Hello John and welcome

I think power cross feed falls into the nice but not essential category.

I survived 25+ years with first a Zyto (ugh!) then a non-pcf Super 7. My first taste of power cross feed was after buying a Kerry AG23 and subsequently a L-series Harrison. Interests change and workshops evolve and my current hobby lathe is once again a Myford. It doesn't have power cross feed so I'm converting it.

Yes, I could manage without but, having grown used to it, being without it would be a constant irritation. Only you can decide how you will feel but I'd be looking for a machine that had it ready fitted.

If anyone is wondering why I didn't follow my own advice, the later Myford was added while I expected to keep the Kerry. Subsequent downsizing of the home workshop meant one or the other had to go. For the work I do now, the Myford is a better fit,so………………

Regards

Mike

Edited By Mike Henderson 1 on 08/11/2021 20:46:42

If you have a battery electric drill make an adaptor so you can use that.
Moving from a 240 to a Myford would be a bit of a shock unless you only make small things,
A more relevant choice might be to decide if you want a QCGB as often the PCF gets thrown in with that.

Yes, power x feed is nice to have for a consistent finish, or maybe for those with arthritis etc.
My first lathe after the Simat 101 was a plain Super 7, so no Power x feed. (I still have it)
I then picked up a Warco 720, Super 7B clone, with gearbox and power x feed.
Most recently a larger Warco 1330, again with power x feed.

When I had the S7 as my only lather, I added an independent electric feed to the cross slide.
Very simple, and I never did get beyond the prototype stage, as I found it so useful.
I needed a guard making and a better way of quickly detaching it.

Essentially it is a gear sitting permanently behind the cross feed handle, which I can drive via a small geared DC motor powered by a Triang or Hornby train transformer. DC so I can run it in either direction.
Since it's a variable voltage supply, I can change the speed rate/feed on the fly, which works well.
If I'd had variable speed on the main spindle, like your Warco, it would make for a versatile combinations of changing speed and feed separately as the working diameter of the facing cut varies.

My Warco 720 has a VFD package, so I can vary the spindle speed on the fly, which is nice, as it helps to maintain a constant tool cutting speed, but the more conventional gear head does not. It's sometimes quite noticeable on the GH1330, mainly with carbide tooling, that whilst the tool mark across a workpiece is consistent with power x feed, the finish can vary as the effective cutting peed decreases towards the centre.

My choice would be variable spindle speed, with variable electric cross feed.
You almost have that now, with the addition of a simple motor drive.

Bill

My first lathe did not have PCF, but the eventual replacement did. The replacement’s replacement has even better PCF (faster) and is on a marque which was nearly twice as expensive as a myford, when new, but good ones cost less than half of most myford offerings, these days. They are out there.

Welcome to the party my dear fellow ! Noel

Personally, I am ambivalent about PCF, I have it on my Colchester and have hardly use it over the years but don't have it on my ML7-R and never missed it or wanted it when when I enhanced the machine to almost a S7 spec. less gearbox. Concerning changing to a different machine, again I would have mixed feelings. Whilst at my age I will never be changing my lathes now, and someone will get some nice machines when it is time to sell, if I were younger I would be seriously considering moving to a new far eastern machine. I know that there are some superb examples of Myford machines on the used market from owners that have cherished them, but I can't think that this would be quite the same case with the larger old British lathes because as these obsolete machines pass from owner to owner over the years they must surely wear and deteriorate however well they are cared for and sourcing spares becomes either prohibitively expensive or impossible.

If the lathe is that good you might consider buying it anyway because, in my opinion, PCF on a lathe the size of a Myford is a luxury that is nice to have but would hardly ever be used. If you have so many photos of the machine you should be able to see if it has PCF by simply looking at the apron or for the keyway in the lead-screw.

The plunger that engages with the bull-wheel is not a Myford component or accessory, it is a dividing attachment that someone has made and fitted. Because the S7 has a 60 tooth bull-wheel it can be used to index 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30 and 60 divisions. This would be used with, say, a tool-post mounted drilling spindle or graduating attachment. You will find it very useful once you become more experienced with your lathe.

The two pointed screws on the counter-shaft are again not a standard Myford fitting. They have been fitted by someone to hold the Radford or George Thomas head-stock dividing attachment as is the small bracket above the gear-box. These additional components are identical to those on my own lathe which I fitted myself. The Radford/Thomas dividing attachment allow you to index the spindle through any number of divisions or degrees of arc and is very worthwhile accessory to make and use. I use mine mostly in conjunction with the Radford graduating attachment but is can be used for many operations that require accurate divisions.

You could do no better than to acquire a copy of George Thomas' Workshop Manual which will explain all this to you. It is not rocket science so don't be discouraged, if I can do it a mentally retarded chimpanzee can do it! Originally, I think, George Thomas published three books: one the Workshop Manual, one on Dividing and Graduating and another on building his Universal Pillar Tool. I believe that later all three books were condensed into a single expanded workshop manual, so check before you buy a used copy as to which edition you are getting. I think that the Manual is available from TEE Publishing and it is worth every single penny to the amateur craftsman, IMO.

Edited By Chris Crew on 28/11/2021 21:44:35

Might I just add that, if the previous owned has not already done it, it is worthwhile coding the available divisions on the face of the bull-wheel with coloured dots with enamel paint or coloured permanent marker pen. This saves counting the teeth when using the bull-wheel as an index.

I can't remember off the top of my head the colours I have used, they were listed on a note-pad in the workshop, but it goes something like this: blue dot at tooth 1 and 30 for two divisions, red dot at tooth 1, 20 & 40 for three divisions all the way round to maybe a yellow dot at tooth 1,3,6, 9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51,54,57,(60 or 1 again) for twenty divisions, I am sure you get the idea and its actually the tooth spaces that are marked, not the teeth themselves as, obviously, the plunger engages in the spaces.

Edited By Chris Crew on 28/11/2021 22:09:22

You sound as if if you are fairly new to Model Engineering, but that you have made a superb start with the lathe.

It looks to have been well looked after, and in good condition.

If you have the manual, for the machinme, study it.

And, if you do not already have, buy a set of Zeus Charts, and some books on using a lathe, by such authors as L H Sparey, Ian Bradley, Neil Wyatt, or Harold Hall. You can learn a great deal from them

A very useful reference book is Tubal Cain's "Model Engineers Handbook"

All the above will provide useful information, often answering your questions before you need to ask them.

With regard to locking things.

1 DON'T engage back gear as a means of removing a stuck chuck. Unless you want a second hobby or replacing gears with broken or missing teeth! There are less damaging ways of freeing a chuck, which folk mon here will tell you if you ask.

2 If you do want to use back gear, you must find and slacken or remove the grubscrew that locks the Bull wheel to the spindle. Otherwise everything will lock up because effectively you have engaged two different gear ratios to drive the same shaft. Which is impossible..

My firstb lathe was a ML7.

The replacement , and one of the reasons for buying it was the PCF.

Wouldn't be without it. Produces a far more consistent and better finish than In can.

If you wanted to, you could arrange the feed rate to produce a spiral, as if making a small self centering chuck.

You would have to be pretty skilled to be as consistent as that with manual feed.

Just my two penn'orth.

Howard