MyFord Super 7 spindle movement

People may wish to remind themselves that the 'original' Myford had its milling machines made in Taiwan...

Neil

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... and also sold a [very nice] Myford-branded version of the Vertex 6" Rotary Table.

I have no idea whether, or not, it was specially built to Myford's specification; but it did have four slots.

MichaelG.

I don't understand what the problem is in these 3 pages. I get the impression that some posters think that anything made in China is faulty or badly made. Is it? It would be a very bad and short term policy to sell useless rubbish and destroy a good name. I doubt if "new" Myford are selling anything but good quality equipment.

I also bought a new Fobco bench drill a long time ago and still using it, still pleased with it.

I had the rotary switch removed and replaced by a box with green and red buttons fixed to a plate extending from the motor mounting on the left.

I have bought one or two items from new Myford, no complaint.

Does it matter which country products are sourced from, as long as quality/accuracy is satisfactory?

Then they took them apart if necessary and tweaked them to rigorously ensure they met their high standards before retailing them i.e. doing what a lot of far eastern companies currently fail to do. Arc used to offer a similar service to their equipment purchasers on a smaller scale (for an added premium) which does rather suggest their has been an issue in the past. In the professional field, it is widely recognised that while the quality of finish is getting better, the quality of the cast iron is still below average. There are numerous stories of even hardened beds marking and wearing much easier than they should. Commercial regrinders of high end equipment will certainly witness this.

I'll add that like the tools you'll find in the DIY stores, anything intended for amateur use is made down to a price because amateurs want cheap. The Chinese and Indian manufacturers are merely supplying what the amateur market wants. Both countries can put space craft into orbit so it's not because they can't do it.

If Myford / RDG are making anything in this country surely that is a start!

Not that the Chinese are not capable of building a Super Seven. The quality would depend entirely on how much the buyer ( Myford / RDG ) in this case wanted to spend.

Far better than staying in Beeston and going bankrupt.

David.

To comment on Chris' post above, my Taiwan - made VMB, when I came to tram the head whose out-of-squareness had always bugged me, turned out to have one of the clamping bolts held in to the casting with paint! There was obviously a blowhole in just the wrong place in the base casting. Myford kindly offered to deal with it if I delivered it to Beeston... I ended up drilling out the hole and fitting a nut underneath. That machine certainly needed taking apart and tweaking but it didn't get it. Having said that it serves me faithfully.

Hi Norm

Only just read your response so sorry for the delay.

The instructions came from Malcolm at Myfords (Nottingham) and are verbatum what they did in the factory, which is why I frequently post them.

Hand tightening with the Allen key will be fine,

You are correct. When adjusting the preload the outer races are clamped together.

The oil should form it's own layer without you worrying about a space for oil.

Glad you have it all sorted.

regards Martin

PS the worst thing that can happen with too much preload is you reduce the rear bearing life. They are cheap enough and easy enough to replace so don't get too het up about it.

Edited By Martin Kyte on 19/02/2018 09:42:28

I realise that we've gone off-topic regarding new Myford but perhaps the company deserves a magazine feature? Then maybe some of these suppositions can be laid to rest.

Best wishes

John B

I wonder if you can help me. I replaced the headstock belt on my super 7. Had to back off the tensioning screws considerably to get freedom of movement of the lever as the old belt must have been fairly stretched. I am now getting heat at the front bearing and the spindle appears to want to stop under load. Any suggestions?

RGN

It sounds as though your spindle is out of adjustment; this has been covered extensively on the forum.

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply - I was aware that it might appear a bit of a bone question. I had printed off several of the helpful explanations on here. Is the procedure a little temperamental? I was worried about the spindle slippage as I thought maybe I hadn't loaded the rear bearings sufficiently but the scribed line on the spindle matches pretty well to the collar. Maybe I should just try doing it again until it "works". It appears I now have an excruciating rattle apparently coming from the motor. Oh dear - not my day!

RGN

I am no great authority on this but it would seem that you need to move the spindle slightly towards the tailstock.

Good luck!

Hi,

disassembled the lathe completely now, drop off the slides, tail stock shoe and bed to be ground . looking forward to be able to move the carriage the full length of the bed. My lather is a super 7 long bed.

question; having trouble getting the back gear cluster off. Sadly the 17T gear is missing a tooth.. it only has 16 one is cleanly snapped off. previous owner or the one before him.. Any hints of loosening the screw. I guess the fact i discovered a tooth missing means i can heat it up.

the rest of the lath is in excellent condition; not liking the water based degreaser as it leaves surface rust if i miss wiping a piece down.

Garry

I repeated the procedure over the weekend and it appears to be fine now; either finger trouble or the process is fickle in itself.

Motor rattle still worryingly present though.