Myford Dividing Head

Could someone with a dividing head for the Myford 7 send me dimensions of some parts (spindle diameters/length etc.) so I can make a similar one for my South Bend?

Namely:

Diameter of overhead support bar.

All Diameters and Length for Spindle (Is it a #2 morse taper?)

Dividing head shaft diameter/length.

Distance between centers for support bar and spindle.

Thanks!

Jeff

overhead bar 1" dia, 12" long

spindle 6 1/2" long, 2mt, 9/16 through bored.

maximum distance from spindle nose to overhead bar centre arm 6 1/2".

i would have to strip the spindle to get all diameters, threads and keyway dimensions, suffice to say that the nose is a std Myford, then the main body, then a plain collar, 1 5/8 dia, a threaded collar with a locking grubscrew and pad 1 1/2" dia, the 60T gear and finally the second threaded collar,g/s & pad, 1 3/8" dia.

plain collar 1/4" long, threaded collars 3/8" long.

hth

Dave

PS body 3 5/32" long (well it is on mine!)

Edited By David Davies 8 on 11/12/2019 22:12:22

Thank you so much David! Could you clarify a bit?

6.5" spindle - that's overall length?

If so- what is the length/dia. of the spindle thread/thread base/wider boss? length of casting at spindle? What is the diameter of the spindle at the last threaded collar?

6.5" maximum distance from spindle nose to overhead bar centre arm - Does that mean clearance (center of spindle to bar (add 1/2" for center to center distance?) What is the diameter of the 60t gear?

If you want to make your own dividing head for a small lathe, it might be worth taking a look at GH Thomas's Versatile Dividing Head. Full drawings are in his book "Workshop Techniques". It appears to be a bit more robust and of course versatile than the Myford item. You can buy the castings and gears and worms from Hemmingway Kits or make your own. I fabricated the body from welded up steel sections and used a Myford 60 tooth change gear for the worm wheel and it works a treat. There was a series of articles in MEW last year about it. Worth a thought anyway.

Thanks for the ideas! My use being watch wheels I am not too concerned about capacity. The Myford design would work well mounted to the milling attachment I already have.

Jeff

I took my DH to bits to check sizes etc. It was fortunate that I did as I found I had left the woodruff key out so the gear was only held by friction. Severe bo***king for that!

I have uploaded photos which should give you enough detail to make your own. The Myford spindle nose dimensions are given in several threads here.

However I have to agree with Hopper that the GHT VDH kit is a neater alternative plus the design allows for enhancement to permit differential dividing and can therefore be used to produce gearwheels with prime numbers of teeth.

HTH

Dave

David

That's perfect, thanks! Goodness that Thomas book is pricey.

Jeff

The current edition of "Workshop Techniques" includes 'Dividing and Graduating' (£12.95 in '94) and 'Building the UPT', (£10 in the same year)so the price isn't so bad in my opinion. It's well worth a read.

Cheers

Dave

I didn't realize it was still in print. Went to Amazon and the only one listed is 94 USD (70 GBP) though I see now I can find it for less.

£26.95 from Amazon UK and same price from TEE Publishing,

Just noticed a Boo Boo on the outer nut, I have written 1" x 18 but this should read 7/8" x 18.

Will revise photos.

More haste less speed!

+1.

Anything written by GHT is worth the money, and the education.

How are you going to make your indexing plates and drill all those holes in the right place? (800+ of them on the three plates for the Thomas dividing head! Not sure on the Myford?) Or do you have a rotary table etc already?

If you can't or don't want to make your own worm and wheel, they are available cheap these days on Aliexpress like this one here LINK

Edited By Hopper on 13/12/2019 09:46:01

.

I’ve just had a look at this page: **LINK**

https://www.myford.co.uk/acatalog/Myford_Dividing_Head_and_Plates.html

That makes Tony Jeffree’s DivisionMaster [or one of the subsequent homages] look like a bargain buy !!

MichaelG.

Youch. But it's not the plate that costs the money, it's all those holes. Not only do you have to drill the 812 of them, but then you have to chamfer each one -- on both sides! And then if you have perfectionist tendencies as some of us do, you have to deburr the outer edge of each chamfer just gently.

But the fun of trepanning a 4" disc out of a square of 1/4" steel plate makes it all worthwhile! One of the more exciting things I've done in the lathe. Just like parting off a 4" diameter, only on a curve.

Edited By Hopper on 13/12/2019 11:58:17

.

Very true

But with a DivisionMaster and a stepper motor, you need neither the plates nor the holes 

MichaelG. 

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 13/12/2019 13:51:29

I am going to adapt a set of these: **LINK**

Or, if you don't live in the U.S. and/or have deep pockets and short arms , try these identical ones from Chronos at £48.

Dividing plate set

John

(Just a satisfied customer.)

Hoho. At those prices it's not worth making your own - unless you particularly like drilling small holes. Smart move.

Does the HV4/6 use a 60 or 90 tooth wormwheel? And I wonder if you can buy them as spare parts and use them in a dividing head?

The reason I ask is I have obtained very cheaply a set of castings to make a second GH Thomas dividing head and to fit my "new" Myford lathe. The first, fabricated, one I made was to fit the old Drummond lathe with a different centre height. Would be nice to avoid robbing the plates etc off the old one to make the new one.

HV6 is a 90:1 ratio (haven’t seen individual parts for the rotary table). Plate holes- Plate A- 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Plate B- 21, 23, 27, 29, 31, 33 Plate C- 37, 39, 41, 47, 49

Thanks. Looks like I could use something like this Worm Gear

At $28 for what looks like two steel worms and two 90T worm wheels in bronze it's cheaper than I could buy the bronze material locally.

On my first dividing head, I used a 60T Myford change gear with a modified profile worm to fit. Works ok but point contact only. A proper worm wheel would be luxury for Mark 2.

Then I'd have to build a rotary table just to use the extra worm gear in the set above.

Edited By Hopper on 14/12/2019 03:10:35