Member postings for ray jones 1

hi , I own a Myford 280 , the paint could do with a touch up. It is a different colour and texture to the green used on both Myford 7series and Myford 254.. It looks almost like a hammerite finish, it also looks very similar to the paint used on  Myford ML 10 series.. Does anyone know the correct colour and finish please,,, , thank you

Edited By ray jones 1 on 08/12/2014 21:58:02

I am aware there are several UK suppliers of very similar types of Small Bench milling machines. I.E Warco, Amadeal , Toolco and a few others. All appear to be made oversees and on the face of it very little difference in quality and / or Purchase cost.

For a number of reasons I am inclined to purchase a Toolco Mill , most probably a VM30 or VM32. I am just wondering if any other ME readers have bought either of these mills. If so could I please ask you to share your experiences in relation to accuracy / performance of the machine, after sales support , warranty or comparison /preference to others makes ect. Thank You Ray

Edited By ray jones 1 on 28/08/2014 05:31:49

Thank you for the constructive replies, very much appreciated.

hi, I would appreciate your advice.

My Myford 254 is imperial . I needed to to cut 12 tpi.

To my surprise ,12 TPI is not listed on the thread cutting chart

Both 13TPI and 14TPI are listed, but not 12TPI,

The lathe is set up with original thread drive gears

see photo of thread setting index

any ideas please,.

thank you

Hi, I have modified my RISHTON mill, which is very similar to the ones listed

It is fitted to a MYFORD 254 .

I had four parts to make,

1/ the clamp for the quill.

2/ the base for the slide..

3/ the slide itself.

4/ the reader head base to hold the magnteic pickup.

The reader head is then connected to a spare port on my 3 axis DRO .

My DRO is accurate to 5 MICRONS, - 2 tenths of a thou..

l

front of mill showing quill clamp

side of gearbox showing slide, reader head and base holding sensor tape

DRO showing quill setting 0.5000.

Edited By ray jones 1 on 05/04/2013 23:34:16

Edited By ray jones 1 on 05/04/2013 23:35:16

Edited By ray jones 1 on 05/04/2013 23:35:52

I am in the proces of constucting a Gardner O 1/2 scale engine. The engine is 2 inch stroke x 1.375 bore. The crank shaft is, diameter 0.5" ,. overall length 10inches .

The drawings just say, " crankshaft, from solid or fabricate./ steel."

My questions are,

1/ What type of steel would you recommend to use..

2/ Which would be the best option for construction, machine the item from solid or fabricate in sections.

I would welcome any suggestions and advice . thank you

hi paul,

EL 400 looks very neat. well made. The buttons are "REAL "buttons

not "plastic buttons" on a membrain- as in some calculators.

glass slides etc, these cannot be cut to length, if your travel is say 150 mm, ,plus mountings

etc your total length overall would be , say 220. mm

If the glass slide was 250mm, it could not be cut, you would have 30 mm overhang.

The one I have has S1 magnetic slides, they are slimline , enclosed, yet very robust and totally swarf and coolant tollerant.

they are rated at 5 microns and display to 4 decimal places

to cut them to,length takes 5 minutes and is fool proof and easy,

unscrew the one end.( 2 - 3 mm scews)

take out stainless strip guard.

put the slide in my chop saw

slide stainless strip guard.back in

ray.

supplier:

MARK HUDMAN EMS

MOBILE 07595 036601

WORK 0116 270 6891

EMAIL

WORK [email protected] ;

here are a few pics

Edited By ray jones 1 on 10/01/2013 20:50:12

Edited By ray jones 1 on 10/01/2013 20:59:02

hi yes that is their web site,, http://www.ems-i.co.uk/

my magnetic tape is enclosed on all sides,

mine is the second one down in the pic, Open Extrusion Magnetic Scale

http://electronicaems.com/magneticscale.html

also here is a link i found very useful,, a range of vidoes to show cutting to length and installation info.

http://www.dropros.com/Electronica_Lathe_Digital_Readout.htm

ray

Edited By ray jones 1 on 10/01/2013 20:33:07

hi paul

I have just fitted a dro to my Myford 254 c/w mill,, After much consideration , I decided to

purchase an Electronica EL400DRO .

I collected the unit in person from the UK distributor Electronica Mechatronic Systems, in Leicester.

The display was complete with a variety of brackets and elaborate instructions.

The console is very robust and unlike some is made of die-cast aluminium. looks and feels really good quality.

The magnetic scales are compact and very easy to fit/.

They can be cut easily to any required length., .

As a bonus the scales are totally resistant to coolant and swarf .

Speak to Mark Hudman, very helpful and very knowledgable.

take a look at ,my post on homeworkshop.

you are welcome to call and see mine, or if you want some photos of mine just email me.

best regards. ray

Edited By ray jones 1 on 10/01/2013 16:46:21

hi, I am in the process of fitting a DRO to Myford 254 lathe. The Crosslide in so not simple.
The DRO slide and reading head need to be on the Tailstock side of the Crosslide.
Problem, there are 6 Gib wear adjusting screws and the Topslide Locking Screw right in the way.
I could be overcome it by covering the adjuster screws with the slide and also fitting the slide a few inches back from the front of the crosslide.
I am just wondering if any other members have experienced this and if so, how you overcame the problem.
thank you

hi

thank you for the replies.

I have only owned this 254 + for a few months.

I bought it off an old gent, who had it new direct from Myfords,

basically he hardly ever used it.

It runs very quiet and sweet, I like the variable speed a great deal.

I have owned numerous Myfords over the years , but not any variant of 254.

this 254 has the camlock fitting which is very useful.

I have never taken the chuck off this one before, and just by chance

put a DTI on after re fitting the chuck.

Whilst using the 254 you feel as if you are using a lathe of substantial quality

The motor is rated at 2hp. Having said that , is does not appear to have the power of other lathes

rated at 2hp . I have a Myford 280 which is also rate at 2hp. The 280 compared to the 254 is

much heavier constructed, substantially more robust in every way and has much more power , should you need it for a heavier cut..

The common problem wiith both of these lathes is parts, as you know Myford parts are now very

often difficult to obtain, very expensive and sometimes just impossible to locate,

especially for the 280..

thanks again

How accurate is your lathe?

I have a Myford 254+ , its had very, very little use.

Fitted with an original 3 jaw self centre chuck, using a test bar 1" OD ( or selection of,), using a fixed DTI, located 1 inch from the chuck jaws , when I rotate the chuck .I get a concentric error of 1 thou. Would you say this is normal, average.good or bad.

If I run the DTI on either the outer diameter of the chuck, or the front face of the chuck, the error is near to zero thanks.