Might cost you more than that again in Scotchbrite pads

It's got that farmyard patina which collectors on "Salvage Hunters" will lust after in 100 years

Phil

Hope someone buys it soon and takes temptation away!

I really don't need it ,and if it was mint wouldn't be as tempted even at a bargain price, so what strange compulsion makes certain people want to take home lumps of rust and restore them to something approaching their former glory?

As a kid I had a perfectly nice shiny bicycle bought by parents, yet pulled old bikes out of rivers and hedges and attempted to restore them. Obviously a lifelong affliction.

I wonder what a shrink would make of it all?

Dave

Edited By Dave Wootton on 04/01/2022 16:28:13

Edited By Dave Wootton on 04/01/2022 16:32:31

Hooray its sold- and not to me! I can abandon my devious schemes for smuggling it into the workshop unseen. and pretending I found it in the canal.

Hope the new owner restores it, even better if they posted a log here.

Dave

I have to own up….I BOUGHT IT…!

When I looked at the original listing on SRS it confirmed br's post and said they were amazed when started up it ran quite well, inside the covers for gearing & headstock it looks quite good, the rest of it is seized up … at present…but it won't be for long..!

I should think the rust is likely not at bad as it looks but as to whether there are any problems with the bed .. time will tell, I have been looking for something like this for quite some time as my own lathe which has served me very well and is a joy to use is an Atlas 10F, unfortunately they have had a bad press but I believe the Myfords were based on these lathes, when set up properly it does accurate work.

The work I have done on the Atlas has given me the confidence to have a go at this Myford and I have just about re-made the Atlas over the years I have had it… I bought it from an old Mill in Stockport some 30 years ago for the princely sum of £25, it had been used solely for repairing the overhead power belting pulleys and I was told the mechanic who operated it asked to buy it when the company shut down, he was refused and took the tailstock as a memento.

If there is any interest I will post a log of how I am doing with it, and will probably be asking for advice somewhere along the line.

….Bob.

Well done Bob

Really nice project, I'm sure it will turn out to be a great lathe, I'll second Steve in requesting some posts on how you are getting on with it.

So glad it's not going to be broken up and has found a good home.

Dave

Bob Mc:

Please tell us how you managed without a tailstock.

Good luck with the Myford!

Thanks everyone for your interest in this..much appreciated.

ega asks how did I manage without a tailstock ?
At the time the only option I had was to go to a night school class and make one.

By the way I am not a mechanical engineer by trade so the school metalwork shop was invaluable for giving me a start, sadly they seem to have dissapeared now. A few years later I was lucky enough to find a tailstock but the task of making a square cut ram screw and barrel at the school was an interesting experience.

The renovation and modification of this lathe has been going on for quite some time, the bedways were worn but not damaged so I had to sort that out, the edges and underside had to be done as well, and the saddle needed similar treatment.

when all put back together I was overjoyed at the smoothness of movement with no noticeable play or sticking at any point along it, I made a new topslide as there was a chunk missing out of the T slot on the original and I fitted sewing machine balance wheel handles on the leadscrew, saddle and tailstock which give a feel of smoothness and extra control, much better than the original ones made of Mazak.

I have longed to get my hands on a Myford but the prices were getting beyond the limit of what my beloved will let me have without strangulation….!

Just one last comment about the Atlas, I was told that the lathe and many others like it were part of the 'Lease Lend' agreement with America during or after the war years but I don't know how true this is.

Thanks also to Steviegtr for offer….and with a bit of luck the lump will arrive by courier sometime this week, my first job now is to swab the decks and fit a worktop to a hydraulic motorcycle lifter so I can shift it about.

nb.. picture of my old Atlas at the moment, which, if all goes well will be retired.

I personally think it would make for a great article.

Thanks Jon, Phil,

your posts much appreciated.

When the lathe was delivered I really did think I was losing my marbles! it took a few weeks work to see some light at the end of the tunnel and there have been some tricky problems to overcome.

I will reconsider submitting an article to Neil so I had better not spill any more beans!

thanks again…Bob.

can't wait to see how it turned out …

Is it ever possible, I wonder, to restore a lathe in the condition this Myford was in without access to another functioning lathe to do some of the work required?

I suspect most restorers of neglected lathes are already well served by an existing lathe and motivated primarily by not wanting to see something with potential go to waste rather than by a pressing need for the services of the item they're restoring.