Just for the Record

Machined up a couple of cast iron piston rod glands for my latest engine today only to find when finished that the front end was running out with the back end. I needed to just flash two surfaces on each gland at one end to bring them back into true but the job was made easier with a new acquisition.

A little while ago I bid and won at a local auction a lovely example of a Japanese made RECORD ML-210 lathe with accessories. This very well made and almost unused (by the look of it) lathe had since lived in a cupboard in the workshop waiting for its first job. Today it made its debut.

The two castings needed to be held by a 1/16” wide ledge which was far too small for the 6” chuck on the big lathe to manage but ideal for the small and extremely accurate 3 jaw on the RECORD.

I skimmed the offending run outs on both castings and checked how well the “midget” had performed – spot on as it turned out.

Just to say thank you to my little blue friend I am going to make it a tiny auto feed gearbox but not before I have completed the two cylinder sets on the Tangye (I really do try to avoid being sidetracked but ---- well you know what its like.)

Rik

I have the Record powered milling column for one of those but no mounting bracket, I used to use it as a cross slide milling attachment on my Myford, it's well made.

Aka the Toyo 210 lathe. Interesting write up on lathes.co.uk. I always wanted one, ended up with a Unimat 3.

The Record ML210 was also known as the Toyo, Sakai, Proxxon & finally Manix, all the same lathe.

Unique looking chuck on it, looks like the same principle as a drill chuck with the exposed crown gear around the outside. Very different.

I think I've seen small keyed chucks like that for sale on t'web.

The ML210 looks like a Unimat 3 clone - anybody know if it uses the same M14x1 spindle nose thread?

I'm interested 'cos I have a Sieg C0 - also a Unimat 3 clone - and the 3-jaw that comes with that is fiddly to use and no better than it should be for concentricity. An easier and more accurate chuck would be a worthwhile mod.

That chuck looks like the same one as Cowells supplied for the ME90 lathe. I have one on my Cowells lathe.

Colin

There is a Toyo version of this lathe on Ebay at the moment for £380.

Just one step above the lever scroll 3 jaw that my kit built Flexispeed Meteor II had about 50 years ago.