new to myford lathes

hello all

does anyone know if a myford ml7 rack will fit a ml4 my ml4 rack is 21" long with 6 fixing holes ,the ml7 as 6 fixing holes but I cant find the length or hole spacing ?

regards wayne

Edited By wayne on 21/05/2016 00:24:50

hello its ok now I have been told the ml7 rack don't fit .

regards wayne

hello all

can anyone help ? im looking for a 3 step flat headstock pulley for a myford ml4 mine is badly out of balance due to bad machining when it was made. its oval inside belt face runs true but the wall of the pulley is thicker on one side hence speed wobble it must of been a Friday when made ,if anyone can help please reply .

regards wayne

Suggestion: Take it off, rig up a temporary belt system, skim it true, and refit?

Glad someone else has a ML4. Can you join or pop along to your local Model Engineer society? They would have machines to get your pulleys true again. You might even have a fellow member with our type of lathe and chat about the best way to fix this over a cup of tea?

thank you for your replies .

good idea Ady1 I may try that when ive completed my renovation .

hello john thanks for the invite but I cant travel my illness limits my every day .

regards wayne

hello all

I rechecked my ml4 3step pulley 1 inch bore , and its not worth trying to skim it true ,a few teeth are chipped and 1 missing .so im still looking .but a can only find ml7 v pulley s and I don't know if one would fit a ml4 and if the gear would mesh with my back gear ? only other option I think ? I would like to keep it flat belt if possible ,so if anyone as changed from flat belt to v system and still have your old flat pulley for sale wink wink please contact me

regards wayne

it don't matter now ive got a pulley

regards wayne

Hi, I am new on here and trying to find some help with a Myford Lathe I bought a couple of years ago. I am only now getting round to putting it together and setting it up. Firstly I am not now actually sure what model it is, I thought it was an ML3 but now after reading this thread I think it could be an ML4. The serial number is RD3211, I will try to add some pics but at the moment it is stripped down. I am also not sure what the gears are called but again hopefully some pics will help. There is a gear selector just below the headstock with two gears exactly the same, they have 20 teeth each and really need replacing as the teeth are worn. Also the gearbox cover and backplate have been broken, backplate was repaired but not well and the cover looks like it has been glued together. One of the mover wheels has been replaced with a modern round wheel but the screw thread has been botched together, I don’t have a pic of that at the moment due to the snow but will post when I can. I have looked on eBay but I see nothing for the early ML series lathes and all the gearing looks different. Any help at all would be amazing thank you in advance.

Pics to follow When I figure out how to add them!!!! 😉😉😉

Hi Colin, welcome to the forum. How to add photos is a little strange, instructions here.

Dave

Thanks Dave, easy peasy, I have added my pic, I will take more tomorrow and post them as well.

Colin

Some more pics, hopefully someone can identify the model for me, serial number is RD3211.

You will see one pic with a nut wedged where a screw thread should be, botched job but I have no idea what it should look like and even what it is called.

Thank you for any info at all.

Lathes.co.uk should have pics to identify which model you have. They also list a lot of serial numbers for some models.

There is also a MyfordLathes group at https://groups.io/g/myfordlathes/topics that has a lot of info on older Myfords both from members postings and in the Files section. There is also a Myford Lathes Facebook page with members with earlier Myfords who may be able to help.

The bottom pic you posted is the tumbler reverse mechanism that goes somewhere at the top of the quadrant on the headstock and engages with the gear on the end of the main headstock spindle. It's purpose is to reverse the direction of the leadscrew for cutting left hand threads or feeding left to right etc.

A good book to give you the basic layout and terminology and how to use lathes of this vintage is The Amateurs Lathe by LH Sparey. Available I think from Tee Publishing.

Hi,

As it is a long bed and appears to have a bronze bush bearing on the headstock spindle it is a ML4.

The damaged / repaired gear is part of the backgear system that provides low spindle speeds.

Robert.

Welcome, Colin. If you haven't already done so, search this site for ML4, followed by ML3, ML2 and ML1. You will find a wealth of information, some of which might prove useful.

Since your lathe has a serial number, it is most likely to be a relatively late ML4. Earlier lathes weren't numbered, and the ML4 is by far the most common version

George

Thank you for your reply and assistance, I will look into all those avenues!!!

Thanks Robert, all info gratefully received, I will look into that.

Thank you George, I will look into that, it’s good to get confirmation of the model.

Colin,

Something odd about the serial number you quote. My Dad bought a new ML4 in 1945; the serial number on that lathe was D 2382. The spindle and 25 T gear fitted to it at the tumbler end were both stamped with the number and other castings etc were also so marked.

The motor drive unit is pure ML4.

Enjoy bringing it back to working order

Regards Brian