The metal lathe has been described as the single most important item that the amateur engineer is ever likely to purchase. Once purchased with the appropriate accessories and attachments it is capable of solving almost any machining problem that may be encountered.
You can view our product guides for these Myford lathes here
Having established its importance consideration must be given to the choice of buying new or used. It is true that "old" British made machines even with wear with use are better made than low priced far east imports.
Any second hand item must be bought with care and this is especially true of a used metal lathe. If you have little or no experience then have a look for your nearest model engineers club or society on the web, and someone there will be willing to go with you to view a machine. However don’t quickly dismiss buying a new lathe made in the Far East. As experience grows you can make tools and adjustments to make the new overseas lathe far more accurate. Indeed the accuracy you may achieve when first starting out may well be within the tolerances found in machines from China, Korea and Taiwan and they are getting better all the time. If you cannot afford a good Myford for example, then it would be better to at least have a lathe and look out for an older lathe later.
So what should you look for in a used metal lathe? Firstly, the quality of build of English and American workshop lathes will invariably have been well made with quality parts and to greater tolerances. If you have been brought up with the imperial measurement system then you’ll have little problem in sourcing a lathe. However, if you have been used to the metric system then this could be a problem for you as not many metric old lathes are about in the UK.
Features such as back gear, slow spindle speeds and tumble reverse will often feature in these types of second-hand lathes. The old saying that you get what you pay for is very true when it comes to buying a used lathe. Screw threading will feature at some time in your future and the ease of threading can vary. For example Myford lathes can come with gearboxes that aid in screw cutting but at a great price! Make sure though that your potential purchase has a set of change gears, to buy them after is very expensive and also some gears are harder to source. Buying second hand also brings the advantage of a great deal of tooling (if your lucky) but its important that the minimum you should look for is a 3 jaw chuck, 4 jaw chuck and a faceplate. Buying them after can be expensive.
Size will be a major consideration. You will already have established the space available in your workshop. You will now need to consider the size of lathe. Lathes will be advertised in dimensions such as 4 inch x 24 inch. This means the centre height is 4 inches measured from the lathe bed to the centre of the chuck while the maximum length of the material to be machined is 24 inches long. These sizes give you some appreciation of the size of items you will be able to work with. Don’t forget though that the 4” gives a diameter of 8” Headstock bearings can come in various types. A good choice can be found in the Myford Super 7 which uses a front bearing consisting of a tapered bronze bush. This popular models measures 3.5 x 19 inches and is one of the most sought after on the second hand market.
The ability to run a work piece slowly will become essential to the user as will screw cutting. Screw cutting entails the use of a power feed along the lathe bed. This can be helped with older lathes where you can buy a 3 Phase motor but run it through an inverter, and that will allow variable speeds, something that many imported new lathes have as standard. Variable speed is a big advantage to the lathe user.
The wear on the cross slide and top slide need to be checked but bear in mind that adjustment is possible by use of screws along the slides side which puts pressure on what are called gib strips Basically all lathes have a saddle upon which sits a cross slide which goes across the lathe bed at 90 degrees. On top of the cross slide is another slide called the top slide which has a centre post and clamps into position and adjusted at any angle to the main slides. The centre post is used to hold the tool holder which can take many forms.
Many model engineer’s lust after a Myford ML7 or one of its variants.If you get a good second hand Myford you should be able to produce 99% of model engines or projects. Myford still manufacture lathes and other machine tooling with a very comprehensive spares section. They will even take your lathe back and regrind and surface your machine bringing it back to as new. The spares and regrinds are not cheap but this is without doubt the Rolls Royce of model engineers lathes.
Whether you buy new or second hand I strongly recommend the fitting of digital readouts (DRO’s). This is even more relevant if you work in metric since by fitting a DRO it doesn’t matter if the lathe is an imperial one since the DRO can work in either imperial or metric at the push of a button. It also makes machining to high tolerances far easier.
Myford has been producing lathes since 1934 and over the years has perfected a range of quality machines to meet most needs. If you do buy a Myford then there will be a machine number on the lathe bed. If you contact Myford and give them the number they will tell you the date of manufacture of the lathe in question. It’s not unusual to see lathes from the 1950’s onwards still giving good service. There first machine the ML1 quickly gave way to the famous ML7 introduced in 1946. This machine was produced in quantities as great as 400 a month and soon gave way to the series 7 produced today. The need for a smaller cost effective machine led to the introduction of the Myford ML10 although production has now ceased there are many used models available. Those interested in turning wood were catered for with the ML8 wood turning lathe.
One excellent source of used equipment is from educational establishments who are disposing of machinery which in many cases has had little or no use!