My Myford ML10 isn’t set up correctly and I’ve lost the instructions

[Nigel WattsParticipant @nigelwatts49512]

My Myford ML10, bought by my late father in the 1970s and barely used, is now in my basement workshop in London. It's on a Myford steel stand but not bolted to the floor. I have just turned a six inch or so length of steel down to about 5/8" and the difference in diameter between each end is about 2.5 thou. The steel is supported in the three jaw at one end and by a revolving centre in the other. I have never touched the tailstock offset for taper turning (nor had my father) so I suspect the cause is that the lathe bed is twisted because the floor and or stand is not level.

The original instruction manual, which I am sure I have somewhere but can't find, gave (if I remember correctly) some detailed instructions about putting shims under the mounting blocks and turning test pieces to eliminate any twist. Can anyone tell me how this is done, and whether I have diagnosed the issue correctly?

Most of my work is on clocks so this level of accuracy is not that critical but I like to have my tools working as well as possible.

[Nigel WattsParticipant @nigelwatts49512]

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

A quick forum search using the keyword 'levelling' throws up a multitude of (mostly) useful info. Additionally, if you are into Youtube, there are a few videos on the principles of twist and alignment, one of the better ones being here.

IMHO, it is better to use a level, as it makes everything much easier, but others can, and do, disagree – the vital thing is to remove twist.

Rob

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

You should first test whether the taper's due to twist or tailstock offset. Try taking a series of light cuts on another test piece without tailstock support – let the spring cut run out completely – and see if the taper's the same. Also turn a 60 degree pointy centre with the compound slide, and then offer up the tailstock centre under a 20 or 30x magnifier and see if you can detect a misalignment in either plane.

I only bolted my Speed 10 onto a shop-bought wooden workbench and shoved it into the corner of the workshop, and I never got more than about half-a-thou problem in about a 4 inch test length.

[Nigel WattsParticipant @nigelwatts49512]

Thanks for the helpful tips.

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

Nigel, I won't repeat the method again here but if you PM me I will send you details of how to set up your lathe, without putting a twist in it using only a bar of metal and a DTI . I was shown how to do it by a very skilled engineer 50 years ago and have used it on a number of lathes. Once set up this way you may need to go through the shim and test piece route as per the Myford instructions .

Brian

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

The Myford ML7 manual is commonly available as PDF online with a bit of googling around. It has the same set up procedure AFAIK. Including the simplified version that does not need unnecessary faffing about with levels but rather relies on a simple turning test for a real-world result.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

From the horse's mouth:

MichaelG.

.

Edit: Apparently ^^^ Myford did not even expect you to do any turning 

Wish I could find some of their magic 1" diameter material !!

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 07/06/2019 07:51:03

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Your first task is to set up lathe set to turn parallel, without tailstock support, by shimming the feet, ( adjusting the riser blocks, if you have them ).

The instructions for setting up the ML 7 will be very much the same as those for the ML10.

See "The Myford Series 7 Manual" pp 41 and 42; Ian Bradley's "The Amateur's Workshop" pp 27 and 28, or L H Sparey's " The Amateur's Lathe" p 36 .

Once the lathe has been mounted so that the bed is free of twist, then you can adjust the Tailstock. With accurate centres, (Mount in the Headstock and trim up, if you have any doubt ) in both Headstock and Tailstock, The points should be on the same horizontal centreline. A check is to trap a thin shim, razor blade or steel rule between the centres, The metal should be vertical. If it is not, the centre heights are not the same, and this needs to be addressed,, before proceeding further.

Once you are sure that the centres are at exactly the same height,, you can apply the same check in the horizontal plane, preferably using an Alignment bar and a DTI to to check . The reading should be the same at both ends. The adjusting screws should be used to adjust the Tailstock across the bed, untiil there is no difference between DTI readings at Headstock and Tailstock ends of the Alignment Bar.

HTH

Howard.

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