Today I acquired...........

[vw-al]

A lightning trip from Cirencester back up to somewhere near rugby again. Advertised on Facebook, it was in the boot of the car four hours after the advert was posted, thanks to world's best Wifey! We're still frantically making space so we can get it out of the car and put together in the shed, but it looks tidy, and comes with the milling slide too, among other things!

Great find Julian , I have the same lathe, I’m also in Rugby if you need any info or need to look/measure up anything, i’m missing a screw cutting indicator if you find a spare in any of your boxes

 

[julianthegypsy]

Great find Julian , I have the same lathe, I’m also in Rugby if you need any info or need to look/measure up anything, i’m missing a screw cutting indicator if you find a spare in any of your boxes

Hi All, I will certainly have a look! I wouldn't mind a look at yours to see how the motor mounts sometime either!

 

[Pete.]

Didn't mean to pee on your bonfire - it's a small and somewhat limber lightweight lathe so if you don't expect too much from it you won't be disappointed.
I got fed up with changing the gears. They are made from some gummy alloy and were the devil to press on and off the hubs. Also each time you change a gear you'll find setting them up very fiddly with lots of swearing and dropped bolts so leave plenty of room around that end cover.
If you set the gearing for a decent sliding feed rate the facing speed is far too fast so guess what you have to battle with those fiddly gears again.
See that red bit? Well, they break, that's why it's the wrong colour. See the handhweel on the apron? Well behind that there's a skinny three-legged housing that holds the traverse gear - they break too especially if the screws come loose.

TBH if it's your first lathe then like me you're probably pretty excited and there's nothing wrong with that just don't do what I did and have a go on anything larger or with a gearbox - it'll ruin you for using that little machine.

I think the most ambitious thing I did on mine was to bore out a turbo housing for my bike. It did the job but like every job I did on the machine it was a constant battle with chatter.

The good thing is if you got all the change gears you can cut both imperial and metric threads.

Here's the manual https://www.dropbox.com/s/9w9ci2th2ardp5d/atlas10fthreadcutting.pdf?dl=0

 

[julianthegypsy]

Thanks Pete, I'll refer back to this as I set it up. Fortunately, I don't need to do too much with it. Lucky, since I used to have a Harrison L5 many moons ago, which was tough as old boots and smooth as silk! The good news is that set up and running, with all the accessories, it would probably fetch enough to get another one, or preferably a small capstan. Meanwhile, ilI' have fun playing with it and setting it up!

 

[gaz1]

my opinion be happy with what you have

ive seen many a crib at myford and other lathes but its what we can get hold of and use makes the difference

as much as how we use them

 

[Browser]

I've got two 10Fs in me garage in the same state as the one you've pictured above julianthegypsy, they've looked like that for roughly 10 years I think as they're waiting for me to 'get round to making one good one' out of the two...…………..
I am determined though, that at te very least this year I'm gonna decide which one/bits I'm keeping and WILL sell the remainder.
Thanks for the warning Pete. The gears you refer to are made from an alloy called Zamak, comprising zinc, aluminium, bronze and copper (hell of a mixture eh?) and I always thought it looked 'funny', so I can see myself hand feeding a lot of the jobs I do instead of power feeding. I think it's a case of matching the job to the tool (as always), in an ideal world I'd have a double garage with a Harrison M300 in pride of place, but I'll live with what I've got

 

[julianthegypsy]

On a completely different note, I acquired a birthday present!

 

[gaz1]

adaptions if needed

or build my gearbox using other gears if you can

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/myford-ml7-homemade-gearbox.56156/

 

[DennisCA]

Went to the junkyard today, brought home some aluminum cut offs, price was 3€/kg, not sure if it's a bad or good price but now I got a stash of alu for later.

Managed to ID these as 4404 steel but didn't get any, not sure if I need some or if the material is particularly useful, there were several turning blanks there too:

 

[julianthegypsy]

my opinion be happy with what you have

ive seen many a crib at myford and other lathes but its what we can get hold of and use makes the difference
as much as how we use them

The only argument I have against myford is the prices they fetch, which often mean you could get something bigger and better instead. It's not a fault with the machines themselves, and I'm in awe of the work some people produce with them.

 

[eSCHEn]

Went to the junkyard today, brought home some aluminum cut offs, price was 3€/kg, not sure if it's a bad or good price but now I got a stash of alu for later.

Managed to ID these as 4404 steel but didn't get any, not sure if I need some or if the material is particularly useful, there were several turning blanks there too:

Dennis that is the cleanest and neatest scrap yard I have ever seen!

 

[God mode restorations]

As usual. You chaps just aquire to much good stuff. Going to have to step up a gear

 

[Hood]

As usual. You chaps just aquire to much good stuff. Going to have to step up a gear

Did you manage to type that with a straight face?
If so remind me to never play poker with you

 

[God mode restorations]

Did you manage to type that with a straight face?
If so remind me to never play poker with you

There was a slight twitching of the lip .

 

[slim_boy_fat]

@Dennis Aspö Great place to have as a source.

It wouldn't be safe to let some of us loose in there.

 

[Arc Tourist]

Where are the good, or any Junk Yards in South Wales ?

 

[DennisCA]

I have to say aluminium is a dream to turn!

 

[DennisCA]

@Dennis Aspö Great place to have as a source.

It wouldn't be safe to let some of us loose in there.

It's a great place to have nearby. There's also one near my work and one more in Vaasa. Though I am rarely in either of these places, just no time coupled with unsuitable opening hours.

 

[Hood]

I have to say aluminium is a dream to turn!

Depends on the grade, some of the softer grades and it is almost impossible to turn without some sort of coolant, other harder grades just chip away nicely if you get the feeds and speeds right.

 

[MattF]

Where are the good, or any Junk Yards in South Wales ?

Wouldn't the answer just be "South Wales"?