Weight and transportability of a Myford lathe

I'm sorry that this is not a very exciting question, and arguably it is in the wrong place, but I don't know where else to put it. I am buying a Myford Super 7 lathe and would be very grateful to learn of its approximate weight and how best to transport it. Is it beyond the strength of two men to lift it into a reasonably sized estate car? Are there specialist firms for such heavy and awkward items? Do any members have experience of moving such a lathe, perhaps with cautionary tales to tell? The distance involved is nearly 200 miles.

FYI

Approximate weights with electric motor:
Standard ML7: 185 lbs. (84 kg). Long-bed ML7: 215 lbs (98 kg)
ML7R: 240 lbs (109 kg) Long-bed ML7R: 270 lbs (122 kg)
Super 7: 245 lbs. (111 kg.). Long bed Super 7: 275 lbs (125 kg)
A screwcutting gearbox adds about 15 lbs

Remove the motor, slide off the tailstock and wind the cross-slide off. Two chaps can then manage a S7. It is somewhat unbalanced toward the headstock. I found that with a bit of rope round my neck helping to support the headstock end and my wife on the other end we were able to manouvre the lathe into the car and out at the other end at the last house move - mind you, we were younger then! (16 years ago)

HTH

Rod

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So basically a door stop or a paper weight then.

Nick

If you need to move it some distance a small sack truck helps - lathe head down. I've used one I bought from Wicks or B&Q several times. It doesn't matter if it's shorter than the lathe within reason.

If you are going to transport it in an estate car ect a plank helps a lot. Rest the plank on the back of the car, place lathe on it and slide the lot in. Helps getting them out too.

John

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Having moved one recently in my estate car, all the advice is sound. But it is easier with three old guys - two at headstock-end with a strap, and one 'steering' the light end.

Also, I found a large piece of thin ply on the floor of the car to be useful (perhaps better than a narrower plank). You will then be able to lift the heavy end in first and simply slide the tail in. Do use some good tie-downs/ rope to keep it in place.

Dont forget a box and some dustsheets or something to wrap the taistock etc in.

cheers, Colin

I remember well buying my Myford ML-7 from Osbournes in Newcastle in 1980 (Long since Defunct). I was home on leave from Brunei and decided that I was only going to come home to work in the North Sea within the year and I would buy the lathe now and store it in my house that we had also bought whilst we were on leave.

The lathe came on a kind of pallet and had a stout cardboard protective box over the top of it. At the time I had hired a Toyota Corolla hatchback and the lathe wouldn't fit in the back of the car without the box being removed. With this removed two of the lads from Osbourne's helped me get it into the back of the car.When I got home I made up a platform so that I could slide the lathe onto it and leave it there. I backed the car up to the platform in the garage workshop and proceeded to try and push the lathe out of the back of the car by leaning over the back of the passenger seat. Whilst doing this the seat back seemed to be getting lower and lower which aided me in getting better force to push the lathe out.

What I didn't realise was that due to all the strains and general pushing and shoving using the back of the seat as a lever point had collapsed the square tubing farm of the seat back. I straightened the seat back as best I could but every time I accelerated the back would start collapsing.

I often wonder what happened to that car after I returned it to the hire company. The next driver would have a hell of a shock when they accelerated.

From the weights quoted above it should be no problem moving it in an estate car; it weighs less than a couple of people. I am happy moving up to a ton by myself, after that I use specialist movers. If nothing else over a ton tends to exceed the trailer and/or towing limits of an ordinary car. I moved this cylindrical grinder by myself, with an engine crane, over a distance of about 120 miles:

The key is ensuring that everything is blocked and tied down in all axes of freedom, especially if you need to stop in a hurry. No point in having the lathe in the front seat with you.

Andrew

I would not remove the motor unless the electrics are on the stand as reconnecting the electrics can be a pain. If you do have to disconnect the electrics, use a digital camera to photograph the connections or otherwise mark them if they do not have colour coding. If they are on the stand, bolt the motor to the stand with the foot bolts. Two people can manage to lift the lathe easily. I used to take the heavy end and the wife took the tail stock end. I have managed to lift one on my own when I was a lot younger. If the motor remains on, the lathe will be back heavy and try to roll over. Two planks of wood about 18" long bolted to the feet will stabilise it.

