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Thanks again to all. For the record, Axminster have confirmed that it's a 60 degree thread.

Thanks both. I'm pretty sure it must be 60 degree UNC given that these chucks are sold world-wide, but I will check - and see what Axminster may say.

I've been asked to bore out and rethread a chuck to 1" x 8 tpi to fit an Axminster lathe spindle nose. Does anyone know if these are 55 degree (Whit) or 60 degree (Unified) thread form?

Top of the headstock, either side of the belt cover. there are two flat headed slotted screws about 15 mm diameter, one above each bearing. These are the oiling points - take them out and dribble a bit of oil down the holes.

Apologies – only just saw this. As far as I know, there was never a maintenance manual for the ML8 but it’s all pretty straightforward. The main thing is to look after the bearings. They are taper ball races and very robust but very expensive to replace. They need to be given a few drops of oil...

It's not all that hard to take out and replace the spindle but you do need to be careful not to damage the front bearing – new ones are available but at a price, and changing the bearings is a bit tricky. Let me know if you want more info. When new, the ML8 was supplied with a link belt – mine...

Let us know how you get on. The manufacturers recommend 100 - 250 psi clamping pressure for that glue

Most veneering gurus say that contact adhesive is a no-no for raw wood veneer but OK for backed veneers, Lincoln in the "bible" discusses how to use it (in industry). The only convincing reason I've seen is that the rubber adhesive layer can be affected by solvents from subsequent finishes...

Can't comment on the Bandit but I have a 301 which is now 30 years old. It doesn't get heavy use as I'm a hobby woodworker but it has been fine for me. The table is steel so it needs to be kept waxed in my unheated garage to avoid rusting (and it's best to clear all the dust off it at the end...

A lot of commonly available brass is CZ121 alloy. It will bend but usually needs annealing. If you ask for CZ108. that is a cold-forming alloy and will bend much easily without annealing

Lots of discussion around the internet. Basically a capacitor across the mains and a total scam.

You can level over pretty much any distance and round all sorts of obstacles using a length of hose, a couple of bits of transparent tubing, and some water. A search for "levelling with pipe and water" will get you all you need to know.

It is a spark suppression capacitor - actually 3 capacitors in one package. You can't use just any capacitor - it has to be rated for 240V Ac operation (Delta X2 / Y2 / Y2) or it's in danger of exploding. The RS one is no longer available but the CPC/Farnell one mentioned earlier is...

If you are talking about E numbers like EN1, EN8 etc I think part of the problem is that they have been obsolete in industry since about 1972. The other problem is that for many grades of steel the mechanical properties depend on the state of heat treatment. Steel grades can be classified...

Negative rake scraping is surely a tautology? Scraping is negative rake cutting by definition. A cynic might argue that negative rake scrapers are just a gimmick to sell more tools. A more positive view is that they are safer in the hands of a beginner because you don't have to be so careful...

There are several on eBay at the moment. Worth the investment - the ml8 is a nice lathe.

One of my friends, new to our club, bought the Faithful set and I sharpened them for him and tried them. The steel seems OK but it's a very odd selection of tools. There are two nearly identical continental style spindle gouges, a small circular section spindle gouge. two skews, a diamond...

If the budget is tight, buy a parting tool and a spindle roughing gouge with handles and the rest without. With those two tools and an odd bit of copper pipe for ferrules you can make handles for the rest. Also makes it easy to pick out the right tool if they all have different handles

The fibre washers were supplied with the lathe when new. They stop faceplates etc from getting locked on the threads (there were no scroll chucks when the ML8 was designed). Faceplates etc locate on the parallel part of the spindle and concentricity shouldn't be a problem (at least to wood...

I've subscribed to Fine Woodworking since issue 1. I gave all the magazines away a year or so ago and bought the entire archive on a USB stick. It was on offer at the time - currently USD99 for all issues from 1975 to the end of 2020. Saved about 4 ft of shelf space and it's searchable.