Full playlist: • DIY mini CNC Namaste by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/... Artist: audionautix.com/
During the last year I have spent a lot of my spare time stripping, scraping, filing, sandblasting and painting a Myford Super 7 lathe. My father bought it new seventy two years ago, when I was five years old. He used it for maintenance, jig-making etc. for the production machines in his contract precision engineering business. He passed it on to me forty years ago, and it was a source of joy until it went into storage when we moved to Hawkes Bay in 2008. Sadly, the storage was not as dry as we thought; when I next saw it fifteen years later it was a pretty sorry sight! After dismantling every nut, bolt clip etc., I know more about it than ever... many parts are still available from Myford U.K. And the moral of the story?... A LATHE IS A RUST MAGNET! Do everything you can to keep it protected, and dry. I envy you your new toy... enjoy yourself... I know you will work magic with it. 👍
DO NOT THROW AWAY THE OLD RODS! Beneath that rusty facade is a treasure trove of screws, nuts, standoffs, axles etc. etc. just waiting for the lathe to make them appear. 😊 (I know a couple of other people have already made this comment; I'm just reinforcing it)
I sandblasted some steel parts in Hamilton years back, coated them in ACF50 and 2+ years later there was not a spot of rust on them even though they we outside (but covered by an overhang).
I spilt some pcb developer acid in my parent garage years ago. Now everything steel rusts in there if its not protected. Only benefit so far that I have found is dimascus steel comes out nice after a month on the side. 😂
Looks like someone took advantage of the machineryhouse pre-xmas sale...I've been curious about those 'Optimum' lathes but considered the larger center lathes (blue color) to be a better long term purchase. Will be interesting the usefulness/mileage you get our of your purchase.
It took me six years and seventeen episodes to realise that the two curved bracing brackets were cut out of the base! Must pay more attention in future. 😉
I get the same effect if I don't cover my machines. (lathes, mill, my 2 home built grinders for crankshaft and cam shafts, the scroll saw) ....noticed the same on a face plate I had left out on the bench. You would get, I imagine, much higher extremes of moisture overnight in NZ than we do here but only cure was to make cotton covers for each machine........ Do NOT use plastic sheet covers. Works well. That plus a light rub with an oil rag after use. As for the lathe, think you will be disappointed to some degree if it is main land China made. Having had Myford (2x.....Speed 10 and an ML7 from 1954) in my workshop for many years one tends to notice poor quality machines. Mate of mine bought similar to what you have there and I tried it ...once.... never again. Seems the best of the Chinese brand are the ones made in Taiwan which turn out to be "not too bad for a cheapie". Another mate of mine has one of the AL-336 style (Taiwan made) which I have used from time to time due to the much larger material handling properties. There are work arounds on the China made machines to manage to get an acceptable level of output accuracy but when things flop around all over the place during setup, it can be frustrating. As for the old rods, don't be surprised if they are as-hard-as and difficult, if not impossible, to machine in a lathe. Think you'll find originals are "ground" to size.
In winter we often get fog where I can't see further than about 40 meters. Since discovering the same rusting issue on my big machine I have been covering it with a cloth which seems to have almost completely stopped any further deterioration. I think from now on everything will be getting a cover, well... depending on how much it cost me :) I'm not familiar enough with turning yet to be disappointed with this, at least that's what I'm hoping. There was a ML7 in the local auctions that I almost bought but I wanted electrically variable speed, 20mm spindle bore, and the hardened ways sounded better. The place that sells these ones was having a Christmas special which was what finally got me.
You'll be fine...just be ready to make allowances.....many machines require the same. I had an old milling machine to which I fitted a home built dro....in those days dro's were over AUD$1000) as long as I remembered to come at it so-to-speak from the same direction every time, all was near to perfect. (no backlash compensation ) used it for donkeys years and sold it to a mate of mine.....wish I'd kept it now as it was a better machine than the new one. Shit happens...:)@@iforce2d
