Calling all machinists...

Hi All,

Some of you might know that I'm an engineering student and this has brought about the de-mothballing of my Dad's old lathe. It has been in storage for nigh on 30 yrs but needs resurrecting. It's an old Myford ML7 lathe and any knowledge from the lathe-rists, (that's laserist with a lisp!), will be welcomed. We still have the original manual and will be in touch with Myfords to get a few essentials but any tips will come in handy.

Thanks in advance,

M

Have fun is the most important thing to rember, right next to safety

Ahh, Jeff, it had to be who to be first!

Fun and safety go together. I like to call it, "Funety"!

This piece of kit is a classic and I can't wait to be turning out standard pieces but it's all about calibration in my book. Get the basics right and all that follows will be on spec. What machine do you use? In the manual I have, (and it is so dated it's only one step step from hand written!), it talks about levelling. Is this critical or difficult? Do I really have to bolt this thing to the floor?!

Do you use 3 phase in the US? I have a single phase motor but I think it's overpowered at 2HP when the recommended is 1/3-1/2HP single phase. It's funny that my next college exam is how to wire a 3 phase, start/stop/reverse, machine wiring loom!

I'm hoping the personal drive towards perfection will carry me through on this one because the Calculus of differentiation and intergration is baffling me!

Any help is always welcome!

M