Member postings for Beagle

Excellent - thanks both of you for your help and for checking against your own TS's. I'll skim the bolt threads and solve the problem in the proper manner then.

Ah-ha!! The penny has dropped if that's the case - indeed I have a fully threaded bolt, but I figured that was the standard fitting. Sounds like it's not at which point I shall machine the top part of the bolt to a plain shank. You've just saved me drilling the steady and vandalising it

Many thanks Trev.

Afternoon all,

Picked up a S/H travelling steady from one of the stands at Harrogate to fit my Myford Speed 10.

The TS mounts via a single bolt to the top of the saddle, where there is a threaded hole that's normally plugged via a set screw. Mounting procedure is basically remove set screw from saddle and bolt stand in place. However!...

For some curious reason the mounting hole in the TS is partially threaded itself i.e. the mounting bolt not only threads in to the saddle, but also into the TS. This obviously prevents me being able to properly nip-down the TS to the saddle, since the bolt is pulling against the TS threads instead.

Before I just clearance-drill the TS hole, am I missing something?!?! Anyone elses TS's threaded, and if so what for?

My assumption so far is that despite my purchase looking and smelling like a Myford original, maybe this was an unfinished casting that someone else has finished themselves (very well mind), but perhaps with an error on the mount hole.

Cheers. Clive

Edited By Beagle on 15/06/2011 15:29:46

Edited By Beagle on 30/05/2011 22:19:08

Paul, et al.

For info I went and checked the Speed 10 (ML10) 4-way TP - the bottom portion is 7mm thick. That should give you some confidence that opening your ML7 one up to take a 10mm tool by taking the bottom of the TP down to 6mm thick should just about be ok. i.e. If the Speed 10 TP is originally 7mm thick out of the factory, then taking your ML7 one down to 6mm thick would probably be acceptable.

If you don't mind me hijacking the post slightly then I'd like to ask if anyone here would recomment the similar mod to the original Speed 10 4-way? To recap previously, it works with 6mm tooling only (I reckon centre height is slightly over at ~6.25mm). I'm really keen to open the door to 8mm tooling as there's much more available (esp. indexed tools). So do you think I'd get away with taking the bottom of the toolpost from 7mm thick to ~5.25mm thick, or am I treading risky ground?

I guess the issue is a combination of TP stiffness to resist tool chatter, and also to resist against clamp load and the tool leaving the post at a fair rate of knots with my head in the way?!

Hi all,

I've been aware of ultrasonic cleaners for many years, but have never actually used one. At the recent Harrogate Show I saw some for sale and it sparked some interest again.

Does anybody own one, and if so do you rate them? Good / bad points?

In terms of what I'd like to use it for, then its basically the cleaning of pretty much any small mucky parts in the workshop - brake and metal dust and from mountain bike brakes, greasy model servo gears, motorcycle brake calipers, machine parts following stripdown, oily / coked engine parts etc etc. The things that normally take you 2+ hours in the kitchen sink with a toothbrush basically!!

Now I appreciate that they won't remove tarnish / corrosion, but in terms of simple cleaning of dirt / grease from intricate parts, are they the 'silver bullet'?

Must you use specific cleaning solutions, or can you still get acceptable results with plain water / drop of washing up liquid? Can you leave the solutions in the tank for months at a time for ad-hoc use, or must they be emptied and dried every time?

Finally, I note that prices vary from ~£20 up to ~£150 for similar sized tank units from various manufacturers. In terms of cleaning performance, do you get what you pay for, or do they all perform similarly and it's just the name and the shiny stainless housing that justifies extra cost over a cheap plastic model? ...Or put another way, is a cheap £20 one for cleaning jewellery going to put a shine to my motorbike sprockets caked in chain lube?!

Cheers all,

- Clive

Paul, I don't suppose this is on an ML10 / Speed 10 is it?

I have the same issue - the OEM Myford 4-way limits you to 6mm tools (or just over, probably 1/4"). I too have been contemplating shaving ~1.5mm off something to open up the world of 8mm tooling, for which there are many more options available.

The question appears to be what to shave the metal off. The OEM toolpost probably doesn't have much to go at if you are wanting to retain stiffness in tool clamping. I have been contemplating more drastic action of skimming the 1.5mm off the top of the cast iron topslide body, which by contrast seems to have loads of spare material in it. Not decided which approach yet, but I know the toolpost is about £100 off Myford, so maybe finding out the price of a topslide body will make the decision for me!

Edited By Beagle on 04/11/2010 12:55:35

Hi all,

The obvious answer is once they've snapped of course, but I beleive in a more preventative approach )

Edited By Beagle on 08/10/2010 13:11:54