Myford ML10 vs The Rest

Owner of a Myford seems to be the definition of 'Model Engineer' for a number of people.

Ha! exactly - I remember it well!

Matt

I agree - we are violently in agreement. I hope I didn't come over as anti-old, because that's not at all what I meant. Rather I think worrying about old vs new isn't a good place to start when solving a technical problem.

For example, Carbide and HSS aren't one-for-one alternatives. Choosing one rather than the other is about fitness for purpose, and the decision should be emotion free. Ditto metric vs imperial.

In my view engineering is about effective results, not about nostalgia, gee-whizz gadgets, paint schemes, trade-marks, or hyped up sales material involving scantily clad young ladies.

Truth is most of my workshop is 'old-fashioned' in the sense that LBSC would have been at home in it. No doubt he would admire the radio, pocket calculator, dro, VFD and rpm counter. But apart from a few carbide tips, the way I cut metal is traditional, which is why Sparey, Westbury, and others remain valuable. Doesn't stop me lusting after CNC or scantily clad young ladies though! Chance would be a fine thing...

Dave

This seems to have generated a lot of comment. I have an ML10 and an ML7. I purchased them NOT because they were Myford's. The reason was because they were cheap and in good condition. I would have purchased just about any alternative lathe, provided they were in good nick and cheap!

Andrew.

Agree to violently agree!

Here you go:

**LINK**

If you are after a 10, this has all the right bits!

Matt

Currently £525 after one bid with 4 days to go! Anyone care to guess how much the winner will pay for it? We could organise a sweepstake.

The seller allowing inspection by appointment is encouraging, likely means there's nothing nasty to hide!

Just to close on this post. ML10's seemed to suddenly go up in price on the various 2nd hand markets. Looking back on eBay prices, hard to really tell, but prices seemed to spike during July/August. I also got slightly put off by the cost and availability of accessories and spares. For example, as somebody pointed out, the price of steadies about four times the price for ML7's.

In the end I bough an ML7 local to me in Sheffield. A Dad's machine that needed some tlc but which had a lot of accessories and which was one of the later machines with all the various Myford improvements. Reasonable price, no long travel to pick-up, and a nice provenance, so happy chap.

The purchase didn't have stand but I wanted to be compact on space and have found a sturdy welded frame. It did have a tray, but unfortunately no Riser Blocks and these seem like hen's teeth. I can make something up for bed adjustment, but nicer to have the original versions, so I'm on the hunt.

Also doesn't have a reverse switch, but I'm trying not to buy anything else until I've confirmed the need and found I can't do without it.

It's going to take a few weeks to set up and get going with it, but aesthetically I find the machine really pleasing. When I saw the prices of ML10's going up I looked again at all the other import versions of small lathes, but the Myford romance held out. Let's see in practice if this works out.

Thanks to everybody for their previous input.

Sounds like a good result, Jeff ... Thanks for the 'closure'

MichaelG.