Myford ML4

This topic has 18 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 29 July 2014 at 10:11 by Brian Wood.

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18 June 2014 at 19:10 #17418
Malcolm Stubbs
Participant
@malcolmstubbs83038
Refurbishment
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18 June 2014 at 19:11 #155678
Malcolm Stubbs
Participant
@malcolmstubbs83038
I have just acquired a Myford ML4, which I intend to refurbish. It is in need of some TLC I don't thing there is anything major except no screwcutting gears and the half nut needs attention/replacing. The motor cable should be renewed but the motor itself is fine. I would not expect to get ML4 spares, but will ML& spares fit. Has anyone experience of refurbing a ML4 and can offer any advice/warnings/supplier information.

Thanks
18 June 2014 at 21:40 #155685
NJH
Participant
@njh
Ah the ML4 – fond memories for me – this was my first lathe about 40 years ago. It was old then and had a flat belt drive ( a stitched leather belt which may at one time have held up a previous owners trousers!) The big advantage was that any dig in etc instantly threw the belt off the pulleys thus avoiding disaster.

The short answer to your question Malcolm is probably no I'm afraid. The ML4 is a very old lady now and the ML7 was different in almost all respects – so I guess you are into making any parts that you need. Things like a vertical slide will fit the "T" slots OK though. Maybe (??) 7 series change wheels might fit ??

I learned a lot from my ML4 and had a lot of fun with it. I sold it on to a mate and I think he is still using it.

Good luck anyway and enjoy it.

Regards

Norman

Edited By NJH on 18/06/2014 21:41:38
28 June 2014 at 21:55 #156531
Kevin F
Participant
@kevinf
Hi Malcom , I own a Myford ML4 ,they're a good lathe,but there not in the same league as the ML7/ super 7's but are capable of turning out accurate work , I can hold a 0.002 thou tolerance during a batch run .

When I purchased my lathe I was of the opinion that all Myford parts would be interchangeable between the Myford range ,I had grand visions of fitting a screw cutting gearbox amongst many other accesories ,but unfortunately this didn't materialise because of the ML4's bed and head stock design .

The good news is that some Myford items are interchangeable ,face plates ,3&4 jaw chucks , screw cutting gears will fit but some may need to have a bush fitted to the internal diameter of the gear ,number one morse taper drill chucks fit the tail stock ,quick change tool posts are also available from various suppliers ,RDG tools ,Chronos to name a few .

I've had many hours of enjoyment on my ML4 and gave carried out several modifications to improve things further ,but these mods have been carried out sympathetically as I'd hate to see a piece of Myford history being butchered ,if you need any help ,send me a message or email and I'll help and advice where I can .
28 June 2014 at 22:30 #156537
NJH
Participant
@njh
Kevin

Are you quite sure that the spindle nose thread on the ML4 is the same as the 7 series? As well as the ML4 I had an ML10 for some time ( which is the same spindle size as the 7) but I don't remember the chucks being interchangeable. The headstock & tailstock sockets on the 4 were certainly No 1 MT as against No 2 MT for the ML10 and ML S7.

Norman
29 June 2014 at 11:33 #156566
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Hello Malcolm,

I inherited my late Father's ML4 which he bought in 1945 and then had 20 years or so experience with it.

All Myford change wheels are 20DP of 14.5 degree pressure angle, the more modern ones will fityour lathe but are now linked with a keyway drive rather than the steel hub pin [ 3/64 inch diameter I recall ] that was used in those early lathes.

The spindle nose is 1.125 inch x 12 tpi Whit for chuck fitting with a plain register of the same diameter. I modified Dad's lathe with a collar machined in situ to give a new register diameter of 1.250 inch diameter to accept the ML7 size backplate fittings for chucks etc; a worthwhile modification. Both the X slide and top slide feedscrews are 12 tpi fitted with 100 division index dials so there is a built in 2% error in positioning to take account of. The Bull wheel is 55T an awkward number for division purposes.

You will get used to winding the saddle the 'wrong' way and no doubt the choice of words needed to get the tailstock properly aligned down the bed with the quite dreadful arrangements built in to frustrate you. A little tip is to fit a 1 MT taper shank drill that runs true into the tailstock socket and grip the drill shaft in an accurate 3J chuck with all those fiddly bolts on the tailstock saddle loose, then tighten things up, checking that the tailstock clamp doesn't then disturb the setting. Even that is a slow process but a doddle compared to freehand methods.

I still have the handbook if you need more information which I would be happy to copy for you send me a pm if you would like that help

As I said, I got a further 20 years of good work out of it and grew quite fond of it over that time. It sold well when I upgraded to an ML7.

Kind regards

Brian
29 June 2014 at 12:15 #156574
Chris Trice
Participant
@christrice43267
My very first lathe was a Myford ML2 (which is what I think yours is because it uses flat belts. The ML4 used v-belts). I paid ?200 for it about thirty years ago. It served me well as a starter lathe. I sold it for the same price although I think I’ve still got the original swivelling vertical slide for it somewhere. Painted a bright blue (original) colour as I recall.

