Bought Another Lathe - a Myford ML7 Tri-Leva

[Turbo]

I spotted the lathe on gumtree and rang about it - it was still there. Another guy was supposed to view at lunchtime, seller went home from work to meet him but guy didn't turn up so seller wasn't to happy. He was supposed to be coming back that evening at 7.

I told him that I have to drive 2 hrs to see the lathe but I would definitely turn up, I could be there at 6.30. Come on ahead he said, the other guy lost his chance at lunchtime!

So I jump in the car and belt down the road, afraid the other guy would come early. But no worries, the seller had told him to hang back.

When I saw the lathe it was exactly as it was in the pics - in fantastic condition. The paint work looks totally original with hardly a mark on it. The bed is mint and everything seems to work as it should. It is fitted with a Tri-Leva unit which gives you 3 selectable speeds by just pulling a lever. More info here.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/myfordtrileva/

It also included a lot of extras including change wheels, 3 & 4 jaw burnard chucks, faceplate, drive plate, double swivel vertical slide attachment, 4 way and original toolposts, a full set of Myford tools, a machine vice, a dial indicator, a jacobs drill chuck and a few other things that neither of us knew what they were. It has an original suds tray all mounted on a sturdy home-made bench.

He was asking £550 for it, which I was willing to pay given its condition, all the extras and the fact it had a Tri-Leva unit, £300 on it's own but when he said £500 I nearly bit his arm off!

I've left a large deposit, neither of us was up to trying to lift it into an estate car (he's recently has a triple bypass, I'm recovering from a frozen shoulder). Will go up some day in the next few weeks with the trailer to collect it.

Sorry, no pics until I get it home.

 

[Turbo]

There was another guy who had advertised some lathe tooling but anytime I was passing he was never home. Called tonight & he was there and he has a load of stuff. He is a technology teacher and as schools closed all the stuff from their technology depts got dumped in his school. Then his school closed and he was told to take what he wanted otherwise it was going for scrap! He has only a small garage so couldn't take it all but he said he cried when he saw what was scrapped!

He now works in a school for physically and mentally disabled and any money he raises from the sale of the stuff is funding a 3d printer/scanner for the dept. He told me some very moving stories about some of his students. One can only use their eyes to work a computer but is able to design key rings which they reproduce with a laser cutter in plastic and then sell them for £1. The 3D printer/scanner can scan things they make in playdough and reproduce them in plastic. One of the things he is planning is customised joystick knobs for their wheelchairs.

While he was telling me this I was trying to sort through numerous boxes of stuff he kept setting down and at times fighting back some tears. I managed to get some stuff sorted out but I think I'll have to go back for more.

Approx 50 imperial taps, all good British makes, 2 tap wrenches and a Genuine new Jacobs K3 chuck key

Approx 30 Imperial split circular dies, all good British makes & 5 die holders.

MT3-4 sleeve, MT3 and 2 x MT2 dead centres (he has more of these), MT2 live centre

Moore & Wright vee block, 15 new dormer centre drills, 9 hand reamers biggest 1/2"

20 SKF slot drills from 3 to 10mm all new

(L to R) Boring bar holder with 2 bars, LH & RH 5/16" tool holders (he has more of these) , Knife tool & parting tool.

1/2" sq x 4" H5 Eclipse cutters 4 of (he has several boxes of these)
3/8" sq x 3" H5 Eclipse cutters 10 of (he has several boxes of these)
3/16" sq x 2" HSS tool steel cutters 12 of
3/8" x 5/8" x 4" Cobalt steel cutters 2 of

He also has a large box of hand files, I picked out 5 but if I had more time I could pick out more.

I bought all of this for £100 but tbh If he'd asked more I would've given it considering the cause.

I'm wondering if I should buy up all the rest of the tool steel, I'm assuming they can be used as lathe tools after grinding to the correct shape?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Sounds like a bargain, I would have though had that lathe in my car even at the risk of needing physio for a year afterwards.

Twice over the years I have done similar, left a deposit on something that was a total bargain only for the seller to be made aware he had sold at a silly price or been offered a lot more and made excuses to back out of the deal....hopefully you won't experience the same.

 

[Turbo]

Twice over the years I have done similar, left a deposit on something that was a total bargain only for the seller to be made aware he had sold at a silly price or been offered a lot more and made excuses to back out of the deal....hopefully you won't experience the same.

I had no choice but leave a deposit, I didn't have the £500 to buy it outright but I'm scrounging around to gather up the rest asap. I'm thinking of cashing in an ISA, the lathe is a much better investment than any ISA.

I forgot to say that the lathe spent most of its life in a BT workshop where the last owner bought it, kept it 3 years and used it 10 times (he admits he doesn't know how to use a lathe).

