Boxford Cud or ML7

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Lots of good and bad advice here. The REALLY important factor is the condition of the lathe and a lesser one being price.

I would rather have an ML10 in good nick than a clapped out Boxford and vice versa. I have a 9 x 20 Chinese lathe much modified by myself a good ML7  and an excellent ML10. If a good Boxford came along at an affordable price I would buy it.

Forget VFDs, bull wheel tooth count, headstock bore etc, etc.

CONDITION IS EVERYTHING!

Andrew.

 

 

 

 

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

My well used ML7 had back gear, and the alloy dials were replaced by resettable ones, when the longer cross slide was fitted.

I did not find it sufficiently rigid for milling, using a vertical slide, so bought a Warco Economy mill (The largest that would fit in the then current workshop)

Eventually, on retiring, sold the ML7 and upgraded to a larger and more rigid generic Taiwanese lathe, which has been use since.

Faced with your choice, although I’ve never used one, would plump for a Boxford, probably as extensively equipped as possible, AUD

Howard

 

 

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

All the series 7s and 10s have back gears and resettable dials are a doddle

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

If you look in Beginners Questions, there is a Boxford(Don’t know which one, or what is with it) looking for a new home.

Howard

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

The ML7 most certainly DOES have a backgear. It does not have settable dials as standard but may have been upgraded.The VFD is essential if the lathe comes with a 3 pahse motor and you don’t have 3 phase supply. It adds other benefit.

Robert.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Myfords do have Backgear. You’re thinking of a lot of the recent minilathes with variable speed instead of belt changes and gears.
The Boxfords come in 3 flavours of dial. Early ones copied the SouthBend with ones barely and inch dia, also on some of the simpler school ones I think, My 1952 model had progressed to about 1 1/4 in and the newest were finally getting sensible towards 2 in. However the size is less significant rather than the fact that they are cylinders not sloping. So it is trivial to make a larger plastic dial that fits over (nowadays 3D printed).

Myfords rarely come with a 3phase motor because they were intended for the home market. Boxfords more often did if they were used in schools however as most of the school stock has already been sold to amateurs the motor will either be swapped already or packaged with a VFD. Note the older 3ph motors tend not to have accessible star points for conversion although people on here will say they easily found them they were just lucky.

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