Myford ML7 quick change toolpost options

[armalites]

Hi, been playing on my ML7 recently and I have decided to buy a quickchange tool holder.

There are a few options, but is it worth spending the extra to get a Myford one?

Chronos and RDG both sell them for around £70, the Myford one is £124 but it does look more nicely finished.

The Chronos one does come with 3 holders too which would save me another £23

 

[500e]

Try
www.arceurotrade.co.uk

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/catalogue/results.aspx?search=tool+holder

 

[CRB]

The one I have, from where I do not remember, is a four-way, which I see now is a bit of a waste. You can only use one at a time, and spinning the post around without a detente is a waste too.

I like DoubleBoosts' because it has a big lever and height adjusters. This may be due to scale, larger lathe.

There is also another I came across just before seeing one on here. Big pennies though.
http://www.rotagriponline.com/index...art&page=shop.browse&category_id=61&Itemid=29
http://www.rotagriponline.com/index...art&page=shop.browse&category_id=61&Itemid=29

 

[RonA]

Hi, been playing on my ML7 recently and I have decided to buy a quickchange tool holder.

There are a few options, but is it worth spending the extra to get a Myford one?

Chronos and RDG both sell them for around £70, the Myford one is £124 but it does look more nicely finished.

The Chronos one does come with 3 holders too which would save me another £23

Hi Armalites,
Just been through the same exercise with my ML7 & I bought the one from Chronos. Whilst the item is of good quality & certainly a step up from the Myford "rocking boat" tool holder, I was disappointed with my purchase in one respect. I use TCT indexable tipped tools on my lathe & I can't get some of them to adjust low enough to centre the tips on or just below the centre line of the workpiece.

 

[CRB]

I can't get some of them to adjust low enough to centre the tips on or just below the centre line of the workpiece.

I ended up taking two millimetres off the bottom of the 1/2" holders I had.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

The one I have, from where I do not remember, is a four-way, which I see now is a bit of a waste. You can only use one at a time, and spinning the post around without a detente is a waste too.

I like DoubleBoosts' because it has a big lever and height adjusters. This may be due to scale, larger lathe.

There is also another I came across just before seeing one on here. Big pennies though.
http://www.rotagriponline.com/index...art&page=shop.browse&category_id=61&Itemid=29

I have a four station tool post on my Colchester Student and it rotates on an 16 position ratchet, I pulled it out of a skip at a local engineering company when I was raiding their offcuts and modified it to fit my cross slide.
I still have to shim my tools to the correct height which is a bummer though.

 

[armalites]

Hi Armalites,
Just been through the same exercise with my ML7 & I bought the one from Chronos. Whilst the item is of good quality & certainly a step up from the Myford "rocking boat" tool holder, I was disappointed with my purchase in one respect. I use TCT indexable tipped tools on my lathe & I can't get some of them to adjust low enough to centre the tips on or just below the centre line of the workpiece.

Thanks, that's useful to know. Hopefully the Myford one should be ok on that score. Can you not mount a tool upside down and run the lathe in reverse for the ones that you can't centre?

 

[gav0994]

I have the RDG tools version of the Dickson qctp in my ML7. quality is good and contrary to some posts on other forums I have had no issues with it. I have removed the small height adjusting screw on a couple of the tool holders to get the tool at centre height. The "myford" version is almost certainly the same as the RDG tools as they are both owned/operated by the same people.

 

[mr_splatter]

I have one made by A&R precision on my Super 7 and its very good. This outfit are a UK company who used to supply the 'new' Myford (RDG). However they fell out with Myford over the use of their name. I think they still make them occasionally and if so they are slightly more expensive than the Chronos / RDG ones but extremely well made and finished. They sell on ebay but are more used to supplying custom lightened flywheels for cars. I have loads of toolholders from both companies and the A&R ones are better made but all are good to use.
It's a good point about getting tools that will go down to the centre height. I think the max shank thickness you can generally use is about 12mm without machining the bottom of a holder as described above.

 

[CRB]

Can you not mount a tool upside down and run the lathe in reverse for the ones that you can't centre?

Only if you want to unscrew the chuck at the same time.

 

[optima21]

I have a four station tool post on my Colchester Student and it rotates on an 16 position ratchet, I pulled it out of a skip at a local engineering company when I was raiding their offcuts and modified it to fit my cross slide.
I still have to shim my tools to the correct height which is a bummer though.

the best thing I've found for doing the shimming is steel banding, used for heavy duty packaging, its narrow enough to use 1/2" and tempered steel so doesn't embed with swarf, and its free as its normally thrown away.

 

[Mr shiney]

I use feeler gauges when I need to shim anything........

 

[brightspark]

broken hss hacksaw blades with teeth ground off

 

[RonA]

I ended up taking two millimetres off the bottom of the 1/2" holders I had.

Hi CRB,
I had thought of doing something similar but as the toolpost is through hardened it would need a surface grinder to achieve. I might have had it done as a Govy job whilst I was still working but now that I'm retired it's going to cost. I temporarily got round the problem by mounting the tool upside down & reversing lathe rotation.

 

[CRB]

Hi CRB,
I had thought of doing something similar but as the toolpost is through hardened it would need a surface grinder to achieve. I might have had it done as a Govy job whilst I was still working but now that I'm retired it's going to cost. I temporarily got round the problem by mounting the tool upside down & reversing lathe rotation.

Confusion.....tip holder not tool holder. In the mill for a couple of passes.

 

[roofman]

ive got that many odd sized tooling tipped and hss ive made three 4 sided posts with each side having a different depth and height to match centre height...that way i can use whatever tooling i find on my travels. As for shimming i use old feeler gauges and this enables to get it spot on perfect

 

[brightspark]

i use a 4 toolpost on my L5 i made a couple for it and allso use a myford tool clamp on top post and can use 1 inch tools on it

 

[armalites]

The "myford" version is almost certainly the same as the RDG tools as they are both owned/operated by the same people.

That's what I thought but the Myford looks different to the RDG one

 

[mr_splatter]

They are different, the Myford version is/was made in the UK and the RDG one is sourced from the far east and similar to the one Chronos sell. I have not seen the tool block but the tool holders are OK but are not as well finished.

 

[gav0994]

They are different, the Myford version is/was made in the UK and the RDG one is sourced from the far east and similar to the one Chronos sell. I have not seen the tool block but the tool holders are OK but are not as well finished.

I have a few tool holders by A&R precision and they are no better quality than the RDG ones that come with the tool block(well finished) and A&R were/are the manufacturer for Myford. I have no complaints about the RDG version and would recommend it.