I don't remember any problem getting that large countershaft pulley off mine when I did it up some years ago. It is held on by a woodruff key and one grubscrew. Trick with those types of pulleys is to never put force on the outer rim. If you have to use a puller, hook it up to the central hub, or a metal plate or bearing puller clamshell behind the central hub. And heat from a propane torch should be enough to make it fall off without a puller anyway. Cheap torch that clips on to a disposable can of gas will do the job.

From memory, the keyway in the three-step pulley goes all along the bore so it can come off either way. It has two grub screws that need removed first. Same as above. Don't put pullers on the outer flanges. Support the inner solid part of the pulley, heat it, and tap the shaft out.

You don't need to pull it apart unless you plan to replace the Oilite bushes. A clean out with solvent and re-oiling should do the job if grease is the only concern.

When fitting a new belt, it is worth getting the "cogged" V belt that has the notches around the inside diameter. They run better around the tight bends of small pulleys like the Myford's.  They are AX series belts rather than the standard A series. You can see the belt in this pic.

Edited By Hopper on 04/02/2023 23:11:06

Oh yes a regular bonafide know-it-all, me. Except I forgot you have to take that shaft out to change the belts thanks to the closed H frame set up.

And of course the main bearing caps have to come off to remove the headstock spindle. So you might as well check the up and down movement of the spindle and remove a layer or two of the laminated shims if needed.

And i forgot to mention is easiest to take the whole belt tensioning H-frame off the lathe and work on the pulleys and countershaft on the bench where you can properly support the pulley while tapping out the countershaft.

Stuck chuck. If you grip the spindle in the vice be sure to do it b between where the bearings go so there is no risk of damaging the bearing surfaces. Hard to get good grip like that though. I would try to loosen it up with the spindle still in the lathe. Myfords recommended way is to grab the belts and spin the spindle backwards with a block of wood under one of the chuck jaws so it smacks into it. Not sure how much force you get like that though.

If you look in the photo I posted above I am pointing at a pin I drilled and either threaded or Loctited into the bull wheel (don't remember which) and then made a tool below that locks the spindle for chuck removal. YOu can do something similar by jamming a block of wood between the little Allen head screw on the back gear drive dog and the headstock casting. Then you can put a length of wood between the chuck jaws as a long lever to yank on. Heat might help too. Be careful not to overheat the spindle and melt the white metal bearings though. Heat the chuck body only.

Yes. The Super 7 has a spindle lock but the ML7 was the budget model when it came out in 1946 and never changed much. I reckon Myford sold a lot of new backgears over the years as a result.

Tell your mate to keep the spindle thread and chuck threads lubed with Never Seize etc and it should not happen again. (There was a thread on this recently with many varying opinions on what works best for this but this is what works for me!)

Sorry to post off-topic.

Simon, was your 'bit of jarrah' previously part of a railway sleeper?

My workshop originally stood on a raft comprising five railway sleepers and some second hand scaffold boards, all purchased from a garden centre in Rainham, Essex. I was told that the railway sleepers had originally been part of the track of one of the London Underground lines and were jarrah wood because of its vibration-damping properties. When I moved the workshop to its current location, I upgraded to a concrete slab and used the railway sleepers to form a retaining wall to control the spoil from the excavation.

More recently, I wanted to make a new mantelpiece for our living room but didn't want to pay timber merchant prices for hardwood. So SWMBO and I selected the best looking sleeper from the stack, carefully de-nailed and de-gritted it and cut it into suitably sized slices.

I finished the completed mantelpiece with Osmo oil and am very pleased with the result.

Apologies again for posting off-topic.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

P.S.: I was going to add what 'Timbers for Woodwork' by J C S Brough says about jarrah but as it's an Australian wood, I'll defer to Hopper.

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 06/02/2023 11:07:27

Yes I have used a block of aluminium there. But never had a badly stuck chuck so would advise caution as you say.

There have been previous threads on stuck chucks so you might do a site search on the topic.

Impact rather than steady force will often shift such things (and gear pullers too), done within reason. Something like hold a hex or square bar etc in the chuck with a big spanner on the hex and hit the spanner with a rubber mallet  or soft hammer etc. Others have suggested a large shifting spanner over one of the chuck jaws, but I have not tried that one.

Edited By Hopper on 06/02/2023 11:57:33

Edited By Hopper on 06/02/2023 11:58:11

That's a good result, mate. Yes the shaft is just a piece of cold rolled bright mild steel bar, nothing special. Very easy to make a new one from a piece of stock without need to machine the OD. A typical Myford piece of frugal but practical production engineering.

Sounds like the young fellow made a great score. The lever tailstock and especially the long cross slide are very choice upgrades and rare here in Australia. And the Grip Tru chuck is the Holy Grail. Very nice. And it is good he has someone like yourself and obviously other club members to help him make the most of it.

Good idea on the locking tool. I'd be replacing the missing headstock hold-down bolts asap. Most probably BSF threads but I have never had mine out so not sure. Can be a bit of a hunt to find BSF these days but they are around. Myford still sell most parts including bolts but the shipping has gone through the roof in the past 3 years.

Not on mine. There is only about 1/4" of space between the pulley and the Oilite bushing in the H frame on the left hand end of the pulley. But there is a good 3" or more of countershaft sticking out the right hand end of the pulley through the oilite bushing and through the retaining collar. So that has to be driven through the centre of the pulley until the right hand end of the countershaft is level with the end of the pulley, thus creating a gap the belt can pass through. You could leave the large pulley in place to do this.

Doing it the other way is the same. There is more shaft sticking out the lefthand end than there is gap to slide the shaft sideways before the pulley hits the H frame.

If the step pulley is a tight fit on the shaft, like this one, it is easier to deal with it on the bench than perched up on the H frame moving about.

Edited By Hopper on 08/02/2023 09:32:24

Edited By Hopper on 08/02/2023 09:41:00

Edited By Hopper on 08/02/2023 09:43:54