"robgraham" wrote in message
ups.com...
I've recently obtained an ML7 in basic good condition but in need of
some TLC.

It is not mounted on a bench - can someone give some idea of the
dimensions of a suitable bench please. I've got a piece of old 11 X 3 "
pine I was thinking of using as the top - would that be suitable ?


If it's an ML7 then it's a metal lathe and will have the cross-slide etc of
such a lathe - you can turn wood on it but not with any ease - it won't go
fast enough, wood dust will get into all sorts of undesirable places, the
bed will get in the way and the maximum size you can do is too small.
Better to take up steam engine building!

If it's an ML8 then its a good lathe and Myford can still supply pretty much
any spares you may want.

Depends what you want to turn. If you have any ambitions for bowl turning
then you need a very rigid base to keep vibration down - if your ambition is
pens and lace bobbins then you can get away with a lot less.

Mine is on a 12" deep bench with 3 x 3 legs and 3 x 2 rails. Length is to
suit the lathe. Height - generally so that when you stand upright in front
of it the centres are at about elbow height - err on the side of too high as
bending over a lathe for long times is bad for you. Top is two layers of
3/4 chipboard. On the bench alone it shakes a lot. Secret is the cemented
stack of 18 x 9 x 4 dense concrete blocks standing behind the cabinet at the
headstock end, with the cabinet bolted through to it.

As suplied, the maximum capacity of the ML8 for bowl turning is 12" x 3" -
I've modified the outboard end of mine and can turn up to 18" x 6" in
theory. I regularly do 12" x 5" bowls with no vibration problems.