What happened to the Myford sale thread?

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

Don’t forget there is still Cowells.

They are still in business.

I know, small lathe but still very well made.

regards David

 

[Roger WoollettParticipant @rogerwoollett53105]

> Don’t forget there is still Cowells.

Yes – long may they survive. They not only make the small lathes but an excellent small milling machine.

[StovepipeParticipant @stovepipe]

Agreed. I’ve got two of their lathes (one for each hand) and their milling machine, and I’m delighted with them. My only problem is spending enough time on them to maximise their use. SWMBO insists that I talk to her occasionally.

 

They are the sort of firm that need our support.

 

Dennis

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

There is a useful write-up on http://www.lathes.co.uk/cowells/ which includes some of the ancestry of this excellent little lathe.

I think this might be the right time to start a new thread, to gather information about Flexispeed/Perris/Cowells.
… old catalogues, photos, articles, users’ opinions, etc.

Any offers?

MichaelG.

[MalcParticipant @malc]

Thinking of going up to this sale tomorrow. Was really looking for a cheap vertical slide for an ML7. Could also use a pair of oilers and cross slide graduated discs. Does anyone think I might be lucky?

 

Malc.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Oilers and dials come under spares so there will be none.

 

As regards a cheap vertical slide it will have to be a secondhand model and I didn’t see one there, not saying there wasn’t one, just I didn’t see one and we had had one day open to the public for them to buy.

 

Ironically RDG had all these parts in stock before they bought Myfords.

 

I have to return to Myfords, probably on Tuesday to measure a machine up for the riggers, I will see how the sale went on and post accordingly.

 

John S.

[Bob n AboutParticipant @bobnabout]

I’ve been saving for over two years to get a Myford VME….. Looks like that isn’t going to happen. Not a new one…. My condolences to all at Myford on these sad couple of weekends.

 

 

Joules

Edited By Joules Beech on 16/07/2011 18:58:06

[david newman 9Participant @davidnewman9]

People are saying that Myford lathes were too expensive but how many man hours would go into producing say a Super Seven B ? A damn lot I would think.. When you think that a skilled man today in this country must be on probably £15 per hour., so unless our workers in industry start working for a bag of rice a day they’re all doomed.

Edited By david newman 9 on 16/07/2011 19:28:21

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Yes David. It’s just another case of the productive working man being dragged down by the multitude of officials, pen-pushers and all the other ‘qualified-up-to-their-eyeballs’, hangers on.

 

 

Martin.

[Andrew EvansParticipant @andrewevans67134]

British industry is doing pretty well these days and producing some of the most innovative products in the world – so I dont buy this myth of the sad death of British industry, it’s just changed and involved.

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

For the record, a large number of spares were bought before RDG bought the remainder in the stores. It’s a well known vendor who will be making them available. An announcement will be made shortly.

[BuzzaParticipant @buzza]

Posted by Andrew Evans on 16/07/2011 20:05:31:
British industry is doing pretty well these days and producing some of the most innovative products in the world – so I dont buy this myth of the sad death of British industry, it’s just changed and involved.

Yes, into foreign ownership.

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

They did have some VMCs there.

Might be one left.

regards David

 

[Geoffrey Laycock 1Participant @geoffreylaycock1]

Whatever the outcome it is likely a very sad weekend for the many people working with Myford in one way or another. We are all bound up in thoughts of what this means for us, let’s remember them also.

 

I would like to say a big thanks to everyone at Myford who have helped me in the past.

 

I would also like to add, rather late, my condolences regarding Mr Moore snr. Been nice chatting with him on occasion. A terrible time for the family.

 

Just to indicate what a loss this is going to be, only last week, when I made my original post, I had been contacted regarding payment for two items I ordered. I needed to send a cheque as they couldn’t take card payment. Incredibly quickly the items then arrived. I ordered the small Keats angle plate and adjustable chuck backstop.

 

Both are super items, with the Keats plate in the usual amazing quality box we all associate with Myford. We are going to miss them a lot!

