Metal turning lathe

[DTR]

Following a recent spell of curiosity and a moment of insanity I have bought myself a Myford ML4. I'm quite certain that the stand it came with is not meant for the diminutive ML4 and I'm thinking about changing it for something smaller. Amongst the boxes of rust that came with it are some extra lathe parts that I am sure come from another lathe. I'd like to identify them but lathes.co.uk hasn't helped so far.

Obviously some photos are needed and I'll sort those out in the next few days. Is it worth me posting them up here or is there a better forum for this sort of thing?

 

[CHJ]

Post them here, may not be able to nail down the specific lathe make or model they belong to but the function, if they are or are not lathe related should come to life.

 

[Harbo]

A few on here do a bit of metalwork so may be able to help.
The Model Engineer mag has a Forum - I cannot find a link at the moment?

Rod

 

[marcros]

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/ i think

 

[studders]

Following a recent spell of curiosity and a moment of insanity I have bought myself a Myford ML4.

Snap.

If You show me yours I'll show you mine. :shock:

 

[DTR]

Following a recent spell of curiosity and a moment of insanity I have bought myself a Myford ML4.

Snap.

If You show me yours I'll show you mine. :shock:

It's comforting to know I'm in good company :shock:

 

[Jonzjob]

Good company :shock: :shock: :shock: Well, at least you've got a sense of humour :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Runs for cover :mrgreen:

 

[studders]

I'll be chasing after you....... just as soon as I finish my cup of tea....... so keep running.

 

[Jonzjob]

Oh dear! Now how am I goin tu sleep :shock: No need to hurry though, I just sat down with my pre-beer cuppa ccasion5: ccasion5:

No booze until the sun goes over the yard arm :mrgreen: (Thinks? I wonder if the French call it the meter arm :? :? )

 

[studders]

Actually.... it's a bit nippy, is tomorrow good for you?

 

[jasonB]

Post a few pick, I've been known to make a bit of swarf so should know what most bits are.

J

 

[blurk99]

lathes.co.uk is a great resource for the old pictures - you should be able to see what was originally sold with it

jim

 

[DTR]

Ok, here's a photo of my latest acquisition. On reflection it may be an ML3, I'm not sure what the difference is.

Sorry about the naff photos, my Nikon is in storage at the mo. my main question is about the stand. It's not a standard stand for an ML4, as far as I can tell. Here are the parts:

When assembled it looks like this (borrowed from lathes.co.uk, the lathe is a precision 4"):

Curiously, the lathe was mounted to something resembling (but is not) a larger lathe bed, which in turn sits on the chip tray. The "lathe bed" and stand appear to be matched. Here is the "lathe bed". There are no mounting holes on top of it except for four tapped holes that take the ML4:

I'm not sure whether to persevere with this stand or build something a bit smaller.

 

[DTR]

My next question is about these bits. They look to me like brackets for a countershaft, or even part of a headstock.

Any ideas?

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[jasonB]

They do look like plummer blocks. The brackets on the end of your two " rails" would have been used to mount the motor, its quite possible it drove the lathe via an intermediate shaft to to get a lower speed.

Not too sure what teh spindle in teh first one is, looks a bit like it could have been used as a crude centre support with the slotted nut adjusted with a "C" spanner.

J

 

[DTR]

They do look like plummer blocks. The brackets on the end of your two " rails" would have been used to mount the motor, its quite possible it drove the lathe via an intermediate shaft to to get a lower speed.

Jason, are you talking about this photo?

The contraption on the right hand side did indeed carry the countershaft. The motor sat below this hanging from the chip tray. Neither mounting is original though.

I really am perplexed as to what the "rails" originally was. It is a casting with a milled or ground upper surface, much like a lathe bed.

 

[monkeybiter]

Why do you say the 'rails' are not a lathe bed, they certainly look like one. My Harrison L5 bed is ground all the way along with the headstock sat on that. You might build a nice wood lathe on that bed. I'd put the Myford on a sturdy bench with storage inderneath. Or maybe even a strong shelf?

 

[DTR]

I assumed it wasn't as there are no mountings for a headstock. With that in mind I'm even more inclined to pass on the stand and build my own. The stand is overkill for a ML4 and that bed could be put to much better use by someone else.

Any suggestions what I can use for a chip tray?

 

[monkeybiter]

I'd get a big sheet of thin steel [side of a freezer etc.?] and fold the edges up without cutting at the corners in case you decide to use coolant at any point. If you think that's a possibility you could even cut a hole and solder in a threaded boss with a plug screwed in, then you can retro fit a sump & pump when wanted.

 

[Benchwayze]

I'll be chasing after you....... just as soon as I finish my cup of tea....... so keep running.

"Boot-neck, Boot-neck, can't catch me!"

"When I catch yer I'll......."

"I'm in the cupboard........!"

You probably think I am mad! If so, I refer you to Jimi's signature! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: