Imperial tee bolts for Myford?

[HillclimberParticipant @hillclimber]

Tee-bolts are bringing out the OCD in me. While I have been asleep, has the entire world stopped manufacturing imperial tee-bolts for the cross-slide of my S7? Am I going to be reduced to making these instead of doing the job I'm supposed to be doing?

It appears that I can only find M8 tee-bolts for Myford slides, but I'd like 5/16 BSF so I dont have to keep on checking that bolts and nuts match….

Does anyone know where I can buy them?

Cheers, Colin

[HillclimberParticipant @hillclimber]

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Chester? Dont kno if they are bsf

item 252791499511 on a well known site

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Myford.co.uk sell them. Of course you pays teh Myford price but you can't have it all ways I guess.

[HillclimberParticipant @hillclimber]

One would have thought!

The Chester set is 5/16 UNC (some convenience in same TPI as BSW, but does not include tee-bolts – just nts and studs).

Myford's larger sizes are 3/8 BSW, but smaller lengths are 8mm rather than 5/16 BSF.

See where we're going here?

Edited By Hillclimber on 15/08/2017 09:36:16

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

How about simply painting the odd ones in a clearly recognisable colour? Visual checking only takes milliseconds, so no great hardship.

[David George 1Participant @davidgeorge1]

How about making a few yourself. Mill a strip of steel to T shape tap holes and cut up and chamfer. Fairly simple.

David

[Swarf, Mostly!Participant @swarfmostly]

Posted by Hopper on 15/08/2017 09:30:57:

Myford.co.uk sell them. Of course you pays teh Myford price but you can't have it all ways I guess.

I think you'll find the current Myford ones are M6.

But they did list lengths of profiled steel strip – drill and tap your own holes.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Swarf, Mostly! on 15/08/2017 12:55:18:

 

I think you'll find the current Myford ones are M6.

Hmm, RDG parts leaching into the Myford side of the operation I guess. Shame.

I did buy some a while back but have not used them yet. Must check what thread I got. I had assumed they were BSF like the originals.  Oh well, that's what shifting spanners are for.

Edited By Hopper on 15/08/2017 13:33:13

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Could just change all your old outdated nuts too then you would only need to keep M8 in nuts, bolts and studs also easy enough to get hold of a bit of M8 studding if you want a non standard length for a particular job.

[larry PhelanParticipant @larryphelan54019]

Why not forget about B,S,W and B,S,F ect join the rest of the world [well,most of it anyway ] and go Metric.

No more messing around,just go out and buy your studding,bolts, nuts ect.. We changed over years ago,very difficult to get old bolts or nuts here,you have to look for them. I got rid of all my stock of Imperial sizes and changed everything to Metric,result—no more messing around looking for different sized spanners. Old spanners like these turn up all the time at boot sales,nobody wants them. I,m sure your lathe wont care what size your tee bolts are,just dont tell it !

From time to time I am asked to cut threads in BSF or Whit,for friends to repair damaged machines ect,but that,s about the only use I have for it.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by larry Phelan on 15/08/2017 17:48:42:

Why not forget about B,S,W and B,S,F ect join the rest of the world [well,most of it anyway ] and go Metric.

Because the lathe's nuts and bolts are all BSW and BSF, many of them screwing into castings etc, so unless you want to undertake massive work to replace them all, retap threads etc etc, you end up needing two sets of spanners, one for the original British bolts and one set for the metric additions. No matter which spanner you pick up, it is always the opposite system to what you need. Drives me nuts. (ohh sorry did not mean to do that.)

[HillclimberParticipant @hillclimber]

That's it, in one.

Call it anal, but I like my machine to be imperial, or metric, or SAE. I dont care, so long as it's one or the other. Same with cars.

And it seems the only commercial supplier of tee-bolts for the narrow Myford slots is Myford itself – hence disappointment their smaller sizes are metric, and that I cant find someone else knocking them out in BSF?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Have you tried Home and Workshop, they bought up a lot of new old stock and list 4" & 6" bolts about half way down the page, may be worth a call to see what the thread.

 

Failing that knock some out yourself, thread the ends of some rod, drill and tap a "nut" and silver solder the two together.

Edited By JasonB on 16/08/2017 10:47:22

[VicParticipant @vic]

Posted by David George 1 on 15/08/2017 10:10:46:

How about making a few yourself. Mill a strip of steel to T shape tap holes and cut up and chamfer. Fairly simple.

David

That's what I've done with the two mills I've owned, this is what milling machines are made for!

The same goes for "clamping kits". I've seen folks buy these and then never use half the bits. So much easier and cheaper to just buy the bits you want and make the rest.

[HillclimberParticipant @hillclimber]

Posted by JasonB on 16/08/2017 10:46:22:

Have you tried Home and Workshop, they bought up a lot of new old stock and list 4" & 6" bolts about half way down the page, may be worth a call to see what the thread.

Failing that knock some out yourself, thread the ends of some rod, drill and tap a "nut" and silver solder the two together.

Edited By JasonB on 16/08/2017 10:47:22

Cheers, the Myford 4" and 6" tee-bolts are apparently imperial anyway. But the smaller sizes metric. Of course, you cant just cut down the long ones, as they are partly threaded!

I may end up having to make 'em. Which would be easier if Myford sold imperial nuts I could tig onto threaded stock – but, yes, they're metric!

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Other option is to get a length of 1" bar and just turn that down to 5/16 and thread the ends, part/saw off to leave a disc at the end which can then be cut to fit the tee slots

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Seems like the ideal job for a shaper! When I get my ML7 up and running. That is what I will do.

Andrew.

[Niels AbildgaardParticipant @nielsabildgaard33719]

Posted by JasonB on 16/08/2017 11:19:53:

Other option is to get a length of 1" bar and just turn that down to 5/16 and thread the ends, part/saw off to leave a disc at the end which can then be cut to fit the tee slots

Another size same idea

http://i.imgur.com/cpSdaWM.jpg

Edited By Niels Abildgaard on 16/08/2017 11:31:13

[NigeParticipant @nige81730]

HillClimber: BSF nuts available from KBN Fastners. Just got 5 x 1/4 BSF for £1.20 delivered. No connection to firm other than satisfied custometr etc.

[HillclimberParticipant @hillclimber]

Nige, thanks. Of course, their ebay shop is closed for hols….

But we're talking tee-nuts for machined slots here, right?

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Myfords used to sell a length of tbar that you cut to size and drilled and tapped to suit to make t nuts or screwed a stud into

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Can't remember at the moment (senior moment) but awhile back may have been ebay

I purchased the 'tee' section in a strip around 10" long so it didn't take long to drill, tap and cut them up

H

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Posted by larry Phelan on 15/08/2017 17:48:42:

Why not forget about B,S,W and B,S,F ect join the rest of the world [well,most of it anyway ] and go Metric.

No more messing around,just go out and buy your studding,bolts, nuts ect.. We changed over years ago,very difficult to get old bolts or nuts here,you have to look for them. I got rid of all my stock of Imperial sizes and changed everything to Metric,result—no more messing around looking for different sized spanners. Old spanners like these turn up all the time at boot sales,nobody wants them. I,m sure your lathe wont care what size your tee bolts are,just dont tell it !

From time to time I am asked to cut threads in BSF or Whit,for friends to repair damaged machines ect,but that,s about the only use I have for it.

Wash your mouth out!!!!

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

Posted by Brian Hutchings on 16/08/2017 15:04:05:

Posted by larry Phelan on 15/08/2017 17:48:42:

Why not forget about B,S,W and B,S,F ect join the rest of the world [well,most of it anyway ] and go Metric.

Wash your mouth out!!!!

Interesting response but even Myford adopted M5, in place of 2BA and M6 and M8 capscrews in place of 1/4 and 5/16 BSF, for cost reasons before the 7 series lathes ended official production.

Personally I don't see the problem and happily mix metric and imperial especially for clamping on my old entirely imperial ML7 and all-UNC imperial mill.

Jon

Edited By Jon Gibbs on 16/08/2017 15:55:39

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