He is trying to clear out his workshop so he can get his classic car out on the road again. He has a mint 500E Merc buried at the back of of a 4 car garage and an MG in storage coz the garage is so full of stuff!

 

[Turbo]

Had a look at my bank book today & the ISA has went from earning £26.50 interest in 2007 to just £7 last year! Time to cash it in I think - that lathe should earn at least 100% interest immediately!

Anyone any thoughts on that tool steel, is it worth buying more?

 

[MattF]

Tool steel is never a bad thing to have. Like you say, grind to shape and use. Probably better off putting the pennies towards the lathe though?

 

[Turbo]

When I cash in the ISA I can afford both!

Just remembered that he also had a small bundle of silver steel rod, looked like 6mm and smaller - is it useful?

 

[Pete.]

£550 for that machine is a true bargain, money-wise. The gearboxes sell for that much. Echoing the above, I would send him the full amount by traceable means even before it's picked up.

 

[Turbo]

Was talking to him today, no mention of a price increase. I'm off to the bank tomorrow then up the road with the trailer to collect the lathe. I would rather transport it in the car but at the moment I'm not able to lift too much. Plus the experience of manhandling a meddings LF1 pillar drill into the back of the car last year is enough to put me off.

 

[Turbo]

Lathe is now sitting on the trailer in my garage! Will try to take some photos later.

The seller was very nice and friendly but he said he had dozens of calls about it! He got a couple of books with the lathe and he will post them to me when he finds out where his wife put them!

When I viewed the lathe I couldn't get the tailstock barrel to move but I thought it was stiff from lack of use. Had a better look tonight and it's stuck solid. It's now soaking in penetrating oil - any suggestions on how to free it up?

 

[Pete.]

Make sure the lock is loose and whack it with a plastic hammer.

 

[MattF]

Glad to hear it all worked out well. Don't be shy with the photo's.

 

[taycat]

nice find.
need pics though saddo i am love pics of old tools.
got my eyes on a myford turret stock lathe that as been sat under a bench for yrs.

 

[Turbo]

We had a power cut yesterday and broadband has been misbehaving since. Seems to have sorted itself now so I can get some photos up.

And the tooling that came with it.

Faceplate, drive plate, blank plate, 13mm jacobs chuck, burnerd 4-jaw chuck, vertical milling slide, machine vice, travelling steady (unused), 4-way toolpost on spare top slide, tailstock die holder and a full set of 14 change gears.

Set of 10 myford tools, more misc tools, drill size gauge, 2 pairs int calipers, vee block and clamp, 2 protractor type devices, 2 strange clamps, centre finder and a mitutoyo lever dial indicator that looks complete.

 

[MattF]

I'd say you did rather well there. That vertical slide alone would normally sell for £50+, so you've got a few bob in extras too.

 

[Turbo]

Ok, been looking up my serial no and I'm confused. I've been reading up on the history of the ML7 here.
http://www.myford.co.uk/acatalog/A_History_Of_The_ML7.html

According to that page my lathe is one of the updated models from april 1973 onwards as it has a 3/4" leadscrew, cast iron saddle and the location of the serial no.

In May 1972, from serial number K107657, the existing carriage was converted from the narrow guide to the wide guide principle. On earlier machines, the saddle located across the two front shears and on later models across the full width of the bed, the 5/8" diameter leadscrew and die cast apron were retained.

From serial number K108718, the cross slides were fitted with 5mm pitch self-locking adjusting screws.

April 1973 saw the introduction of the new bed from serial number K111727. The re-design was necessary to accomodate the power cross feed apron on the Super 7 lathe. At the same time the specification of the ML7 was upgraded to incorporate the 3/4" diameter leadscrew and cast iron apron as used on the pre-power cross feed Super 7s.

The last machine, serial number K140848, left the fitting lines on the 31st January 1979.

It should be noted that long bed ML7 lathes were always fitted with the 3/4" diameter leadscrews and the saddles, cross slides and top slides were the same as used on the pre-power cross feed Super 7 lathes.

PLEASE NOTE: On earlier machines (up to serial number K111727), the serial number can be found on the rear shear of the lathe bed, at the tailstock end of the machine. On later machines (after K111727) this will be found on the front of the lathe bed, to the left hand side of the rack.

But my serial no is K109183B, which should be the older model!

 

[Pete.]

Aah it's not a gearbox model but still a good bargain nonetheless. I wouldn't worry about the serial number, you have what you have. Did you get the tailstock sliding yet? When you do you should remove it and clean both the ways and the underside of the tailstock.

 

[taycat]

very nice.
just something about old tools that's irresistible.

 

[lchris21]

good haul........now get on with making somat !!!

 

[HughF]

I'd go back to school tooling guy and buy everything he has going, but that's just me...