# Myford ML8 Lathe



## okeydokey (21 Nov 2014)

Hi -- first post
I have just bought a well used but overall in GWO a ML8, it looks as if somewhere along the line it may have had a coat of Hammerite but done nicely. I wrote to Myford asking if they had any records of serial numbers and dates so I could work out when the lathe was made but it seems they don't have any records of woodturning lathes and few or no spares. Anyone have a list? Mine is serial number N119763.
It come with a reversing toggle switch in a standard size electric light switch box, are these common or is it a rarity.
Thanks for any replies


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## Phil Pascoe (21 Nov 2014)

That could be the original finish - what colour is it? Silver grey?


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## dickm (21 Nov 2014)

According to an article in Woodworker about the time the Mystro came out, ML8s were generally made in odd batches, when the factory had time/space, so any date would probably be fairly approximate. The new owners of the Myford name seem mainly interested in the bottom line and don't even support the Mystro, so are unlikely to be helpful.


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## okeydokey (21 Nov 2014)

Hi Phil
Yes sort of silver grey but even when you look at every nook and cranny its the same colour but the bed must have been painted at the same time as its the same colour - just looked again there is no joint/crack in the finish where the bed goes into the head. So they were painted together if you follow. Assuming they didn't make any with painted beds!?


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## Phil Pascoe (21 Nov 2014)

I seem to remember mine (now sold) being N119xxx, in which case it would likely be early '70's. The actual round bed of yours is painted?


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## okeydokey (21 Nov 2014)

Yes it really is painted!
Im considering stripping it off but Hammerite according to the makers by phone this pm is indisolverable and its scraping it off or just sanding for eternity. They said never formulations might be attached with white spirit as its white spirit based but he said it would not really work and not recommended. While it looks ok and doesn't affect things I'll leave it alone.
So maybe early 70's thank you


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## okeydokey (21 Nov 2014)

Hmmm perhaps newer formulations not never


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## Phil Pascoe (21 Nov 2014)

You could "edit"


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## dickm (22 Nov 2014)

Surprising the Hammerite doesn't make the movement of the tailstock along the bed very "sticky". Might be worth a bit of elbow-grease removing it, both for the sake of ease of use and for appearance (if that matters)


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## okeydokey (23 Nov 2014)

Thanks for the comments, surprisingly the tailstock travels well and no sticky problems, the previous owner occasionally 'polished' the bed with wax polish and the paint is only worn in a few places where it touches. When you actually look at the contact points they are few so I will leave it alone for the timebeing on the if it 'aint broke' theory. Had a look at the motor a Crompton Parkinson seriously heavy item model VPB 564 wired with a toggle switch to make reverse - only when you have switched it off first. Anyone venture an age for thuis as it might be another cluse to the age fo the lathe.
More importantly the lefthand side of the headstock (outboard side?) has a large aluminium faceplate screwed on I would like to take it off but it wont give up its grip without a struggle, to start the battle does it unscrew away from you or towards you? 
There is no way of locking the spindle other than using the index plunger on the front but it looks flimsy and I don't want to run the risk of snapping it off. Any suggestions please?
Thank you


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## Phil Pascoe (23 Nov 2014)

Clockwise as you look at the jammed faceplate - the spindle screws into it. You should be ok locking the spindle, but you don't want to damage the pulley or the pin - it's a useful 24 index wheel. Have you a chuck on the other side you could put a bar through that would jam on the bed/stand? If not a faceplate with a piece of gash timber screwed to it would do. A little gentle heat might help.


