Buying first lathe

I assume you can go and see it?

Bed shows wear ridges, the depth needs checking with a feeler gauge & steel rule. Suck your teeth if a 5thou gauge slips underneath and tell him £600

Don't forget it will only swing 7" dia x 20" long, which is just big enough for a Minnie traction engine wheel

There again, it could be a good sign. Some people include a reference colour sample for the same reason others include a ruler.

Plus ,I don't see the full set of change-wheels, add £80min.

You will get a lot of good advice from Myford owners on here.

I once had a ML7, but a fully equipped new one would have cost me four times what I paid for a new, larger Chinese machine, with power cross feed, and variable speed inverter drive. .

This one is almost suspiciously clean, but shows lots of minor dings. The lack of a full set of Change Wheels is off putting. Also, you ought to budget for: a 4 Jaw chuck, Cutting tools, and measuring equipment.

Worst case scenario, This one could have been nicely painted, but assembled for all sorts of bits. Headstock from one machine, Bed from another and Tailstock from a third. And what state are the Spindle and bearings in?

In which case it may not be well aligned. And with respect, as a newbie, setting up a machine is not a job that you should undertake, unless you are a patient, rich, masochist!, with lots of knowledgeable and sklilful friends!

You may well be far better paying out more for a new machine, such as a Sieg SC4, from a reputable importer, where, if there are problems, they will,be resolved quickly, and without argument.

Just my four penn'orth

Howard

I meant electrical / electronic side of thing.

If you look closely at some of the small components in this pic, like the V block with two clamps at the top, they are very heavily corroded. Then others like the small drill chuck's taper shank look like they have been etched with corrosion then cleaned up with a wire buffing wheel. Then there are the two small graduated dials off the cross slide and top slide at the left of the pic. They look pretty badly corroded vs the shiny new ones that have been fitted to the lathe in the main pic you posted first up. So I would say this was a pretty rough lathe with a lot of corrosion that has been polished and painted to look nice and shiny new dials fitted.

Which brings us to the bed. (The one that costs 800quid to regrind). Careful inspection of the OP pic shows a lot of small "blowhole" type marks along the bed, even at the relatively unused tailstock end, on the flat top surfaces of the ways. Initiially I thought they might be casting blowholes - which is unusual but this is an early model ML7 so maybe they were a bit rough in the casting back then? Never seen it though.

Or on the other hand, was the bed as heavily corroded as some of those accessories in the latest pic and has been wire-wheel buffed up to look as nice as it does, leaving those random deeper rust pit marks down its length?

I think I'd pass on this one unless I could give it a real good inspection and meausure up in person.

Edited By Hopper on 23/06/2020 01:28:06

If it is a dealer, I would expect some, at least, of those ‘accessories’ would have been added from elsewhere. It is the usual way of trading up any item. Those two painted items might appear to be exactly the same shade as the lathe? Never been used? Make of that as you wish...

I would reserve judgement until carefully inspected. Personally, I would not shell out a grand on a second hand item unseen. Simple as that, but YMMV. Check out the ‘Halifax lathe’ thread fiasco that is running currently. There are differing opinions regarding that one.

Hopper's comments, and a closer look, make me think that this is a machine that has stood somewhere in a barn for a very long time, and allowed to go very rusty.

Being sarcastic, the best part of it is the paint job.

If I were in your shoes, "Pass" might be the better option, followed by saving until the budget will stand the cost of a new machine and the tooling to go with it.

With a new machine, you would have a Warranty and some after sales support if there are problems. A new machine may not be perfect (Hobby machines are built down to a price, not upto an Industrial standard ) but at least you should get help and any spares from a reputable dealer, if there are problems.

One word of advice; if there is a problem, don't try to fix it yourself, you may make things worse.

Take advice, and don't do anything which might void the warranty. Keep in close contact with the supplier. Some will replace a faulty machine, rather than get involved in a protracted issue with the customer.

You are soon up and running again, and they have the knowledge and facilities to fix the problem machine.

If you read the various threads on the Forum, you will soon read of users experiences with Importers.

