Dear members, thanks very much for your warm reception and helpful suggestions.  I hope to have time to look into local clubs and perhaps meet some of you there.  At work I used to have access to a nice Harrison, a big Colchester, and a couple of mills, a Bridgeport and a modern Chinese one whose name I never knew. Plus a very skilled and knowledgeable expert machinist who was in charge.  Having left to work solo, I miss the workshop facilities!  Like Paul’s reply I had previously made some quite demanding small parts on the Bridgeport, it seemed to behave pretty well and allowed good manual control.  I’d like to find a tabletop mill rather than a full size one, with a similar “nice to use” feel to it.

My lathe is a standard ML7, not a Super. Inherited from a friend, and in very good condition. His father had it as his works machine in the 1950s/60s and when he retired, they sent it off to Myfords for a complete regrind and then gave it to him as a retirement gift.  I suppose they thought he could build his own pocket-watch with it 🙂

I’ve just acquired a ML1, also in great condition, as a gift for my father-in-law.  It has a 7/8″ 9TPI spindle so a sleeve to bring it up to ML7 size looks like a good idea, otherwise getting chucks etc will be impossible.  It does have one chuck, a really lovely 3″ Burnerd, but allowing faceplates etc will be useful and there is nothing out there in 7/8″.  So that is going to be a nice little ML7 project…

Julie – I have another engineering friend in Highfields, and it’s a very short drive from home in town – perhaps I might visit and admire your mills at some point?  What is the non-Bridgeport one?

cheers all,

Miles