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## wizard (23 Nov 2014)

good lathes i have broken lots of them for spares all the info you need here
[urlhttp://www.lathes.co.uk/myfordwood/][/url]


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## wizard (23 Nov 2014)

my short bed ml8 just use it for sanding and sharpening drill bits


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## okeydokey (23 Nov 2014)

Hi Phil
Consider yourself well and truly thanked - maybe there is a way of doing it properly on the system to increase your thanked score?
I have unscrewed the faceplate! Used much of your idea - in case its help to others in the future this is how I did it.
1. Screw a say 15" length of 2x 1 to the faceplate, put the screws on opposite sides of the diameter you then have a lever
2. If I had another face plate I would have done the same on the inboard side but instead jammed a spanner across the chuck jaws so that one end jammed against a block of wood resting on the bed.
3. Using the wooden lever (on the faceplate) give it a bit of tough pull then a fairly strong clout or three and it eventually broke the faceplate jam.
4. Next smile to yourself and say I knew that would happen as you find the chuck is as firmly stuck as the faceplate was.
5. Clean thread of debris and what looks liked baked on putty or boss white and oil faceplate so its runs free for future use.
6. Use a pair of mini stilsons or mole grips on the unthreaded part of the outboard spindle hold it still while you then lever the spanner in the chuck against the stilsons on the other side of the head and eventually it comes free.
7. Carefully file spindle a few strokes to remove small burrs
8. Go make tea
9. Update this log
thanks folks
regards


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## Phil Pascoe (24 Nov 2014)

If the threads were clean, the chuck shouldn't have stuck so hard that the stop wouldn't have been adequate for its removal, but job done anyway. To thank someone you click on the little "thumbs up" sign on the bottom right of the page.


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## Normancb (24 Nov 2014)

When the ML8 was new it was supplied with a pair of fibre washers, one for each spindle thread, to stop the faceplates from jamming (there were no scroll chucks in those days)

Unlike the ML7 metal turning lathe, the ML8 spindle is not hardened, so the threads can be damaged quite easily. With the fibre washers in place the index plunger is all you need to lock the spindle - I've been using mine that way for 30+ years without any problems.


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## okeydokey (24 Nov 2014)

Good idea, in the absence of fibre washers and where do you get them nowadays I guess its back to the cornflake packet and cut some out - but I will measure up and see I can get some first. As you've had your lathe some 30 years so maybe it 80's? what's the serial number as I would like to date my one which is s/no N119763. Im only 15 miles from Brighton you haven't got a box full and I could buy a couple from you?
regards


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## Normancb (27 Nov 2014)

My lathe is serial no N128276 and it came from Buck and Ryan in Tottenham Court Road in October 1976 which seems to suggest yours is earlier.

Fibre washers aren't all that difficult to get hold of. You could try a call to these guys who seem to do a vast range:

http://www.rhnuttall.co.uk/washers/fibre-washers/

They also sell the sheet material so you could make your own

The washer on the inboard side of the ML8 is 1.13" i/d x 1.50" o/d. The outboard one is 0.90" i/d x 1.6" o/d

I've not got any spares for the inboard end though I do have a couple for the outboard. I've also got a tool I made up for extracting the bearings if they need replacing - I've done mine once.


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## okeydokey (27 Nov 2014)

Thanks Normancb
The dating info is very useful. 
I will see if rhnuttall can help as suggested; I think the bearings are sound but if its gets down to replacement I will be in touch if that's ok.
cheers


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## okeydokey (28 Nov 2014)

Hi Tried rhn as above very helpful and pleasant people they do a bespoke washer making service everything is made to order, they dont have 'a box of washers' you want one they make it. £10 for 4 washers so I'll make my own up.


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## graduate_owner (18 Dec 2014)

I bought a ML8 about 34 years ago from a school. Mine is yellow-ish. They were then painted silver, and finally green before production stopped. The stands were painted to match. I also have a Myford / Drummond metal lathe and that had a seriously stuck chuck on when I bought it. A length of timber fixed to the chuck backplate and quite a few belts with a baulk of timber later - and it was still stuck solid. Someone had been trying before me and had stripped some teeth off the back gear in doing so. In the end some gentle heating enabled me to remove it with minimal force. It's a handy lathe because the spindle nose thread is the same as the ML8 so I can swap faceplates, chucks etc. I was thinking to try some ornamental turning with it - perhaps one of these days!! I also want to try thread cutting - again something for the future.

K


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## Robbo3 (18 Dec 2014)

Make your own washers out of a plastic milk container. I've been doing it for years. It's probably the most hard wearing & consistent thickness plastic in everyday use.


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