They may well be selling the same machine, in a different paint scheme, but some are better than others in the pre sales and after market support. provided.

Howard

Howard.

Thank you all for response to my post. To be honest It was first time I experianced so great support from anyone online. I was expecting some advice but your input simply blown my mind. For better or worse lathe in question found already new owner. I must admit you gave me great deal to think about. My mind was focused on old machinery but now I'm not sure anymore what is best approach to get first lathe. For what I gathered I can get in sorted in three ways:

1 - Buying cheapo chinese lathe without aftermarket support (ruled out),

2 - Buying more expensive chinese from long established local dealer with aftermarket support and access to spares'

3 - Spending much more for refubrished by manufacturer machine that's going to outlast me.

One can't expeect succesful venture without adequate financial input. Every other opssibility is less or more gamble depend on buyers ability to exam lathe.

Jacob

Don't have regrets, there are better 'original', unpainted items like that one around. Just be patient..

When considering option 3) do remember that your requirements may well change long before you get ‘oulasted’!

Option 2) is not necessarily any more expensive than option 1). But option 1), while being a bit of a lottery might well be more expensive than option 2) over the fairly short term, even if option 1) turns out OK.

My first lathe was a mistake which I realised fairly soon after purchase. It was a ‘rushed’ purchase. My second was a cheap opportunist purchase which eventually demonstrated the drawbacks of my initial purchase. A master stroke, on my part, to have bought it. My current lathe is a purchase made at my leisure - I just waited for the right machine because I knew what to look for. It was simply a further improved development of my second lathe (which continued to serve me well while casting around for the top of the range model of the marque). A long gone manufacturer but not myford.

Another bit of advice from me, for better or worse.

If you think that a lathe with a 2 1/2" centre height will do what you want, buy a 3 1/2". As you gain experience and confidence, you will want to do more and more, and eventually change to a larger machine.

My ML7 frustrated me because of the small, (2 MT ) bore mandrel. Changing to the latest 4MT version, with all my wish list items, except one, would have cost me four times what I paid for a larger Chinese machine with VFD and it DID have a power cross feed.

Like cutting metal, measure twice, cut once. Time spent researching is well spent

I have had it since 2003, and apart from some warranty work (noisy tumbler gears ) very early on, it has served me well. I have more confidence in it than in my older Mill/Drill!

Howard

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Have a look in the classifieds on this site. Right now there is a very nice looking Myford M Type for 300 quid. Been in the family since new and looks in well preserved condition. They are a good old lathe capable of precision work and would get you started at less outlay.

Youd bestvtry again. See the thread Neil posted saying a message sent to the seller had your contact details accidentally deleted.

Sometimes I despair at the nonsense some of you talk. 🙄 You are so suspicious.

Firstly I doubt this is a trader, they would have likely parted out the accessories to increase profit. But even if it was that's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the worst machines ive ever seen have belonged to self proclaimed "model engineers". You know the type, the people who think they are experts but in reality are messers and bodgers. A good trader will know what faults to look for beforehand.

With that in mind the advice should have been "go have a look at it" run the saddle up and down, wiggle the parts around to test for play, turn it on see if it sounds ok and give it a try. It's the same thing you would do if you where buying a second hand car.

My personal advice? forget the chinese stuff, especially at the lower end. The quality control is appalling. You can't fix something that was never built properly in the first place. At least the old stuff was built correctly to start with. PS. I am 34 and speaking from experience not from nostalgia. My second piece of advice is to forget the Myford, look for a Boxford. They are superior in every way yet cost about the same secondhand and most of them have only seen light use in schools and colleges.

A lathe is quite a unique piece of machinery. It needs to be both a swiss watch and a bulldozer. 

Edited By Hollowpoint on 27/06/2020 13:56:52

Well having had both a Boxford & now a Myford, i thought both machines were well made. Why slag a Myford. Why is a Boxford better.

As for Chinese made ones of which i have not had. I think there are some that are well made & fine. Some are not so good but at what price. Rolls Royces for ten bob is not going to happen.

Steve.