Myfirst Myford Super 7 Mk1 Lathe - accessory identification

Would a workable alternative to the swing-down stand be to use something more conventional but on castors?

Thanks Howard and Steviegtr, mine and your gearboxes resemble Hakon’s which someone defined earlier as mkII, the Myford website lists a gearbox change mid fifties and a clutch change late fifties so this one is probably between those two, I’ll see if the QCGB and bed serial numbers tally.

the lathe looks to have been used but no way to tell how much from photos but I will inspect it carefully for evidence of paint jobs - as you say Howard it’s the turquoise colour of the connoisseur, a colour which to my knowledge wasn’t on myfords until the advent of that model in the early 90s, all predecessors leaving the factory in the industrial green approximation since the change from grey. The use of the modern colour makes me think someone has cleaned it up as a “refurbishment”. The guy selling it says he thinks it’s unused, my hope would be to see grey paint. It’s definitely got the sight glass for headstock oil so it’s older than the green ones methinks. Unless of course as you say it’s a hodgepodge machine the proof will be in the pudding I’m going to see it Friday

Try and find the Serail number.

I think that on very early machines it wa on the front way, near the Headstock, but on the rear way at the Tailstock end.

People who really know will correct this if I'm wrong. Armed with that yo should be able to get an idea of the age.

Howard

Hi 1Pots,

I have a 1957 “Mk1 1/2” Super 7 myself, so I thought I would chip in with a few comments on your prospective purchase: Difficult to be absolutely certain just by looking at your photos, but your lathe looks to be a Mk1 dating from mid 1950s. The headstock oiler and the early clutch are the obvious giveaways, and the rounded edge on the front of the bed in the gap suggests it is the original bed. It has obviously been recently repainted in a non-original colour, and by the condition of the paint it doesn’t seem to have been used since the repaint. The finish on the paintwork looks good in the photos. The gearbox is later than the lathe itself, which in itself is no bad thing since the later gearbox is better than the early model. Also noticeable is that the handle on the front cover looks to be homemade, as do the knobs on the backgear lever, the tumble reverse lever and the primary drive cover. The knurled lock screw on the lead screw cover is also missing and the adjuster for the drip feed oiler looks rather odd. All of this might suggest an old neglected machine which has been given a makeover in preparation for sale. It needs careful examination to see what the true mechanical condition is. Aside from any nasty noises (and the associated causes) and general wear, the things I would be looking at particularly would be wear in the bed, and play and runout of the spindle. Problems here are expensive to fix.

The accessories with the lathe are a mixed bag. The 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks and the tailstock drill chuck are virtually essential, and so very nice to have if they are in reasonable condition, and the fixed and travelling steadies are valuable too. Good to have a catch plate, though odd to have two. A shame there is no faceplate. The change gears might come in handy, but they are really intended for a lathe without a gearbox. A vertical slide is a nice accessory, but the one in the photo is not a Myford part, and seems to be attached to a cross slide from another machine. Similarly some of the other bits and pieces don’t really suit the Super 7, so of limited value.

Hope this is of some help.

Best wishes

Mike