Step by step milling in the Myford ML7 for beginners - updated and revised! 

Great video, I'm not sure if you know but we are RDG TOOLS and for the past 12 years now we have owned Myford Lathes trademark and have a fully functional workshop where we still build new lathes. We are based in Mytholmroyd West Yorkshire both shops are in the same place.

So, that's what can be done with my ML7. Had it under wraps for 20 yrs and used it sparingly. Your vids are reigniting my interest though, thanks.

Invaluable advice. Thanks a million.

Very informative. Thank you. I am definitely going to have a go on my Myford Super 7.

Thank you William as a complete beginner the video was a great help and has given me confidence to give it a try.

Thank you . Very patient , clear , thoroughly video’d through

Thanks for the ML7 milling info. Very clear and easy to understand.

Myfords are amazingly versatile, only downside is that when set for milling you can't "frustratingly" re-visit turning mode with out reverting all the machine back to turning mode, nicely explained for any beginners in the wonderful hobby. regards mr f

I greatly appreciate this, thank you. It's helped me understand the old lathe I just bought.

Just bought a Myford ml7r and myford vice and myford milling attachment totally newbe to this Hobby so this video was a godsend to me

Great video and very informative - thank you! Can't wait to apply these with my ML7. Greetings from South Africa!

Very clear video! Thank you for sharing your experience!

Very clearly explained and informative. Thanks!

Hello WW, A well presented video on milling on the Myford... I feel sure this would become one of your most viewed videos' Cheers. Paul,,

Good video and nice workshop

Thank you that was explained very well,and the volume was fine.

Thank you for all this.

Thanks for this one !

Great job thanks very much

Hello William As promised I have had a go at milling on my Myford Super 7 using a rigid milling slide. Wow, the results were incredible. No chatter on either aluminium or steel. I used two flute HSS end mills and was blown away with the results. First with 6mm and then 12mm. Astonishing result. 25 thou depth of cut in aluminium and 10 thou in steel gave a mirror finish on both. I have a small Seig SX1 milling machine. No way could I do this on that mill. It’s great for accurate drilling and micro milling, but no more. Definitely going to continue experimenting, especially with how to accurately measure the movement of the milling slide in the vertical axis, Once again thank you for your inspirational and informative guide. One very happy viewer here. 👏👏😀

Jack of all trades it seems. Side note please consider using an external mic, I did have a bit of trouble hearing you at points.

Nice video. Just a couple of things. I was always taught to start motor with belt disengaged. When aligning a vertical slide use your push back method but always place a parallel between the back of the slide and the front edge of the carriage. This is then removed for working. This provides a small gap. With them touching any chips getting between could cause problems. Also I tend to leave a setup over several days. If you set this up at night and left the surfaces touching in the heat of the day the expansion of metal could cause problems. There is way too much slack in the vertical slide. You need to unlock the handle locknut, tighten down the dial until slack is minimal then tighten up the handle. When I inherited my ML7 it had the same issue in all slides. 1 final thing you mentioned but didn’t show lamping of the carriage or the slides. Great video am now going to start perusing your other dies. Steve

Hi William, a great video for beginners to milling, you cover a lot of good points. Is that a Stuart steam cylinder in your video? I learnt to mill with a set up just like you have on my ML7, it works, but with light cuts only and a very restricted working envelope. Then I was very fortunate to come across an immaculate Myford VMB milling machine, what a quantum step in usability, but at a significant cost! A cheaper and fun way to increase your milling capacity is to get an old shaper machine. I got a tidy Boxford 8 inch shaper for 1/8 of the cost of my VMB mill. The tooling (HSS) is way cheaper and easy to sharpen compared to milling cutters. A shaper really complements a lathe and it's a fascinating machine to learn to use!! Regards Paul in NZ

I use an ER 32 collet chuck on a Myford backplate as a cheaper option than trying to find Myford collets. A 2in Stevenson collet block will just fit in the vice and is handy for milling flats and slots in round bar

I was under the impression you have to use special collets with a thread at the end to prevent the cutter from pulling out of the collet and cutting deeper and deeper into the work piece so do Myford sell such collets for their lathes or is it just not a big problem? Fingers crossed you see comments on old posts. 😊

That is a Hellava looking lathe.

Please could you provide a shopping list of parts needed, including serial numbers. Eg, Myford collet closure ring serial number 12345... Your videos are first class and have been very helpful to me. Thank you.

Nice video Can you tell me where you got your small parallels from. Cheers

Excellent tutorial! I'm a noob! Thank you. What size is your motor on the ML7? I'm looking to replace mine. It's not an original and my lathe is currently in peaces as I'm rebuilding it. Ive heard a common complaint that the ML7 is under powered. Thanks again!

Have you considered using a quick release DRO on your ML7 by Linn tools?

Very nice and helpful. Just thinking about milling on my lathe rather than purchasing a mill.

12:30 Saddle is Z axis, the other 2 axes are X & Y.

Where did you get those attachments? When I look on eBay there is an infinite amount of vendors that sell this attachment from India. Did you do the same or is yours a genuine British made?

thanks for the video. if I may I like to point few thing out that I slightly disagree with or maybe you can improve. The back lash on your vertical slide can easily be fixed by tightening the nut by the handle while turning the handle in the opposite direction. the statement that you need to run the lathe at full speed at all times is wrong. the speed is dependent on the size (diameter) of endmill used as well as the number of flutes compared to the material you are working on. Four flute endmill on aluminium is almost a never good idea as the flutes pack in too quick. On your milling demonstration you seem to be running at about 300 rpm not full speed. a very efficient method of squaring up the face of the vise is to use a dial indicator on the bottom of the vise and on the fixed jaw. this way you are 100% sure that the work is gonna be square to the two axis of the lathe anything else is just a gamble and presumption. Thank you for making this video I hope my comment will not be seen as a criticism of your work and effort but rather as a simple exchange of ideas.

Spindle direction axis is allways Z-axis

I have a unimat lathe mill combo with the power thread cutting attachment on it, is anyone making a video on how to use this little machine for the setup and use for the beginner. If it's like your video it would be perfect for me.

Do not overtighten the verticle slide holding down bolts as it makes the cross slide stiff.

I would have had more oil in the right hand res for the headstock.

It seems like you are breaking the rule of no upward force on the work in the milling footage. Shouldn’t the cutter be started at the back and bottom of the work if the spindle is turning conventionally?

5:25 So who is the fan of equipotential bonding ? #motor_bearing

The sound in this video is very quiet.

I once spent 9 months on a myford ML 7 making model chieftain tanks for the royal ordnance company that I was apprenticed to. And I'm truly sorry to all those out there that love these machine's, but it was a bloody awful machine...... (No doubt this will get loads of negative comments but in my defence I was on it at least 25 hour a week on it not a few hours on a weekend}

Ok the whole f$@kin video is a silent movie.

Sorry ,looks a good video but the audio is terrible

Can't hear you!

You made a right mess of that drilling table. Don't get a milling machine, you'll wreck it