Tool post for Myford ML10 lathe

Cutting up fee[er gauges for shims is a total waste. You don't need height adjustment in the few thou range. Shims cut from tin cans and the like are plenty thin enough. It does not matter if the tool is mounted slightly below centre height. Just don't go above as then the tool will rub on the job.

+1

Quality HSS can be red hot without losing its temper.

Quenching can cause cracks.

If it's getting very hot very quickly and the wheel is rapidly shrinking you may be being too aggressive with the grinding.

Neil

Using 5/16" HSS and packing it up on some 1/8" steel strip is easier to grind than using the 3/8" HSS. So saves burnt fingers and worn wheels etc.

I am now using 1/2" cutters. No steel strips & no packings at all. Just adjust the screw & tighten. With enough tool posts, the only time you need to re-adjust is if you fit a fresh cutter.

Chronos, Warco and RDG tools sell a myford 7 toolpost that will probably fit, its also known as a t37 toolpost.

You need to do some home work. There is a solution for your lathe.

Steve.

Hi Jeremy,

I'm a great believer in making things for myself. I have a Myford and have got rid of my Dickson tool holder, an expensive waste for a hobbyist, great for production where time is money.

This is my Norman patent tool holder. Its almost entirely a turning job except for the milled 1/2" tool slot (13 mm ). Mine stays true to the original design. However Myford used to supply this type of tool post and holder on the older ML3 & 4 lathes. I also made one for the rear of the cross slide that is primarily used for parting and interchangeable with the front one.

A view from the other side. The silver screw is the hight adjustment ! No shims needed.

Ironically i took the standard fiddly Norman toolpost off my M type and made my own ML7 style 4-way toolpost and find it much better to use. Different strokes etc. But agree i dont feel the need for a Dickson etc for hobby use. The 4-way holds left and right hand tools permanently for 75 per cent of work and specials are mounted in the other 2 slots as needed.

Hi Hopper,

Thankyou for your comments.

I originally had the Myford supplied 4 way toolpost, and got fed up with having to shim up every time I sharpened a tool. The other thing that I didn't like was how easy it was to catch and cut yourself on the other tools in the holder. I've ended up one time having my thumb stitched up in ER having leant forward and caught the sharp end of one.

So after listening to all the advice, I bought a Dickson QCTP ! Sure it was much better than shimming all the time, but by the time I'd bought a couple of holders and looked at the cost, and finding out about the Norman Patent one, I decided to build one and try it. Apart from the time I spent making it, it cost me less than £5 in materials, plus one or two bits from the scrap box and some cap screws which I had already.

I don't find it any more difficult or awkward than using a QCTP ! It's also vastly cheaper and the satisfaction from making it is priceless ! In addition you get to learn a lot about the machine, its capabilities and your own.

John Baron:

Am I right in thinking that, strictly speaking, the Norman patent envisaged a square section hole rather than an open slot?

I used one like yours for some years - cheap and easy to make and very versatile. I have seen a suggestion that the height adjustment screw should be as near as possible to the tool tip so as to prevent or limit dipping.

Hi Ega,

Yes that is correct. I used to have a copy of the original 1880's patent but I can no longer find it, either in my backups or on line. I believe that "Lathes UK" have some pictures and other info on it though.

All the subsequent designs that I have seen on the net, use a slit that is compressed by a bolt to clamp the holder to the post, and also use an open slot for the tool ! This slit clamping method only produces a two point grip on the post, and relies on the metal being able to be deformed when the bolt is tightened, where as the split clamp has a three point grip and reduces any tendency for the tool holder to rock.

Rolls Royce used the Norman toolpost on the lathes in their development workshops, I believe before Myford did. Its a lot more rigid than other toolposts I've used, due to the large diameter post that its mounted on.

Just to correct two earlier posts as I like to point out that it is ok to have the cutting edge above centre provided you haven't forgotten to grind any front clearance, which at 10 degrees for a beginner should give you masses of leeway.
The South Bend / Boxford book "Know your lathe" actually recommends setting the tool above centre. The reason, not given in the book, is that it produces a component of force outwards that takes up the backlash in the cross-slide screw which helps reduce chatter.

Edited By Bazyle on 08/02/2020 14:26:58

John Baron:

Good point about the split clamp (cotter). In fact, mine was the simpler type to a Len Mason design in ME. The reduced centre height of the ML10 might be an issue for this type of toolpost since the "shelf" on which the tool sits needs to be thick enough to resist deflection.

I later made a four-way indexing toolpost to the GHT design and have sometimes wondered whether he would have become a QCTP convert.

thank you for the info! What is ally strip?

Also, what do you mean when you say facing a bar to leave no pip?

Is there something I can read regarding setting up the cebtering with shims? I am still a litttle confused on how to set it up!

I don't mean to be rude but you seem to be very new to machining? If so I would suggest searching youtube for videos for beginners. I've linked to an old but excellent series below produced by MIT. If you are anything like me, I learn better from watching than reading. Engineering can seem a little daunting at first but you will soon pick up the basics.

MIT Engineering Video Series

'ally strip' = thin bits of aluminium
don't know about purchasing it from metal factors (suppliers) though.
Normally just cut from drinks cans, scavenged from stuff you took apart so can be steel, aluminium, brass and hard plastic. I use credit cards, blister wrap plastic, bits of shop signs blown down in the gales, printed circuit board. It doesn't matter if there are a few holes in them either, nor needing to be exact size.

Centre pip. - if the tool is not dead on centre it cannot cut the very middle of the end of the thing being turned.
Put a bit of round material in the chuck say half inch give or take 50% and half an inch sticking out. Position the tool just off the end and move it in to just touch the end, that is the end of the end not the side of the end. Move it clear using the cross-slide and advance it a few thousandths using the top slide so it will cut as you move it in using the cross slide. It probably won't be cutting all the end, depending on how square you sawed it off. This is called facing or facing off.
Move it clear with the cross-slide, advance a few thou with the top slide and face off again. Repeat until you are cutting the whole face. At some point in this process you will notice that right in the middle the tool isn't high enough to reach leaving a small 'pip' or you are too high and sort of scrunch off the middle. If you are bothered adjust shims and repeat test to get zero pip.

If you are going to drill the end it won't matter if there is a pip anyway but actually it is better to leave the middle tenth of an inch untouched rather than leave a small pip as a drill is more likely to be pushed off by a small pip that just having to start on a rough sawn surface.

I’m new to the machining aspect. I build custom cars for a living - there is a tremendous amount of engineering in my career, but I have yet to implement the machining aspect. I’m excited I have acquired this lathe, and can’t wait to get started.

I like the simplicity of the norman tool holder. Do you have any exact dimensions for it?

Edited By Jeremy Smith 2 on 08/02/2020 21:33:32

Once you get up & running. You will be able to make a lot of the parts you buy at the moment. Shiny dump valves & nice stainless & alloy under bonnet fittings. You will wonder how you ever managed without it.

Steve.

I can use the machine as a milling device too, correct? What parts will allow for that kind of operation of the lathr.