Make your own parts on a Myford?

[zooma]

I used to collect Myford lathes in much the same way as I do airguns now - but being a lot bigger and more expensive I had a lot less of them!

However, a small lathe is a very useful piece of kit to have around if you can find a space for one.

Some of the old engineers used to claim you could "platt fog" on a Myford - well I never had any luck with that - but the point they are making is that there is not much you can't do with a Myford and a suitable piece of metal - very useful when you need to make a small part that is no longer available for an old airgun, or fancy brewing-up a nice custom part or tool to help when stripping down or rebuilding an argun.

Now I collect airguns I don't use my Myford lathes too much any more, so I will be getting rid of them (except one) to raise funds for some more airguns, so this may be of interest to serious airgun collectors as a useful oportunity to deal with a like minded collector who appreciate's nice things.

Any airgun collectors that like the idea of gaining a really good lathe and part exchanging a few airguns may like to contact me.

I only mention this in the collectors section because this is the area where keen collectors may find some of the older airgun parts become unobtainable, and the chance to get a machine to help make these parts could be of interest.

A part-exchange or swap for some collectable airguns may help another member with more time than myself to make these parts for himself- and possibly help some other collectors as well!

[johnbaz]

Hi Zooma


I have an old Faircut lathe that i've made a few airgun parts on, the trouble is that my shed at the bottom of the garden was rotten so I binned it and now all the stuff from the shed is in my garage so I can't get to my lathe (or any of the other tools come to that )

Myfords are brilliant lathes and as you said, with all the right tooling you can do allsorts!!!

I made some custom parts for my Ratties on mine..



Cheers, John

[harvey_s]

....I made some custom parts for my Ratties on mine..

Oi!... Careful with that barrel you'll 'av someone's eye out with that

[johnbaz]

Oi!... Careful with that barrel you'll 'av someone's eye out with that

It get's me closer to the target (makes my marksmanship look better )



Cheers, John

[Nocity]

Are we just talking of lathes or does it include tooling, Rodney milling attachments, Chucks, Steadies etc.

[zooma]

Are we just talking of lathes or does it include tooling, Rodney milling attachments, Chucks, Steadies etc.

In answer to your question, any of the lathes can come with as much or as little tooling as is required - including all of the above - except I never had a Rodney milling attachment as I always had a milling machine and so had no use for one.

I have a Myford Super 7 that came from a Model Engineers shop that we used to work with some years ago - the owner restored it for his own use - then the divorce came so he hid it here. Nicely ground bedways, new belts, new wicks, new paint, gears look like they never turned - he said it was "too good to use" - it certainly looks a picture.

I also have an ML7 ready to be restored. A nice cheap project that really only needs painting and a bit of time and effort putting it back together again to bring it up a treat, Nice bedways - no cuts or marks. I started to restore the tailstock and cross slide and they have come up almost like new, so no reason why the rest could not be the same.

A smaller lathe is the ML10 - as a bench lathe, or ready to go on it's own stand. Takes up less space, but is still big enough to make most parts or workshop tools an airgun enthusiast would ever need.

I have others, but this sample gives some idea of what I have to offer if it is of any interest to anyone.

[Muskett]

Alan Wey a rifle maker is trying to put together his new workshop on not a lot of wonga. Give him a bell, you can talk shop anyway as he is well into it all. Tel: 01306713320
I'm sure there would be something in it for all.

[jasond642]

I have an old ML 7 and have made things like cocking bolts, screws, valve housings, silencers, barrel crowning, loading probes, silencer adaptors etc.
If you are prepared to spend the time you can save yourself a lot of money.

[Nocity]

Zooma, you have a PM

[zooma]

Thanks for your comments to this thread.

A Myford is a useful tool for the airgunner and collector - if you have some space for it and the time to play with it.

My lathes can be seen and inspected, and I am always ready for a haggle or a swop - I would like these lathes to find good homes where they will be used and appreciated - especially for making parts, special workshop tools or helping to give life to an obsolete airgun.

