Myford Super 7 Lathe

As I’m on Facebook Marketplace searching locally for metal lathes this Myford Super 7 lathe ad appears. Wouldn’t you know it, this guy is about 12 minutes from my house. Unbelievable, I thought, I’m really not in the market for another lathe, but I’ve always wanted an English  Myford Lathe.

Visit the Myford Ltd website.

Buying A Myford Super 7 Lathe

The Myford has $1,700.00 asking price, I decided to ask the seller a few questions; when was the last time it was used, how did you acquire it, etc. I then looked at his personal profile and it became quite clear this seller was an avid duck hunter. I mean he was really into it. Quickly I remembered that I had a great Italian Benelli shotgun in near mint condition, a Super Black Eagle II. My mind became excited thinking that possibly I could arrange a trade for the lathe. I no longer hunt and have no use for the shotgun.

The Deal (FREE, sorta)

I told myself that If I could arrange a trade with no money exchanged than I would do it. But, I would only trade one item and that was the Benelli. Not saying a word about the trade I spoke to the seller and he told me to make an offer. I knew that I couldn’t do that until I see it in person. So I arranged to visit his place and see the Myford Super 7 lathe in person. Actually, I made plans to visit that same day after work.

It seemed to be overall clean and only a little surface rust from condensation being stored on the floor in a shed. There wasn’t really any extra tool or change gears. It had the original 3-jaw chuck and that was it. The screws on the cross slide were partially unscrewed. I knew this has to be for a reason as these don’t usually unscrew themselves. The motor was 3 phase so I couldn’t test it however it spun freely and no weird sounds or restrictions as I turned it over. All the gears looked alright with no missed or worn teeth. The headstock was tight without any noticeable play.

The seller was a huge waterfowl hunter (I could tell from his FaceBook page). That was good news for me because the Benelli Super Black Eagle 2 is the cats’ meow as waterfowl shotguns go.

I went on to tell him about the shotgun and he said that I could have said any other firearm and he wouldn’t have been interested. However, he wants another Benelli! That was it, that want I wanted to hear. Looks like we were able to make this happen without any cash after all.

The Pickup

Two days later I showed up with the shotgun and the deal was made. He helped me load it up in my truck and I was off to my house. Only a quick 10-minute drive and I was home. This beast was heavy and I was able to convince my wife to help me move it from the truck to a workbench.

It’s home but has a long way to go. A full cleaning is underway, and next is buying and setting up a VFD (Variable Frequency Drive). This VFD unit is able to take my household 120v single phase electric and turn it into 3 phase, 220v.

The Future

Now that I have the Myford I will begin collecting up tooling and accessories. A quick change tool post is one of the first and after that it’s going to be a collet chuck system.

Stay tuned for more on the Myford Super 7.