Setting up my Myford ML 10

Tom thanks for that suggestion about the hexagonal spacers, sounds like a very good way to go!

And indeed, getting some kind of tray under there would be beneficial to keeping things reasonably tidy in that room.

Best regards.

--Robert

Looking at the pictures of the change-gear end of the lathe, you definitely need spacers under it. The gear train you have in place seems to have the smallest possible gear on the leadscrew, which is highly unusual. Looks like it's set up to cut a 6TPI thread or similar. For normal fine feed turning you will be running that large gear in the middle of the train on the leadscrew, so you might as well either set up the spacers now. As you have a wooden bench, a couple of bits of 4x2" wood could suffice. I've had our ML7 mounted "temporarily" on wooden packers on a steel bench for some time now and it works wonderfully. Maybe just good luck, but it cuts true to within less than half a thou, way less.

Main thing is not to agonize too much over the small stuff. Get the machine running and start using it. You will figure out mods needed along the way. Start a project such as making a simple steam engine etc you will soon find out lots of little things along the way on the lathe that need "fine tuning". as you go.

The back-board you have in place it a good idea and is a good place to put racks and shelves for tooling etc, on the right-hand half away from the belts, gears and swarf zone.

As you have already made your bench, rather than fitting a swarf tray, you could look at simply adding a raised "wall" around the outer perimeter, sticking up an inch or so. Strips of wood or aluminium screwed to the existing bench top would do the job. Seal with silicone and paint to match the bench.

Thank you Hopper for taking the time to write me such useful information and advice.

Indeed, I'll need to familiarize myself with the gear arrangement on the left of the headstock, which is setup as I acquired it. I still have a lot to learn about these type of lathes, the only lathe I own is a small swiss watchmaker's lathe, where one works with hand gravers.

Indeed, it would be good luck to have my lathe mounted on wood blocks and retain accuracy. I've seen videos and read texts about people levelling them with a dial gauge to get maximum accuracy. I'm still not sure how accurate I will need it to be for the kind of work I am envisioning doing with it initially.

As you say, most important for me will be to get it setup and running, and learn as I go along, refining my setup as I progress in my learning path.

When I nailed the wood moulding around the bench to cover the edges of the plywood, I had thought about leaving a bit of a raised portion to catch swarf, and probably should have done so. It's an option for me in the future as you suggest.

Another thing I'll need to figure out is proper wiring of the motor, which according to the guy who sold me the kit is capable of running in both directions. I'll need to get myself a proper switch to start the lathe, and an emergency stop button, to make it safe. Then setup some appropriate overhead lighting, and off I go.

Best regards.

--Robert