Good Quality Small Lathe

Michael, you need to get him to change to playing one of these!

Neil

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Unfortunately; the acoustics of the box might be rather suspect

... it has a 500cc Honda Single engine in it.

MichaelG.

Hi Phil and Michael M. and G

Yes, very well cared for. Have seen so many really abused machines but when I inspected this one, was amazed at the condition of the bed and how firm everything else looked. That was the decider plus the tooling supplied. I recall buying my large Taiwanese machine many years ago, the necessary extras, which barely filled a shoebox set me back over $1,200! I bought it for Son 1, but he's a bit worried now...he's out on a rig off somewhere and emailing for more pics...I keep telling him...wot Myford? Dunno anything about any Myford?!

can you walk me through the measurements, not sure what you mean. Will the serial number advise the date of manufacture and other detail? Good spot with the R suffix on the manual cover, despite the outside grubby appearance, I doubt whether anyone has ever thumbed the pages....who needs to read manuals!

feel free to PM, no doubt Myford owners would be interested to follow the discussions, non Myford people would be groaning...not another long winded dialogue about plurry Myfords!

Hi Andrew,

Like you I took the best part of a year searching for a good Super 7 at sensible money.

I'm sure the non-Myford members will allow us to continue...for a bit.

Here is a link to the Serial number page on lathes.co.uk - a mine of information.
**LINK**

The change to wide guide ie. the saddle uses both shears, not just the front shear with a narrow guide surface on the rear of the front shear happened at serial number SK1088913 <> August 72

If your machine is before the switch...the gaps I'm interested are the gap(s) (left and right) between the the back of the saddle and the vertical face of the rear shear. I'd expect it to be around 0.5 mm or 0.020 inch in old money.

Neil - Should I start a new thread?

Neil - Are non-Myford owners being tested - the last 2 editions of MEW had ML7 and Super 7 confused?

Regards

Phil H

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 02/02/2015 11:01:05

Probably good to have a Myford serial number thread...

How am I supposed to know the difference between a S7 and an ML7 if Myford can't. According to them this is an ML7b:

I rest my case!

Neil

This is the ML7R which is a pre power cross feed Super 7 with the ML7 cross and top slide and no clutch, the clutch can be fitted as an upgrade. I think this is the one just made to confuse.

Mike

Hi Neil

If the main cover was closed you would see ML7R not Super 7 badging

For the avoidance of doubt here is an original ML7; this one has the optional clutch.

Note the very different headstock, but I agree, there is no badging to tell you what it is other than a Myford.

The B suffix indicates a Gearbox is fitted !  So you could have an ML7RB.

Regards

Phil H

Edited By CotswoldsPhil on 02/02/2015 15:32:20

G'day Phil

The serial number of this machine is SK 103828 so according to the lathes.co site, it's vintage is 1971-1973. Have I got that correct?

I'll check to check the book to work out what you mean by the "shears"... Sorry, bit slow on the uptake.

Andrew

The shears are the machined guideways of the bed that the saddle and tailstock run along.

Mike

Hi Michael, you beat me thanks.

Hi Andrew, This photo of the back of the saddle from the chuck end indicates the gap(s) I'm interested in. Both sides of the saddle.

Note this only applies for narrow-guide Super 7 machines before S No. SK1088913

Anyone else willing to provide the measurements would be most appreciated.

It might be interesting to have some ML7 gaps as well.

Regards

Phil H

This may interest anyone who wants to follow up lathe accuracy issues.

1996 text, but appears to be the full book.

Neil

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Good find, Neil ... But they do say it's only a preview and pages will be limited.

MichaelG.

It did show me a lot of pages, I had searched for 'narrow guide principle' as I was curious why what can be a problematic feature gets used - it's to stop the slide jamming, which appears to be over-conservative for the width to length ratio of most lathes.

Neil

Ahhh....I see it all !

I'll check this machine when I'm done with my day job and report back.

I guess that's why vee beds were invented?

Andrew

Interesting.

Michael, try hitting "cntrl F" , enter Narrow Guide Principle and it will highlight some pages that are readable.

Annoying that the book is not available as ebook, yet google puts these up as a teaser.

Andrew

V-beds count as narrow guides. They have the advantage of providing positive location (under normal cutting forces) on their own.

You can buy the ebook - for £70!

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 03/02/2015 21:21:53

mmm... 70 converts to too many AUD for my liking! Cuts into my MEA (Model Engineering Allowance) I'll be content with the snippets.

Andrew

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Andrew,

There is an eBook advertised on the page ...

See the Red "button" with the large price tag.

MichaelG.

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Edit: Sorry, just realised that Neil already told you the price.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 03/02/2015 22:56:21

Hi Phil

Hope I have some useful info. It appears there is no gap between the back of the saddle and vertical face of the rear shear. The front of the saddle has a tapered gib, adjusted to get the saddle/bed clearance correct. is this of use?

Also I note the grease nipples on the saddle, presumably to lubricate the slide, but surely not with grease? Hydraulic or power steering oil, not engine oil with its detergent additives, is the best for sliding surfaces I recall reading though I've always used a 30W oil for the Taiwan machine.

Hi Andrew,

It should be ISO 68 for the ways and ISO 32 for everywhere else - no grease. My machine had Molyslip pumped into the headstock bearings - since replaced, see my album. The gib-strip is not tapered, just flat and adjusted with the grub screws on the front of the saddle.

Now then, it looks like a narrow guide machine, your first photo of the front shear and serial number confirms this, as well as the rifle shaped felt wiper.

The gap could be quite small if there is some wear on the guide at the back of the front shear. An ML7 I had, had gaps of 0.014 thou. and the Super 7 is 0.019 thou once adjusted. This is why I'm trying to establish what the gap might have been when the machines left the factory.

It is also possible that the narrow guide has been machined away and the rear shear brought into use without any visible adjustment packing. This would mean that the saddle has been brought forward which might cause misalignment of the lead-screw and half nuts.

So, can you twist the saddle? can you get a small (3 thou as a starting point) feeler in any of the gaps (front and rear shear) . For sure, the saddle should not be bearing on both front and rear shears.

See also this thread **LINK**

There is also another thread dealing with this which fro the moment I can't find

Regards

Phil H