Edited By Chris Trice on 29/06/2014 12:16:09
29 June 2014 at 13:44 #156586
Kevin F
Participant
@kevinf
Posted by NJH on 28/06/2014 22:30:29:

Kevin

Are you quite sure that the spindle nose thread on the ML4 is the same as the 7 series? As well as the ML4 I had an ML10 for some time ( which is the same spindle size as the 7) but I don't remember the chucks being interchangeable. The headstock & tailstock sockets on the 4 were certainly No 1 MT as against No 2 MT for the ML10 and ML S7.

Norman

My ML4 lathe spindle nose thread is an 1 1/8th by 12tpi I thought all Myford lathes had the same size thread .

The ML4 doesn't have the same size register ( the ML4 has a plain register ) and the ML 7's have a 1.250" register,

I got around this by making a bush to accept the ML7 accessories .

Edited By Kevin Fenrich on 29/06/2014 13:46:49

Edited By Kevin Fenrich on 29/06/2014 13:49:07
29 June 2014 at 15:54 #156604
NJH
Participant
@njh
Chris – you may have it right. The advert I responded to ( many years ago) was for an ML4 and when I viewed and purchased it that is what I was told. ( In good faith I'm sure). Looking now at the appropriate page on Tony's site though LINK maybe the ML2 is more likely. Mine was painted grey and there was no evidence of any other colour underneath.

Brian also highlights another quirk – the fact that the carriage traverse acts directly on the rack without an intermediate gear. The direction of movement of the carriage is thus opposite to what might usually be expected – something to learn before operating too near the chuck!

Malcolm I'm sure that you will have a lot of fun with your project – how about posting a few "before" and "after" pictures here – or, better still, a diary of your progress? It would be a nice trip down memory lane.

Norman
29 June 2014 at 20:34 #156622
Malcolm Stubbs
Participant
@malcolmstubbs83038
Gentlemen,

Thanks for the guidance, as to some of the points mentioned. The spindle nose is 1.125 inch, colour original of mine was grey, it's now down to bare metal, there were some traces of red so I suspect that the underneath was red leaded. As to posting pictures that would been a good idea, wish I had thought of it before, but it is now in bits, almost ready for repainting (grey).

As to the X and top slide index plates mine are 0-80 so I will have to check the travels. It sounds like making a bush is one of the first jobs post refurbishment.

Thanks again

Malcolm
30 June 2014 at 10:03 #156653
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Malcolm and others,

My mistake, I was confusing myself.

To set matters right, the index dials on the ML4 ARE 80 divisions, not 100 as I said, but because the feed screwa are 12 tpi each division gives 0.00104 inches of slide movement, a figure Myford very pragmatically said was sufficiently accurate for most purposes.

Sorry about that, anno domini I suspect.

Brian
30 June 2014 at 19:22 #156713
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Malcolm,

I've sent you a PM

Brian
1 July 2014 at 18:19 #156765
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Hello Malcolm,

I've looked at your reply which seems to be completely blank! So, still can't help you.

Brian
2 July 2014 at 20:51 #156866
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Hello Malcolm,

Gremlins rule with email exchange it seems unless you used a dash rather than underscore in my address, it wouldn't work then of course.

This is mine wood_y [at] btinternet.com

Regards Brian

Edited to stop spammers grabbing the email address, just put the @ back in.

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 02/07/2014 20:57:28
2 July 2014 at 23:03 #156880
Robbo
Participant
@robbo
Malcolm,

In 1997 there was a series of articles in MEW on upgrading a Myford 'M' type, which had the same apron type as the ML4.

The articles included making an extra gear in the apron so that the handle was turned the 'right' way

If you have access to the digital archive you can find them there.

Phil
3 July 2014 at 09:52 #156905
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Hello Neil,

Thank you for spotting that, I'll try to remember the dodge next time I send my address

Brian
28 July 2014 at 19:06 #158946
Dean Godfrey-Cooke
Participant
@deangodfrey-cooke74440
Malcolm, if you manage to get or make a spindle adapter for ML7 backplates please let me know, using could really do with one
28 July 2014 at 19:22 #158948
Malcolm Stubbs
Participant
@malcolmstubbs83038
Dean,

If you have a look at an earlier post by Brian Wood, he describes fitting a collar and machining it in situ. Perhaps you could contact him for a fuller explanation. It is a job that I will need to do, but it is someway down the list.

Malcolm.
29 July 2014 at 10:11 #158982
Brian Wood
Participant
@brianwood45127
Hello Dean,

It was simplicity itself and it certainly doesn't need a drawing.

All I did was to machine a collar in decent quality steel to be a snug fit on the existing spindle diameter of 1.125 inch diameter, having a generous chamfer to the bore on the headstock side to clear any radiused transition from the face of the shoulder. Length was sufficient to leave the nose thread fully exposed without overlap..

It was then loctited into place, left to set and machined in situ to 1.250 inch diameter to match the Myford ML7 spindle nose register diameter. Finish it on the thread end with a small 45 degree chamfer.

The job took almost as long as it did for me to describe it!!

Kind regards Brian
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