I moved a small milling machine of similar weight without difficulty. Three of us managed to get it into a small van at the dealers. At my workshop it was slid out of the van (it was on a sort of pallet) onto a small table with castors. Fortunately this was at the right height. The table with the machine on it was carefully jacked up to height and the machine slid off onto its cabinet. Luckily I did not have to negotiate any steps.

A couple of pictures.

JA

If you can get one, an offcut from an old aluminium ladder is very useful for sliding machines about. Second the sack barrow.I would not ask my wife, doesn't know left from right and tends to wander off at wrong moments, your experience may differ.

So many kind contributors here and so much useful advice that I shouldn't really be able to go wrong with the move, d.v.

Forgive me if I don't return thanks to everyone individually as they deserve - there are just so many.

Perhaps the main thing is that I now feel encouraged to go ahead on my own, well, with my son to assist (or do most of the lifting, with any luck, since I am 69), though he doesn't know about it yet.

I'll let you know how it goes, though the move is still a little way off.

Roger

Hi there, Roger,

I second what has been written about the balance difficulties - I had an un-tutored assistant to help me lift the lathe (at that stage with the motor still in-place) off its stand. It took us by surprise and we managed to bend one of the bolts in the raising blocks. Fortunately, Myfords (at Beeston then) had spares.

Last time I moved my ML7 I had to get it from the car (an estate ) to the bottom of the garden. I used a builder's wheelbarrow. The barrow has an inflatable tyre which made the bumpy ride an awful lot easier than it would have been with a solid tyre.

The lathe was lifted off the barrow on to a pile of railway sleepers (part of the garden 'landscaping' ) just opposite the shed door. We then rigged two scaffold boards, one on top of the other, as a bridge through the shed door and slid the lathe up on to the bench. That got it to the same level as the previously positioned stand. From there it was a manageable two-man lift on to the raising block bolts. It helps to position a few pieces of wood in the swarf tray to support the weight of the motor until the mounting bolts are secured.

An 'island' position for the lathe stand is much to be envied. In a workshop as small as mine, the lathe has its back close to the wall and attending to the motor wiring or motor mounting bolts is a pain in the derriere!

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 27/08/2015 12:30:07

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 27/08/2015 12:31:16

There used to be a regular advert in ME back in the 80s(?) from one of the dealers with a (big) chap cradling a series 7 lathe in his arms. A better man than me.

Rod

Just get Terry Hollands to assist, he'll pick it up on his own and put it where you want it

Bob

It easy to get back and arm injuries getting heavy items in and out of a car etc because the roof is lower than a suitable van and people have to reach out and bend hence the plank. It also helps prevent any damage to the car. In fact I have managed to get several lathes out all on my own via a plank and then move it all in one piece with a sack truck. I mentioned an avoidable problem I had with one getting it onto a bench in another thread. I really should have removed the head stock but lacked a spanner bent to suit a Boxford's head stock fixings. I should have bent one there and then.

Myfords heads are probably best left on because of alignment problems but I believe that the screws that come in from the side are used to tweak that. I have heard claims that Myford use some sort of magic material under the head but having dismantled and removed 2 head stocks I've not seen any signs of it.

True there is a need to watch a lathe doesn't fall off a plank. Some are wider than others. Some lathes are also more lopsided than others. Steadying something is a lot easier than actually lifting it though.

John

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> I have heard claims that Myford use some sort of magic material under the head

Unicorn grease.

Neil

Hello Roger,

Having recently had the task of removing a Myford S7 from a roof space! down three flights of stairs to a waiting car I can safely say a couple of strong chaps is the essential component; the lathe was stripped of all items capable of being removed easily on site. Get somebody to weld up a "Tee" shaped bar from about 12mm round material with the cross piece approximately 400mm long and a leg about 600mm long, now if you leave the three jaw attached and the back gear locked the tee bar can be fed through the headstock and locked into position using the three jaw, lifting of the headstock end is then much easier when a firm hold can be maintained, the whole lot is then easily lifted by two chaps, the weight being reasonably distributed.

Regards,

Bob Youldon

Mine came home on the back seat of a Triumph Herald - that dates both of us.

Roderic That man in the ME advert worked for a firm in Cleckheaton I bought a ML7S with gearbox He carried it about 40 yards from his car into my workshop and lifted it onto a bench He also carried my old ML7 away I casn't remember his name

Roy