Moving a Myford Lathe

Ernienoatrainz

Ernienoatrainz

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I am moving my shop from a garage set up to a basement set up in a new house. I want to know how difficult it will be to remove the motor on a Myford super 7 long bed lathe. Also, I would like to slide the compete carriage off the bed. Would there be any difficulty in sliding it back on? I have the compete manual but it only shows all the parts in the exploded view. I want to lighten the load and reduce the possibility of damage to the carriage.
 
I have no familiarity with Myford lathes but looking at photos I see nothing unusual about their construction.

That shouldn't be an issue. I moved a 10" Logan into my basement and essentially did what you want to do. Removed the tailstock, ran the carriage off the end, and removed the spindle / gears from the headstock which allowed me to separate the lathe from the base and motor.

On the carriage I simply had to run it to the end of the lead screw, then unbolted the bearing at the tail end of the lead screw, gave the crank a couple more turns to separate the carriage from the screw threads then slid the carriage off the end of the bed. Reassembly is just in reverse, slide the carriage on until it contacts with the lead screw thread, then give the cranks a few turns while applying gentle pressure to the carriage until it re-engages the thread.
It was actually a very simple process, and the carriage is deceptively heavy so that is a good weight savings measure. Just be careful lifting the carriage off because it probably weighs more than you think it does.

Make sure you support the lead screw so you don't put pressure on the connection at the gearbox. Once the carriage is off, reattach the bearing so the lead screw is secure. A second set of hands can be helpful, but a small bungee cord or some strong string will do if you are doing it alone.
 
Thanks all. It is reassuring to have advice on the move. All very good ideas that I will incorporate. My move is not for another 3 months, so I have plenty of time to prepare. I’ll also have access to the new house before the flooring goes in keeping damage to the house low.
 
Mr Pete / Tubalcain has a good video on disassembling a Logan lathe for moving it into his basement. I found it helpful even though it was a different model than mine. It seems small lathes have much in common as far as construction goes. He went much further than I did with the disassembly even separating the head from the bed. If nothing else it should inspire more confidence when moving yours.

 
Keep track of how it comes apart in case some time elapses before reassembly, your memory can play tricks on you
Put bolts and fasteners back in their positions or label with tape. Take pictures if necessary
Mark
ps same goes for wiring
 
Ernienoatrainz said:
I am moving my shop from a garage set up to a basement set up in a new house. I want to know how difficult it will be to remove the motor on a Myford super 7 long bed lathe. Also, I would like to slide the compete carriage off the bed. Would there be any difficulty in sliding it back on? I have the compete manual but it only shows all the parts in the exploded view. I want to lighten the load and reduce the possibility of damage to the carriage.
Click to expand...
Hi hope i am not too late and you have made the move ? Anyway I have over the years moved several Myford's. Removing the carriage is a major strip down and I would not recommend it for moving the lathe - if you want instructions let me know!
To lower the weight you can easily remove the tail stock and the compound slide/tool holder plus of course the chuck & motor, however I have never removed the motor when moving a machine.
Assuming you can supply sufficient muscle power - 3-man lift -- the machines are not overly heavy just awkward and unbalanced . What I have always done is make a "handle" to lift the headstock end of the machine, do this by using a suitable piece of timber, say 3" x 2" and about 3ft long, drill a 1/2" hole for a bolt, make a steel plate that fits under the bed ways with a 1/2" hole then with the carriage at the rear bolt the handle onto the bed just in front of the spindle -- thus 2 men at the front and one at the rear can lift the machine with ease and safety.
Hope this helps J
 
Thanks for the advice. I found very quickly the compound was not going to come off easily. There are two locating pins that were never going to come out. I did get the motor off and did a thorough cleaning of that area. I have the lathe set up with two long 2 x 4's as handles spaced 2 feet apart. I think two men should be able to move it just fine. The ENCO mill is more of a worry. but I have that in three pieces. and the movers looked like that was OK when they came to look over all that was being moved.
 
I made up a couple of pieces of 2 x 4 with feet to bolt my Myford lathe too with some all thread and nuts and have used them several times. Makes rigging and manually carrying it easy. Two people can lift it but I normally try to use three to make it easy - two at the headstock end, one on the tailstock end - and it can be moved fully assembled.

295657
 
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