the frame. Newton's third law of motion applies.

Eric

Graham,

"Quite a few years ago I. Bought a linaze super quality gyro as advertised in me it has miniature ball bearings, the trouble is the outer frame annoyingly spins around as well "

I had one these Linaze gyroscopes that did exactly the same. I quickly concluded that the miniature ball bearings could not be made to have low enough friction to enable the gyro to work properly. I tried them dry, slack, oiled with watch oil etc. all to no avail.

No small bearing can match a point and cone system for lowest friction for this very light and low powered application.

Eric

Chris B.

Have a look at this **LINK** site by the much respected Harold Hall on the subject of getting a lathe to turn parallel.

Eric

Use a travelling steady!

I have sent you a PM please check the flashing inbox at the top left of the page.

Eric

May I draw attention to the article in MEW 256 pages 46 & 47 "Lehman Archer and BA Taps" which explains the origin of BA threads.

I have been a model ( and full size ) engineer for over 50 years and in the whole of that time I have screw cut of all types of threads except BA. I have never seen the need to even attempt to do so as I have always used a good quality tailstock die holder together with British made HSS dies with every satisfaction.

Eric

Peter,

The bolt you refer to is not hollow. It is a special with a head designed to engage in the slot in the quadrant to prevent rotation when tightening the nut. The shank is 1/4" diameter with a short length of 1/4" BSF thread. Not hard to make from a decent piece of steel eg from a large high tensile bolt

Alternatively try one of the suppliers of second-hand Myford spares on EBay or if all else fails a complete stud assembly is available from ."New" Myford.

Eric

Paul,

I have sent you a message see the flashing inbox at the top left of the page

Eric