Myford dividing head body casting material

Advert

New Replies

Report Bug

Help/FAQs

Myford dividing head body casting material

This topic has 66 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 2 February 2023 at 20:48 by Bazyle.

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 67 total)

1 2 3 →

Author

Posts
3 January 2023 at 08:27 #627287
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Having restored the world's most abused Myford lathe some years ago HERE I now have a line on the world's most abused Myford dividing head, complete with matching (in abuse) vertical slide.

A mate of a mate has it, in a small town about 100 miles from where I live. I offered him $100 (50 Quid) for it as an interesting paperweight, sight unseen on the basis of the pic. But he is holding out for $200. Which I am uninclined to pay as it really does look rough. To say the least.

Question: Is the main dividing head's body casting Mazak like most of Myford's bits and pieces, or is it cast iron? Because I reckon if it is Mazak that main spindle will be electrolytically corroded in there permanently and the whole thing will be beyond repair, even for a masochist like me.

I suppose the dividing head is worth a few bob in good conditon, but not sure this one will ever reach that standard. And I already have a GHT dividing head that I rarely use so not overkeen on a derusting-remaking project if it's too hard.

The wet tropical climate really does awful things to machinery left out in open sheds or under high-set houses. Crying shame.
Advert

3 January 2023 at 08:27 #14740
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Mazak or cast iron?
3 January 2023 at 09:19 #627292
roy entwistle
Participant
@royentwistle24699
Mine is cast iron
3 January 2023 at 09:36 #627296
Baz
Participant
@baz89810
Every one that I have seen has a cast iron body. I certainly wouldn’t pay more than 50 quid for it though.
3 January 2023 at 09:42 #627299
noel shelley
Participant
@noelshelley55608
The slide and div head have got to be worth £100 – even in that state. the head body is cast iron. Noel.
3 January 2023 at 09:42 #627301
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Posted by Baz on 03/01/2023 09:36:24:

Every one that I have seen has a cast iron body. I certainly wouldn’t pay more than 50 quid for it though.

Thanks Baz. Then there is some chance it might be salvageable, if a guy wanted project to do. Which I don't really. Every time I look at that pic it looks worse. The feedscrew on that vertical slide looks pretty bad, and the T slot table looks like the rust is 1mm deep or more maybe. Would require facing off so the job gets bigger and bigger. Yes I think I will stick to the 100 dollars/50 quid — and hope he does not accept it!
3 January 2023 at 10:12 #627303
john fletcher 1
Participant
@johnfletcher1
I used to have one, main parts are of cast iron, it will be a bargain for 100 dollars/£50, I think with your skill you will soon have it in very good working order once again. But you say you have GHT one, so do you need two ? I sold mine when I built the stepper motor job in MEW several years ago. John
3 January 2023 at 10:44 #627312
Ady1
Participant
@ady1
100 bananas looks very fair, it's pretty bashed up but these things are always worth saving

Have those spindle tension lugs been welded together??

(The spindle nose looks bent to me, like its been dropped, but jpeg pictures can deceive the eye)

I wouldn't up my bid unless I got a look at it first

Edited By Ady1 on 03/01/2023 10:47:37
3 January 2023 at 11:26 #627325
John Haine
Participant
@johnhaine32865
How many plates does it have? I paid ~£200 for one with 4 plates in reasonable condition, must be at least 15 years back, at an exhibition. Yes the body is cast iron and these are desirable units, low profile to fit on a smaller mill and easy to upgrade to digital.

Other pics including of the conversion components in one of my albums. My main concern would be the state of the MT2 taper and whether you could clean it up. Highly unlikely that the spindle is bent, it is pretty massive. Actually £100 is a fair price I think, he would get much more on eBay judging by some of the junk that sells there.
3 January 2023 at 12:13 #627342
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Hi John Haine, nice looking conversion there.

No, it only has one index plate with it. I already drilled the 812 holes in the plates for VDH so not keen to do more!

My mate is going up there this week so he will take a look at it for me and send more pics. He is an aircraft engineer with the best home workshop ever,full of lathes and mills, so knows what to look for.

It's tempting, but…
3 January 2023 at 17:37 #627420
Tim Stevens
Participant
@timstevens64731
It is a shame that magnets don't work on photographs

Cheers, Tim
3 January 2023 at 18:36 #627427
David Davies 8
Participant
@daviddavies8
Hi Hopper

I agree with Noel Shelly above, the DH and vertical slide together are easily worth £100 even if they need some elbow grease.

Cheers

Dave
3 January 2023 at 23:51 #627469
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Posted by Tim Stevens on 03/01/2023 17:37:33:

It is a shame that magnets don't work on photographs

Cheers, Tim

Now that would be a good trick! A photographic magnet.

