Which belt for Myford lathe?

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Oops!

[Roy VaughnParticipant @royvaughn26060]

Lathes.co.uk carry linked belts for Myfords and others.  Just fitted one, works fine.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I have heard many good comments regarding link belts used on various Myfords over the years. The Smart & Brown model A uses a link belt as standard between the motor and intermediate gearbox and they wouldnt use one if it was rubbish on a toolmakers lathe.

[old mart]

On old mart Said:

I have heard many good comments regarding link belts used on various Myfords over the years. The Smart & Brown model A uses a link belt as standard between the motor and intermediate gearbox and they wouldnt use one if it was rubbish on a toolmakers lathe.

I believe Boxford also used a link belt from the underdrive to the main spindle; not sure of which style they used, but the photos/drawings in the manual seem to show one with metal fixings for the links.
N.B. in my case at least, on the Myford S7 & Warco 720 clone, that style of belt fouls on the casting in places.

Bill.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

One of the initial problems I had was that the one RDG supplied supposedly for a large bore S7 was the wrong section, as it needs a smaller section than the ML7 (and possibly the standard S7?).

[gareth689Participant @gareth689]

So I have just fitted the Fenner powertwist belt which I found in stock on eBay.

Took less than 5 minutes to fit and seems to be running well.

I have some 8mm hss blanks which came with it, of which I did grind into a cutting tool and had a go on a large bolt I found. It cuts…wasn’t pretty but it took metal off!

[Charles LamontParticipant @charleslamont71117]

Agreed. If it had been a NuTLink belt in John Haines’ photo, it would have been the wrong way round. I don’t know what brand it is or which way it goes.

 

When tensioning the belt make sure both adjusting screws are loaded equally. If one screw is taking all the load, the U shaped diecasting that carries the countershaft can warp over a long time, eventually causing problems with the bearing alignment.

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Gareth, stay away from unknown bolts some can be horrible to machine, try and find some EN1A steel or Cz121 brass and possibly 6082 t6 alu to practice on.

[bernard towers]

On bernard towers Said:

Gareth, stay away from unknown bolts some can be horrible to machine, try and find some EN1A steel or Cz121 brass and possibly 6082 t6 alu to practice on.

It wasn’t as easy as I expected.  Second attempt was a bit better with smaller cuts.

i made what are probably completely useless punches from the bolts but I’ll have to try them one day to see if they stand up to anything…very much doubt it.

My end goal is I now want to make a coffee tamper from stainless.

I’ve ordered a load of offcuts of various stuff on eBay to practice with.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Is that material stainless or is it the picture ? Noel

[gareth689Participant @gareth689]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I have no idea what it is, it started as the bolts on the right.</p>

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Hey Gareth, try a magnet on it. If strongly magnetic then steel but it doesn’t look like BZP or hot dipped. Slightly magnetic SS 304, little or no magnetism SS 316. These numbers are only a guide. Put some of the swarf in a cup of water does it rust overnight ? Just curious. Noel.

[gareth689Participant @gareth689]

It is magnetic.  Just looked at the Screwfix description from when I bought them and it states carbon steel?  Not sure if that helps.  I’ll see if it rusts.

[gareth689]

On gareth689 Said:

On bernard towers Said:

Gareth, stay away from unknown bolts some can be horrible to machine, try and find some EN1A steel or Cz121 brass and possibly 6082 t6 alu to practice on.

It wasn’t as easy as I expected.  Second attempt was a bit better with smaller cuts.

…

 

 

I’ve ordered a load of offcuts of various stuff on eBay to practice with.

Keep Bernard’s warning in mind!   Beginners often start by assuming that their lathe must be able to cut whatever metal is put into it.   I fell headlong into this trap by picking up a random collection of scrap to practice on before buying a mini-lathe, and it took me several months to twig that my metal was all unsuitable, and I wasn’t the incompetent owner of an inferior lathe.

Many manufacturing processes do not require alloys to be machineable, and even if the one used was, the finished product is often hardened.   Scrap can be very nasty indeed, either from the get go or as a surprise in the middle of a job.  About half the Stainless Steel family work-harden, so if at any point the tool rubs instead of cutting, the job suddenly becomes very difficult.    Other metals are too soft, won’t produce a good finish, tear, or otherwise misbehave.   Bernard mentions EN1A steel, CZ121 brass and 6082 Aluminium all of which are specifically made to be machineable.  Look for words like ‘Free Cutting’ in the spec.

When things don’t go well the most likely cause will be either the tools, the operator, or the material.  I recommend learners start with known metal because trying to machine unknown scrap is an avoidable source of trouble.   Don’t dismiss scrap forever though!  With experience comes the ability to recognise and adapt to less suitable metals.  Rarely impossible to machine them, but they need more skill and may not be suitable for the job for other reasons.   Nuts and bolts aren’t beginner friendly for practice because what they’re made of varies enormously.

Dave

 

 

 

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