Only for Myford lathes

Sorry for the split post it would not allow me to post as one .

Bought my September 1966 Super 7B back in January 1990 from a friend for 60% of new price. It was little used, my friend bought it from a deceased friend’s estate virtually new and it then sat in a heated workshop as a spare until I was offered it it when my friend downsized. Apart from cleaning and adjustment have only replaced felt wipers, the drive belt and back gear bull wheel spring. Also bought quite a few more accessories for it. Lathe is used occasionally for Edwardian car and various steam engine repair and maintenance jobs. No real reason to replace/upgrade at the moment

Edited By Peter Turvey on 04/02/2020 23:57:56

Edited By Peter Turvey on 04/02/2020 23:58:54

Edited By Peter Turvey on 04/02/2020 23:59:41

Could someone answer a little question on the Super 7? the one shown in the photograph is of the same vintage as the two 7's I have the use of, but I believe them to be Super 7's and not Super 7 B's. I understood that the B indicated that it had power cross feed, which the one shown (and mine) are not so equipped.

Am I right?

I thought the B indicated a gearbox. I have known to be wrong

Roy

In Myford parlance B = gearbox. Usually. But I'm no expert either.

The 'B' annotation is for gearbox fitting, whether ML 7 or Super 7. (That is the thread selection gearbox, not the power x-feed, which is only available on the Super)

rgds

Bill

Edited By Cornish Jack on 05/02/2020 10:30:02

As above the B for QC gearbox. Look here for all the machine changes over the years. It seems the broad bed cross slide was introduced in 1972 & the powered cross feed in 1974.

**LINK**

Edited By Steviegtr on 05/02/2020 10:57:18

In the link above it says the bed was changed to wide in preparation for the power cross feed.

Does any one know if it is possible to retro-fit the power feed to one of these lathes without the powered feed (if all bits were available) ?

Thanks

I asked Myfords, the old Beeston company, this question. Unsurprisingly they said it was cheaper to part exchange the lathe for a new or reconditioned one with power cross feed.

JA

Hi Steve!

Far from slating you, I think that you are doing most things right, and sensibly.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread!

Have to admit that to me, replacing a 3/4 hp single phase by a 1 1/2 hp three phase motor means that you will never be short of power!.

Go to it!

Howard

Thanks for the interesting link. For clarity, I think the bed width remained unchanged when the arrangement for guiding the saddle was changed. The move from narrow guide would have been desirable regardless of the introduction of PXF.

Assuming it's a wide guide bed the theoretically yes. BUT it's going to require a new lead screw and pretty much a complete saddle /apron assembly. Bit like jacking the wing mirrors up and fitting a new car to upgrade to a better model.

regards Martin

I think the wider cross slide would be benefit too anyone that was to use a rear tool post or vertical slide. So far I have not needed to use it but it is there, just in case. I must admit the powered cross feed is something I have but not needed thus far.

Steve.

Does anyone know what this hole is for. It is threaded 6mm so I guess not standard due to the age & all other bolts are either BSW or BSF. It goes all the way through. On the diagram I have it shows a hole there but no explanation of what it is for. 1977 Super 7.

Steve.

The hole is for the travelling steady, it is a single bolt fixing. Be careful that it is not 1/4” BSF.

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=85707

Mike

Edited By Mike Poole on 18/04/2020 22:59:16

Edited By Mike Poole on 18/04/2020 23:02:50

Great Mike thanks for that. The thread at 1st I could see it was finer than Whit so I got my imperial BSF taps out & 1/4" was too big. So tried various screws in the hole & 6mm bang on. It cannot have been re tapped from 1/4" whit as that is bigger & the hole is perfect. Strange. Again thanks.

Steve.

M6; or possibly 0BA?

Those two threads are so similar that unless cut just-so and un-worn they will often fit together, though not by design (different angles).

I think that on my ML7 is 1/4" BSF, but I have not so far needed to use it so I could be wrong. Something for me to examine so thank-you for the tip!

You could be right. I tried a 6mm screw in the hole & it was fine to about 6 threads in & then became a bit tight. Assuming it was just dirty from not being used I ran a 6mm HSS tap down the hole which was not tight at all. Then the screw was easy going. I have to admit though I have done a lot of work on my machine & so far have not found any BA threads on it.

Steve.

From the factory Myford generally used BSF fine threads and BSW coarse. The only exception I've found would be the 2BA gib adjusting screws.

The steady bolt hole would have been 1/4" BSF which is 26TPI. The M6 tap at 1mm pitch is equivalent to 25.4TPI. So you have created a bit of a bastard thread by running a metric tap down it. Close but no ceegar. Probably hold ok though for the amount of work a travelling steady typically sees -- ie 3/5ths of 5/8ths of not very much at all.

A more common use for that steady bolt hole is to secure a metal strip to hold in place a vinyl or neoprene "bib" that stops swarf landing on the bed ways and working their way under the carriage ways and causing extra wear. Bit of vinyl about 4" wide does the trick rather well. IF the strip is made thick enough and the vinyl run up the back of it, it provides a barrier to swarf getting into the cross slide way right there too.

Edited By Hopper on 19/04/2020 03:07:04

Just re-roofed my shed with EDPM rubber, had a bit left over and was wondering what to do with it. Thanks for the suggestion.