The old ML7 was found in a chicken hutch after 30 years - it has had almost no use with unmarked bedways - with some time and effort (mainly painting and cleaning) and reassembling it could make a nice swop for a good air rifle and get somebody started. I think they are always better when you paint and rebuild them yourself, finding the odd mising part etc makes it a very personal tool that would be hard to part with.

I have an old Super 7 - probably the roughest one I own, but I got it going and it works well and one day I will give it that coat of paint I promised it several years ago - but it is my favourite and will not be sold!

[HW777]

Hi Zooma,

ive allways wanted to find some old boy with time on his hands, that has a lathe or such like, down in his shed, so i could ask to be shown some basic skills of milling and machining, but to date im still looking.

Do you know of any web sites that cover this area of interest ?

Atb HW55T

[zooma]

Hi Zooma,

ive allways wanted to find some old boy with time on his hands, that has a lathe or such like, down in his shed, so i could ask to be shown some basic skills of milling and machining, but to date im still looking.

Do you know of any web sites that cover this area of interest ?

Atb HW55T

To be honest, most of us that "dabble" at home on our Myford lathes are self taught, but bump into those with more experience and knowledge to share at machine shops and enginering supplies when picking up some screws or lumps of alloy etc

Its surprising how keen "real" engineers are to share their knowledge, and pass on hints and tips - as well as answering questions when asked about any specific subject. Most of them feel it is a dying skill and like to do their bit to keep the knowledge alive.

I also buy and read an excellent magazine called "Model Engineers Workshop". If you subscribe online you can access every issue right from issue one and gain a wealth of information about using the machines you may have ( or would like to have) as well as some interesting "how to make" projects - usually for some extra bits of tooling to fit your machine or workshop - but the skills you learn by doing this can then be applied to other projects, such as making spare parts or tools for your old airguns!

The same publishers also print some very good small books about all aspects of model engineering that give you all the help and confidence you may need to tackle your own project. Most seem to be feature Myford lathes - probably because they have become the "benchmark" and most home engineers have one or have had one at some stage, but the information can be filtered to fit whatever machine you have.

Combine this with the machine manufacturers supplied handbook about your own lathe, and you are away!

In short - read up a bit and get stuck in!

The best knowledge is gained from your own experience with a litttle help when needed - but as with shooting - always remember machines can be dangerous if used wrongly, so always read the manufacturers handbook for the machine you are using and make sure you know and understand how it works before switching it on.

Hope this helps - Bob.

[edbear2]

Hi Zooma,

ive allways wanted to find some old boy with time on his hands, that has a lathe or such like, down in his shed, so i could ask to be shown some basic skills of milling and machining, but to date im still looking.

Do you know of any web sites that cover this area of interest ?

Atb HW55T

There is a wealth of odd stuff on youtube, and dvd tutorials are also out there I believe. Cheap lathes designed for hobby use (Clarke / Axminster sieg eytc.) run from £275ish to whatever you want to spend. Also there may be evening classes or similar at your local tech where aforementioned old boys normally run classes. Obviously the ideal is one to one, or small group actual hands on tuition, but there are 1000's of books as well out there as well as the more modern (DVD / internet) thingys.

As long as you have some practical ability, and hand / eye co-ordination, there is no black magic involved, just some maths and mechanical sympathy...for the price of an average precharge you could be making swarf

[HW777]

Thanks for the info both, Zooma & Ed,

I need to stick my head around a few doors, i did think of the local colleges as away to gain some knowledge, trouble is, its full of scroats with one track minds, been there done that, got more than a few kids to show for it.


I live in a old servants quarters block of flats, that were knocked up out of anything that came to hand, so a lathe on the floor boards of a 100 year old plus block of flats, maybe an issue ?

Atb John.

[keith66]

I had a Myford Super 7 for many years, it was a good machine with little wear & i made a lot of bits & pieces on it.
It fell down in one major respect, it has a piddling little hole up the headstock so you cant do barrels or cylinders on it. It was always too small for the jobs i had to do.
Sold it & got a Colchester Bantam. Problem solved!