lifting a Myford S7

[Peter Simpson 3Participant @petersimpson3]

Just purchased a long bed S7, the motor has been removed. Where is the best position to fit a sling to lift it off the floor and onto a Myford stand. I have an engine hoist to do the hard work,

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

under the bed near the 2 mounting feet !  Or 2 stout fellows and just pick it up at each end.Noel.

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Just make sure the slings won’t press against the leadscrew, not a bad idea to use some wooden spreaders, just make sure they cannot shift.

Or as Noel said, two stout fellows.

Rob

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

A Myford is well within the capacity of two fit men to lift and quicker than messing around with an engine hoist. Unless, of course, you have a physical impairment or age related issues. My first workshop was in the back bedroom of a terraced house and a friend helped me carry an ML7 upstairs but I doubt that I could do it these days.

[Alan CharlestonParticipant @alancharleston78882]

Hi,

Speaking of raising things with a sling, I came across this video by Keith Rucker the other day.

If you start watching at about 8 minutes, you will see a spectacular fail. He was damn lucky it didn’t kill him.

Regards,

Alan C.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

It is normally recommended to pass the strop between the bet and leadscrew though on such a small lathe there might not be room. It can still spin round in the strop so pass a thin rope through the spindle to draw the strop, both falls,  to it. This does not put any weight on the spindle just stops rotational movement.

If someone has an engine crane or can get suitable mechanical aids then it is always preferable as it is not a straight lift as in sport weightlifting.

[ZanParticipant @zan]

Bolt a piece of 3x 2  at least 2’ long through the bed. Myford are very easy to tip over, the balance point is only just inside the rear foot, because of the overhanging drive unit.  This will allow easy control of the balance and positioning

[Alan Charleston]

On Alan Charleston Said:

Hi,

Speaking of raising things with a sling, I came across this video by Keith Rucker the other day.

If you start watching at about 8 minutes, you will see a spectacular fail. He was damn lucky it didn’t kill him.

Regards,

Alan C.

I stopped watching this chancer a long time ago. Got fed up with him begging for donations and hinting at things he could do with.

 

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

The manual for my Myford 254 had instructions for lifting. I think you can find the S7 manual on line, well worth having for other instructions

[Ches Green UKParticipant @chesgreenuk]

Alan,

Speaking of raising things with a sling,  at 9min 22 sec

Yes, he was very lucky. But good of him to leave his error in the video.

There were a few things I felt he was doing wrong….

– Dealing with high energies by himself…he needed another pair of eyes/hands to keep him safe

– The ladder he was high up on isn’t a good idea

– Sticking his arm through the spokes of the wheel made me cringe

– Standing under the wheel as it was removed

– and of course the chain wanting to slip along the axle as the CoG changes

But, as I said, very decent of him to leave the footage in. I think most of us have probably done daft things we knew were a bit risky at the time and got away with it. So a useful refresher course on H&S from Keith.

Ches

 

[JAParticipant @ja]

Neither my Myford Super 7 instruction booklet (No.723N) nor the book by Ian Bradley (really the former very much expanded) has anything on lifting.

Given the lack of lifting detail and a quoted weight of 245lb I would think that two strong men were used. The quoted weight was for a standard lathe with the motor but probably not the gearbox. From memory the gearbox was a bit heavy and, if fitted, I would not remove it for the lift.

JA

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Two of us lifted and carried a ML7, with motor attached.      Unwieldy, but quite doable.

Should be easier without the motor to unbalance things.

If lifting with slings, do ensure that the sling does not impinge on the Leadscrew and bend it!

If need be, make up a wooden spreader!

Howard

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

I’d remove the motor mounting and countershaft first, but ensure you will be able to refit them easily if the cabinet is near a wall.

I don’t know the shape of the S7 bed but if it’s anything like the ML7, take care that if you thread the sling behind the lead-screw that the front shear doesn’t push it outwards against the screw from behind.

If you possibly can, seek help with the lift.

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Back in the early 70s there was a man in  Cleckheaton who advertised in ME that could lift a Myford single handed.I bought a super 7 with gear box and he carried it about 50 yards and even placed it on the mounting studs. I think we removed the tail stock, but that was all.

