Feeling a little restricted.

[Richard.]

I've made my mind up as to what I'm going to do.
I'm set on a Colchester bantam.
Which is ultimately what will be my machine.
I'm not equipped to take it, transport it or even inspect it to know the good from the bad so I won't be rushing to get it yet. I will however be picking a little myford up in next couple of weeks that a friend of a friend is looking to sell at a fair bit less than an eBay myford. This will get me started and a lot more questions answered it will also cover the scope while I move stuff around and to take a bigger better lump.
My thinking is those light duty myfords never lose value and this one should make me a little profit when I sell it which will also increase my budget for the bigger lathe. So In a nutshell a temporary solution is on the cards shortly to do some turning on followed by hopefully a bantam. Please keep me in the loop if you find a nice one on single phase not too far from me. I can't take one now but hopefully in June when work backs off.

 

[Keith 66]

That sounds like a decent plan. You will always get your money back on the myford & using it will give you a good grounding in the black art of turning!

 

[Richard.]

That sounds like a decent plan. You will always get your money back on the myford & using it will give you a good grounding in the black art of turning!

That's my thinking.

 

[Turbo]

What model of Myford is it? ML4, ML7 or Super 7?

 

[Richard.]

What model of Myford is it? ML4, ML7 or Super 7?

I think it's an ml7.

 

[Brad93]

Completely missed this thread Richard. As i have visited your shop, i can say that any harrison worth having would no doubt be too big as nice as they are to have, they also are much nicer to run on three phase rather than putting a single phase motor on.
A myford is a great way to start out, been looking for one myself to make small motorbike items but as you say silly money so now on the look out for a decent Harrison 140 (used to have one, but it was "not running true" and beyond my knowledge of lathes to repair at the time, but i learnt on one at school so nice to use what you know.).

As you will know the money is in the tooling and accessories. I would have suggested a boxford, but im sure a bantam will be ideal although ive never had any personal experience unlike the Harrison & Boxford.

When you get your myford, John (doubleboosts), videos are very interesting and you learn lots of tricks as you watch. Any operation you wish to carry out can usually be found in simple terms on Youtube too.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Richard.]

I've picked it up.
It's a little ml10.
I have put it together this evening and started turning things.
Well I must say for a little lathe it's a very good accurate tool. I turned down, faced off and internally bored out some short sections of pipe to practice with and really enjoyed it.
I paid £600 for it with just about every possible addition you can imagine so I'll have no prob getting that back. Its the newer metric version too which I like.
I'll want a bigger one I'm sure in 3-6 months when I'm more acute with it. For its size it's a really usable thing (for me).
It's even got a milling slide with vice (doubt it's gonna get used) both steadys, Pratt 3/4 jaws, live centres , jaCubs drill, 2 post quick release tool post. And loads more. I had a car full of stuff. Solid thing without a fraction of play.
Motor clicks mind so I'm gonna check the fan on the shaft Tomoz see if it needs tightening.
All in all it's great for practice and turning things less than a foot long.

 

[MattH]

Trouble is it's addictive mate and with lathes, the bigger the better so you always will want something more.
As long as you can turn some useful bits and learn and enjoy that's all that matters.

I started out on a little Chinese 7x12 then moved on to the Boxford and now I have 1.3 Ton of lathe in my little shed. Love em.

 

[Richard.]

It's never gonna be a speed machine, turning big lumps or taking big cuts.
For 90% of you machinists on here it would be restrictive due to its dimensions.
For me however it's perfect to learn on. And I had such a good time this evening making 1 tube slide perfectly inside another.
What did suprise me about it was how good it works. Not sure why but I expected it to feel a bit floppy or Micky mouse but it doesn't. It's really tight. It's a hobby lathe there is no question but it's a well made hobby lathe and seems capable. The finish I achieved on steel tube I thought was lovely.

 

[Richard.]

Trouble is it's addictive mate and with lathes, the bigger the better so you always will want something more.
As long as you can turn some useful bits and learn and enjoy that's all that matters.

I started out on a little Chinese 7x12 then moved on to the Boxford and now I have 1.3 Ton of lathe in my little shed. Love em.

That thing you've got is on a complete different level mate. Tbh if I ditched the 2mtr x 1.1mtr bench I could easily accommodate such a toy.
Might come a bit stuck when it comes to needing somewhere to lay and jig parts out for welding mind.

 

[MattH]

It's all about finding a balance between what you want to make and what you can make. And the available small has always got to be prioritised towards your primary activity. It sounds to me like you have a good plan now and as you get into it more you my find you requirements shift a little.

 

[Richard.]

Good news.

The only restrictions on this type of machine is size - they're perfectly capable of outperforming well over 99% of operators if run within their limits imo.

One of mine is a little RandA which isn't much different capacity wise - maybe a little longer - I'm not complaining about it

Yeah it's when something sizeable comes along there is a problem.
It was a sod to get him down to £600 but pound notes waved around soon sorted it.
I would get a bantam nicely where this is sitting now as I have space either side of it. Any way I'm not rushing I'm gonna learn about it using this for now.

 

[T0rnado69]

i see you picked up a little ML10 now..

so proberly this isnt any good, as its too soon for the changeover.

 

[Pete.]

i see you picked up a little ML10 now..

so proberly this isnt any good, as its too soon for the changeover.

That's been on eBay a few times at £1500 So I wouldn't bank on getting it for the start price.

 

[Brad93]

I had a look at that on ebay last night. Bit of a drive to go look at. Seems to have all the change gears, 3 jaw and 4 jaw not much else.

 

[Richard.]

Yeah I saw that a number of times.
Looks a have decent thing
Yes I doubt Id get it for that.

 

[addjunkie]

It has the main parts, looks in good condition. Go see it with cash. Try him at a grand.

The other widgets are quite rare steadies etc, tooling will youll build a collection over time.

 

[gaz1]

oi wheres the bloody pics to show this thing that youve now got ?

nice buy if you managed to get most if not all the tools for it as well

just becareful of wear on the bed they are only allowed a few schims on the ml10 so ive read nice machine though

for now stick with what youve got and over time you might come across a right bargain

 

[Richard.]

Now I know to most of you what's in the pic below is just play school but I'm quite proud of it. Bear in mind the last time I used a lathe was at school (nearly 20 years ago) but I took two bits of tube 1 Alu and 1 steel to make it more interesting and I turned them both on all faces to true them up. Then I internally bored out the Alu to 35 mm and turned the od in the steel to 34.9 and fit one inside the other.
Now I need some tools
What type should I buy?
I'm turning Ms, Alu, brass, and soft metals.
Id also at some point like to try threading. Any way what tools would you guys suggest. Are the solid 1 piece ones good or do I go tippy type things.

 

[Richard.]

oi wheres the bloody pics to show this thing that youve now got ?

nice buy if you managed to get most if not all the tools for it as well

just becareful of wear on the bed they are only allowed a few schims on the ml10 so ive read nice machine though

for now stick with what youve got and over time you might come across a right bargain

Yes mate your dead right. Pics or It didn't happen. I'll put some up shortly. After me brew.
The bed seem really good to be fair I can't find any play in anything. It's a used one so little dings here and there in the paint. I'll get pics soon.