My mate is up there for work for the rest of the week so he will have a look at it — and apply a magnet — while he is there, and bring it home with him if it turns out to be salvageable. That one photo just looks nasty to me though.
4 January 2023 at 00:37 #627475
Bazyle
Participant
@bazyle
Plates are easy to make or 3D print. Clean up spindle with MT reamer. The swivelling slide is worth a bit too. Still a bargain at £150, OK at £200 when you think about how long it takes to make an equivalent.
4 January 2023 at 09:27 #627499
Dave Wootton
Participant
@davewootton
Hopper

Purely selfish, but I hope you do get it, always enjoy your interesting posts and this would be a good one!

Dave
4 January 2023 at 13:00 #627550
geoff walker 1
Participant
@geoffwalker1
Pete,

Why not up your offer a little, $150-170.

That's less than £100 in our money.

By the way, enjoyed your current article in MEW and a FRONT page picture, special!!!

Geoff
18 January 2023 at 10:03 #629955
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Posted by geoff walker 1 on 04/01/2023 13:00:50:

Pete,

Why not up your offer a little, $150-170.

That's less than £100 in our money.

By the way, enjoyed your current article in MEW and a FRONT page picture, special!!!

Geoff

Thanks Geoff. Yes my 15 minutes of fame, on the cover of the Rolling Stone, I mean the MEW.
18 January 2023 at 10:23 #629965
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Well, look what found its way to Hoppers House of Engineering Horrors today. I ended up giving the guy his 100 Quid's worth of local beer tokens for it, after my mate checked it out for me and declared it salvageable. I was not so sure when I picked it up. It is really pretty 'orrible in its 'orribleness.

A crying shame to see such a fine piece of equipment allowed to get to that state. The tropical climate does terrible things to machinery. It came from up on the Atherton Tablelands where they get about 6 feet of rain a year and most farmers keep their gear in open sided sheds to catch the cooling breezes, which bring the rain in with them unfortunately. But I think we will be able to restore it to useable condition. Somebody has to!

I thought about putting Evaporust on it, someting I have not tried before. But our local "SuperCheap" auto parts store charges $40 (20 Quid) for 1 litre, so I rapidly rethought that one. SuperCheap in name but not super cheap in nature. So it is spending the night soaking in degreaser in my parts washer and we will see what we have in the morning when all the gunge is removed.

So far, nothing on it moves, but I have not tried more than a casual flick of the wrist. The main handle will turn under pressure but very stiff so I left that alone until it can be soaked in degreaser then WD40 etc. Vertical slide screw seems stuck solid in that Mazak feed nut. Could be electrolytic corrosion there perhaps. And the visible bit of the screw looks pretty ugly.

It only has one indexing plate, the number of hole circles ranging from 32 to 91. So I might make the other two or three to complete the set out of 6mm aluminium plate. Easier to cut out into circles and easier to drill the needed 600 or so holes in.

But right now I am busy with a major motorbike project taking up most of my limited shed time so this might be a longer term project in dribs and drabs when I want a break from bike work.
18 January 2023 at 10:41 #629972
noel shelley
Participant
@noelshelley55608
Not much wrong with that a good clean will not fix,a later version of the Vslide with 2 holding bolts, you even got a couple of genuine face plate clamps as well. It is complete, all the right bits, no screws or parts missing. Noel.

Edited By noel shelley on 18/01/2023 10:47:21

Edited By noel shelley on 18/01/2023 10:49:28
18 January 2023 at 10:51 #629976
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Yes I was rather tickled to get the two little clamps included. Always wanted some with the little tag sticking out, but have never seen any before. Nice.

Yes preliminary inspection and a tentative scrub with a wire brush looks like most of the rust is superficial and will come off. It is not etched 2mm deep like the cross slide on my ML7 when I got it. 9pm here right now so a good soak overnight will reveal the truth tomorrow.
18 January 2023 at 11:23 #629986
KWIL
Participant
@kwil
Hopper,

Look up on using molasses to remove rust, dirt cheap ans quite good, apparently.

K
18 January 2023 at 11:44 #629991
Ady1
Participant
@ady1
vinegar and regular brushing/checks every couple of hours?
18 January 2023 at 20:14 #630079
Bazyle
Participant
@bazyle
The molasses method is not worth the effort and is very hit an miss. It only works at all because of fermenting sugars turning to alcohol then oxidising to acid. Apart from the bit with mazak you might try electrolysis.
19 January 2023 at 01:38 #630107
samuel heywood
Participant
@samuelheywood23031
Posted by Bazyle on 18/01/2023 20:14:20:

The molasses method is not worth the effort and is very hit an miss. It only works at all because of fermenting sugars turning to alcohol then oxidising to acid. Apart from the bit with mazak you might try electrolysis.

I tryed electrolysis on a very rusty Stanley circular plane a good few years back.

Worked pretty well actually~ all Heath Robinson with a car battery charger,

I forget what the solution was, but bound to be out there on the interweb.
19 January 2023 at 08:34 #630121
Dave Wootton
Participant
@davewootton
Looking forward to seeing this project progress, I had some very rusty bits to clean up and a mate who restores vintage cars gave me some Evaporust, worked an absolute treat. Not sure what's in it and if it's easily available, or if theres an equivalent, but it did work better than anything else I've tried.

Dave
Author

Posts