ML8 Mounting Template

[Tom K]

Hi Guys & Gals, I recently bought a Myford off the bay.
Fancied a dabble for some time and this one in Whitstable was within sloping distance.
Knowing nothing about the roundy stuff I thought it looked fairly lightweight and compact (Expected to tuck it under one arm while opening the boot.) so the deal was done.
Now when I bought it the thing was attached to a lump of ropey old pine but not very well so I want to construct a decent platform for it.
Its all fairly straightforward apart from the motor bracket.
Obviously the pulleys need to be aligned but I can't work out how far fore or aft the motor plate should be to account for the swing on the belt adjustment?
So a rather long winded way of saying..anyone have a template please?

 

[chill]

Hi Tom, I think I`ve got 1 at home that I used to set up my ML8, can`t check til the w/end as I work away during the week

 

[Tom K]

If you you that would be great

 

[chill]

Hi Tom,
sorry for the delay, just had a look in the shed and have got the fixing templates and instructions, if you P.M. me your address I will photocopy
them and post on to you

 

[Tom K]

Hi Chris. P.M sent. Thanks

 

[Tinbasher]

Hi all

I know this is an old thread but does anyone have a mounting template they could let me have.

I was given a lovely 36" ML8 the other day but I need to mount it.

Tin

 

[CHJ]

Welcome to the forum Tin. I'm sure one of the guys will help either with a copy of the template or some dimensions.


EDIT:

This Link might be of help

 

[Tinbasher]

BUMP in a forlorn hope

 

[Newboy999]

Hi Tom,
sorry for the delay, just had a look in the shed and have got the fixing templates and instructions, if you P.M. me your address I will photocopy
them and post on to you

Hi Chris

Do you still have the template and instructions? Happy to cover costs.

Cheers

Steff

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Optimistic, its being a thirteen year old thread.

 

[Jamesc]

The manual can be found here https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attach/124/124064-ML8.pdf

As for the template, al I did when mounting mine was to use a piece of paper and a pencil. Hold it in place with a bit of tape on the underside of the heaedstock/mounting foot and scribble over it, the holes will show up clearly.

 

[Newboy999]

The manual can be found here https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ukworkshop/data/attach/124/124064-ML8.pdf

As for the template, al I did when mounting mine was to use a piece of paper and a pencil. Hold it in place with a bit of tape on the underside of the heaedstock/mounting foot and scribble over it, the holes will show up clearly.

Thanks James. Really useful and helped me cut the hole in the bench top. I’ve looked at the manual for lining up the motorising unit with the headstock and I don’t find them very clear on how to make sure the pulleys are correctly aligned. Any tips that may help?

 

[Jamesc]

I must admit I had a bit of fun doing mine. There is some adjustment built into the motor mount so that helps. I put the belt over the middle pullleys and alingned it as best I could and marked the holes. It is very helpful to have a 2nd pair of hands. I was luck my wife helped (it is here lathe afterall).
Failing that on simialr jobs I have rigged something up using a car jack to hold things in place.
It is well worth spending a few minutes knocking something up out of scrap to hold things rather than trying to balance the motor on one knee while holding it with one hand and marking with the other as I have seen a friend try.

 

[Newboy999]

I must admit I had a bit of fun doing mine. There is some adjustment built into the motor mount so that helps. I put the belt over the middle pullleys and alingned it as best I could and marked the holes. It is very helpful to have a 2nd pair of hands. I was luck my wife helped (it is here lathe afterall).
Failing that on simialr jobs I have rigged something up using a car jack to hold things in place.
It is well worth spending a few minutes knocking something up out of scrap to hold things rather than trying to balance the motor on one knee while holding it with one hand and marking with the other as I have seen a friend try.

Sounds like fun . The car jack idea seems like the best option so thanks for suggesting that

 

[Jamesc]

You are welcome, please post a picture when you are done.

 

[Newboy999]

Thanks everyone for help so far.

I've got the lathe bolted in.

I now need help to change the drive belt. Can someone please tell me where I can get a replacement and how to remove the old and fit the new?

 

[Jamesc]

Looking good, to change the drive belt for a conventional replacement you need to remove the spindle, this is a real pain.
What I did is use some link belt. If you google 'Link Belt' you will get plenty of examples. I hesitate to recomend the type I used as whilst it works extremly well it was a complete pain to fit. A mate used a different make and didn't have any problems at all.
If you have one I would recomend looking up a local bearing supplier and going and have a chat with them.
To get the old one out, just cut it - I use a pair of heavy duty wire cutters.

 

[Normancb]

It's not all that hard to take out and replace the spindle but you do need to be careful not to damage the front bearing – new ones are available but at a price, and changing the bearings is a bit tricky. Let me know if you want more info.
When new, the ML8 was supplied with a link belt – mine is still going strong though I’ve had to take out a couple of links over the years as it stretched. The original one was leather but you can get new polyurethane ones.
Don’t grease the bearings – they run on light (ISO-32) hydraulic oil – just a few drops in the holes at the top – don’t flood the housings.
Unlike the metal lathes, Myford didn’t harden the spindle of the ML8 so both the threads and the morse tapers are more easily damaged. As supplied, the lathe had fibre washers on each end of the spindle to prevent faceplates etc. from getting stuck on the threads - easy to make a couple.

 

[graduate_owner]

I have owned a ML8 for over 40 years, ex school. Well built machines which, although dated by today's standards, will probably still be going long after some of their Chaiwanese counterparts with whistles and bells have met the scrap heap. I now have a Union Graduate (I was really pleased to get one, hence my name) and a Denford Viceroy so don't use the Myford much, but I have a 9 year old grandson so it might go to him to get him started in wood turning.

 

[Newboy999]

Looking good, to change the drive belt for a conventional replacement you need to remove the spindle, this is a real pain.
What I did is use some link belt. If you google 'Link Belt' you will get plenty of examples. I hesitate to recomend the type I used as whilst it works extremly well it was a complete pain to fit. A mate used a different make and didn't have any problems at all.
If you have one I would recomend looking up a local bearing supplier and going and have a chat with them.
To get the old one out, just cut it - I use a pair of heavy duty wire cutters.

Thanks James. Link belt ordered