 

Many thanks again everyone at Myford

 

Geoffrey

[Carl O’BrianParticipant @carlobrian30559]

I visited the Myford Final Sale yesterday. Found a brilliant little lathe with third of the price off. Brilliant condition. BARGAIN. Bought a couple of parts to go with it yesterday however I definitely will be popping back today to buy some oil and a couple of the books that were on display. Go and have a look there is still a lot of stuff there to be bought.

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

Someone has asked the question:

What is the situation with the warranty on a new Myford Connoisseur that I bought a few months ago?

Also, what is the warranty situation on all the lathes sold in the sale.

Are they sold as seen with no warranty?

As you can not pay by card, you don’t have the benefit of the card companies protection.

regards David

[9fingersParticipant @9fingers]

Sounds like there will be no Myford company there to support warranty claims for existing machines or those sold over the weekend.

 

I can’t imagine any business buyer picking up the warranty responsibility without the ability to back it up with the full range of parts.

 

Bob

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

If theres no warranty, I would be using that to bargan the price down, loking at 50% at least. Only thing is there is no time. Ian S C

[NJHParticipant @njh]

I guess Bob is right however if I had just bought a new machine I don’t think I would lose too much sleep over it. This kit is built to last and is finished to a high standard. My S7 of late 90’s vintage (S/H and lightly used) will see me out I’m pretty sure. Look at the number of old machines about and still running. Spares for the future? who knows we must just wait and see.

Very sad to see Myford disappear they were always very helpful and friendly when I posed even the most footlin’ query. Good wishes to all the staff who have made my experiences with the company so pleasant.

 

Norman

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

I have spoken to Chris Dickinson of RDG this morning.

They have bought the Myford name and most of the spares as well as the rights to make the components and new lathes if they wish.

 

They will be setting up an E-commerce website to sell the spares. They estimate this will take about 3 months.

 

The really good news.

RDG will continue to sell the imported parts under the RDG label but the new Myford business will be separate and they will be having the genuine Myford spares made in the UK.

 

RDG can be contacted at

 

rdgtools@aol.com

They will answer all emails but as you can imagine, they will be snowed under.

 

Good news all round.

regards David

 

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Just got back from Myfords.

RDG did not buy all the jigs and fixtures as I was previously told by them.

They were bought with everything else by the Asset management company and because there was no buyer for them, they have all gone in a skip and down to the scrap yard.

 

Read into this what you will.

 

John S.

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

They seem to be rushing all this unnecessarily.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

In all fairness and thinking about it the jig method of manufacture it is old school.

 

Take something like a headstock, from a casting with one machined face it probably went on 10 to 15 jigs for holes to be drilled in various locations, housings bored, hand or machined tapped and holes at angles for things like the tumbler location holes.

 

Some even put in on final assembly.

 

Today the casting would be gripped in one fixture and all the machining done on all faces by a 4 axis CNC, everything done at one setting by a multitude of different tools in the carousel.

 

The onus today is to do as much as possible without any jigs.

 

If everything is done to a high standard and most importantly high tolerances as Myfords always maintained then why did it take so many man hours to assemble a machine.

 

I know this is a demonstration video to show what the machine can do but watch this.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsmiIeAkE-o

Then imagine how many machines and jigs would be needed to make this old school.

John S.

[Eric LougheedParticipant @ericlougheed54619]

Just watched that video – I’m gob-smacked! Admittedly there were many time-jumps, but it’s still amazing that it can be done at all.

However, that’s not at all helpful to those subscribers who are struggling just to develop the most basic engineering skills – often later in life, since only after retirement may we have the resources to devote to any sort of workshop.

The exotic and highly refined engineering shewn in the magazines is impressive, but can be discouraging . Often the amateur newcomer wants much more basic advice, demonstration and instruction.

Eric Lougheed

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Eric,

Don’t be discouraged, what you are seeing is an example of what can be done to encourage people to buy the machines, I have used these type of machines in industry but still get great pleasure turning handles on my manual lathe and milling machine..Basic engineering skills are as relevant today as they have always been!

Tony

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