Roy

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

I’d remove the motor mounting and countershaft first, but ensure you will be able to refit them easily if the cabinet is near a wall.

 

Nothing to do with lifting but putting a lathe back against a wall is not the ideal which is to put it to an angle with the wall. This allows access to the back of the lathe. However you need space, something I do not have so my lathe is against the wall.

If I could change things…….

JA

[jaCK HobsonParticipant @jackhobson50760]

Myford S7 std bed without motor – still a big lift for me (at the headstock end). Too much really if awkward space. Now the tail-stock end… simples.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Yes, two strong men of similar height may be able to lift a Myford lathe onto its cabinet, but strength is not the only factor in safely lifting heavy loads.

You need consider your own height and the height of the lift – once you reach a certain height relative to your body you start to lose efficiency and the load seems to become “heavier” and does become less stable. That height will be individual but typically starts at elbow height or a little above: Nature has had to make our arms the least-efficient order of lever!

Also – never twist your body while lifting something heavy, as that is a very easy route to a dropped load (you are wearing safety shoes…? ) and a badly sprained back.

It goes without saying (doesn’t it…?) that you never lift a heavy item by bending down to it, but by crouching and using your legs to provide the power, keeping your back straight and upright. Those who are parents will know what lifting-course tutors mean when they say toddlers lift even small objects correctly, by an instinct most of us tend to over-ride as grow up.

For short type like me I would consider dividing the lift into two stages, first onto a suitable, strong stand at about half-height in front of the cabinet, then from that to the cabinet, allowing a brief rest if wanted.

….

Engine-cranes….

… how?

Ideally that needs sufficient space to approach the cabinet end-on, and the crane legs being far enough apart to pass each side of the cabinet. Note too, it needs a lot of headroom especially with the jib at further extension above a properly-slung load.

These cranes are designed for a very particular situation: lifting, moving and lowering an engine supported above the crane legs, with vertical lifts, and in a roomy garage. They are of limited use where the front castors cannot pass below or each side of the load, and their manoeuverability even unloaded is poor.

An engine-crane is better than nothing but has serious space and moving limitations.

To re-assemble my machine-shop in a shed with a low ceiling, after a house move, I used tripods made from scaffold-tubes and their proper clips; supporting as applicable a chain-hoist, trailer-winch and block-and-tackle. I did not improvise rope slings but bought proper slings, shackles and eye-bolts, easily-available and not particularly expensive from, e,g, Toolstation or Screwfix. Augmented by screw-jacks, timbers, crow-bars and rollers.

…….

JA –

I agree a machine-tool should allow access round it but unfortunately many of we model-engineers don’t have the luxury of space to arrange ours in the herring-bone or rear-aisle pattern common industrially.

To accommodate my Harrison L5 lathe I had to cut the original motor plinth from the back*, which pushed at least the headstock end a foot out from the wall, build a separate motor frame above and behind the headstock, and cut pieces from the motor-belt / change-wheel guard.

My Myford lathe is against the wall, with the motor-shield / splashback screwed to a batten on the wall.

Milling-machines are very greedy for space, and recently, simply moving my Myford mill a mere six inches sideways and turning it square to the shed gained surprisingly better access to the awkward corner behind it, and to the end of the table.

…

*The scrapped plinth became a useful source of steel plate; some for parts of the travelling-crane I later built for the workshop!

[fastbertParticipant @fastbert]

It is definitely an awkward lift, in my case it took three of us, further hampered by having extremely limited space. The motor and gearbox were both on the lathe at the time which added significant weight, but I think the biggest problem was the unbalanced nature of the thing, the vast bulk of the weight is at the headstock end and there is a tendency for it to tip over towards the motor. I wouldn’t be inclined to try it again with less than three adults!

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

A Myford 7 with motor is a most unwieldy thing, but can be moved by two men, if they are careful.

If using slings use woodennblocks to keep thge slonbg clear of the leadscrew (Cut a slot out of the block, so that it cannot slip out of position).

Just take the weight and check that all is as you want it to be before really lifting.

The operator manual for my Taiwanese lathe actually shows it being lifted by an eye bolt in a fitting clamped between the bedways. Although when installing it we passed the dling under the tailstock end foot and around a bar through a convenient hole under the headstock.

We took care not to let the sling press against the leadscrew.

Howard

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