Too many lathes

[graduate_owner]

I used to have just my old Myford ML8. (Started off with a B and D attachment - yuck). Then I thought a metal lathe could be handy and I managed to get hold of a Myford M series (Drumond type). Then a Union Graduate bowl lathe came along and I couldn't resist it. That was closely followed by a Colchester Master which my friend was selling, and it was nearby and reasonably priced, so .... My final (this really must be my final) acquisition is a Viceroy which is more solid than the ML8 and has greater capacity.

I'm thinking 5 lathes is too many, and I have to walk a tortuous path to get from one end of my workshop to the other. The Myfords will just have to go. I shan't miss the metal Myford but my old ML8 has been a companion for over 30 years.

I will bite the bullet soon. I will have to.

K

 

[paulrockliffe]

I picked up an ML8 just this very day as it happens!

 

[graduate_owner]

They are nice old machines, well made and reliable. Very expensive in their day. The stand alone cost over £200 in the 1980's.

K

 

[Stiggy]

Show off!



Reminds me of my early 20's when I had 5 cars and 2 motorbikes! The bikes were both keepers, but the cars I used to buy, do up and flog for spare cash.

If you want to give me a lathe I won't complain sir!

 

[graduate_owner]

It's not really a matter of showing off, well not intended to be anyway. It is more an indication of how things develop without ever intending to go that way. I really don't need 5 lathes and I don't have the space, so two will just have to go. Bye bye Myfords. It is a bit unfortunate because I was thinking of using the metal myford for wood - screw cutting, perhaps simple ornamental turning etc becaust the spindle thread is the same as the ML8, but that would probably never happen anyway.

The thing I'm unsure of though is how best to sell the Myford metal lathe. I have seen just the stands going for £80 ish on fleabay, change wheels similarly, they ask over £100 for a motorising unit (pulleys etc), then there is the chuck and faceplate (£40 and £20) as well as the actual lathe (£80 - £100). However there is no way someone is going to spend £300 to £400 on an old lathe set-up like this. It seems a shame to split it up but that may be the best way to go. I could use the extra cash, but not to buy another lathe, that's for sure.

K

 

[dickm]

You might be surprised at the demand for an M-series Drummond. If it's in good nick, it's a really good machine, and ideal for a beginner. (Didn't know it shared the thread with the ML8 - I bought my Mystro so stuff could swap between it and the Super 7, but they are both a larger thread).

 

[graduate_owner]

Yes Dickm, they are both 1" x 12, well at least the inboard thread of the ML8 is. The outboard is different. I did once fit my ML8 chuck onto the metal lathe to try some screw cutting on wood, just to see. The thing is, this Viceroy came up and looked a good buy so I couldn't resist. Actually I made a mistake, I thought the inboard thread on the Viceroy was the same as my graduate, but the graduate is 1 1/2 x 6 and the viceroy is 1 1/2 x 8 so I am going to have to make an adapter. I haven't tried making screw threads in metal yet but that is on the cards to do. I will also need to sort out a bit of thread cutting for the outboard of the viceroy which is 1 1/4 x 9!!! I'm still glad I bought the viceroy though, despite the thread problem because my graduate is a bowl lathe, no bed. The cost of the graduate and viceroy together was considerably less than the typical cost of a graduate with bed - they go for £800 ish.

K

 

[dickm]

if you can drive the Master, then cutting those threads should be just an interesting exercise! If you have the patience, I would strongly suggest making threaded mandrels of the various sizes, and then mounting the adaptors on that to turn the critical bits to be absolutely sure of concentricity. I cheated doing stuff for the Mystro, because the nose of the Super 7 is a ready-made mandrel!

 

[markslathe]

Lol yes 5 too many.

 

[graduate_owner]

Thanks for that Dickm, it will be good practice for me to cut some external threads before attempting internal ones so making up some threaded mandrels seem a sensible way to get that practice. I haven't made a great deal of use of the Master yet but I'm sure it is going to be a useful addition to my kit. It is a Mk2 version, 3hp 3 phase and a lot of weight.

K

 

[dickm]

I'm sure it is going to be a useful addition to my kit. It is a Mk2 version, 3hp 3 phase and a lot of weight.

Which is the smiley for "green with envy"?????

 

[graduate_owner]

It's a shame you are so far away. You would be welcome to come and have a play on any of my lathes

K

 

[dickm]

Used to drive through Llandeilo every year when visiting Carmarthen. But that was from Milton Keynes, which wasn't quite such a trek as it would be from Scotland's "cold shoulder". Although on most occasions, it was via Preston! (it was for work)

 

[Retire2004]

Hi Guys,
Well there seems to be a glut of lathes in the Ammanford area. I've got 5 1/2 (sad git!)
Harrison L5 (metalworking),
Graduate 32" bed (chucks are interchangeable with Harrison - very handy)
Carbatec (great for pens, stoppers, light pulls etc. useless for anything else)
Two home built lathes (one the size of a Graduate with spiralling adaption)
The other is a monster - 40" swing x 60" centres (used for wall plaques hollow vessels etc.)
And...... oh yes, the 'half a one' is a very small Myford metal lathe - not working.

Any advance on 4 lawnmowers ???!!!

Regards
Tudor

 

[Inspector]

You don't have too many lathes. You have too small a shop. An all too common problem.

Pete

 

[graduate_owner]

Hey Retire2004, where are you? And did you retire in 2004? ( I retired in 2004, best thing I could have done).

K

 

[Retire2004]

Hi K,
I live in Cwmgors, yes I did retire in 2004, best thing I ever did too.
I responded to some of your early queries regarding your Graduate lathe.
I used to sell stuff in Crafts Alive in Llandeilo.
By the way, what does K stand for?
Regards
Tudor

 

[graduate_owner]

Hi Tudor,
sorry, I didn't recognise your name - I do remember your helpful responses to my early queries though. I didn't realise you were in Cwmgorse - not so far away, I live near the village of Caio although my parents grew up in Garnant and Brynamman.

My work isn't any where near the craft shop standard yet but I struggle on. There is someone on this forum who ends his posts with 'lots of kit but very little idea on how to use it' (something like that) and that describes me quite well. Anyhow it's always nice to chat with fellow woodworkers, especially when they are not too far away because you never know when you might meet up with them. the K stands for Keith, and I am a retired schoolteacher, but not a teacher of any craft subject.

Regards,

K

 

[dickm]

2004 was clearly a vintage year for retirement I went then too, having reached 60 and fallen foul of "senior management" (that's a joke title - they didn't manage but definitely thought they were senior). Fortunately our daughters were self-supporting by then and my pension pot was adequate.

 

[bobblezard]

I'm not sure too many lathes is possible unless (as per comment) the shop is too small (extension?, I started out on an ML8 and just can't bring myself to get rid despite upgrading twice and taking on two "projects", the latest is a Larvic OT treadle lathe which it looks like someone has taken a hammer to it more than once... I'd probably succumb to the Graduate Bowl lathe too if one came up nearby...

Still dreaming of retirement (in twenty two years) but hope to have more lathes and more workshop by then.

He who dies with the most tools wins...