Here we have a lovely little item I picked up on my last (probably actually the very last) visit to the UK after having moved to Germany again (since the Home Office refused my wife’s leave to stay in the UK, despite having a 5-year European leave to stay as the result of being married to an EU citizen…).

I found this on Gumtree and just couldn’t resist it for the price and it was right next door to the ‘Chunnell’ terminal in Ramsgate, where I was due a few hours later!

It came with a very nice motor and all the various brackets and drive system complete, along with a range of changewheels etc.

The bearings are just so smooth and despite its ‘used’ appearance, it is in fact in very good condition and has been well maintained. I did a bit of research into these and they are very capable, but not as well-known as the ubiquitous postwar Myford ML7 and Super7 lathes, for which there are a great many spares and accessories available.

Drive for the leadscrew engaged (the front oiler cap is open)
Nice and smooth and quiet, too!

For one of these, it is necessary to keep an eye out for second-hand parts and accessories, but they are still about, if not in the abundance of the later stuff – and for much more amenable prices.

I worked out the back-gear arrangement (giving it six-speeds) and it is a great little lathe with thread-cutting capability, including left-hand threads.

It also came with the original face-plate and catch-plate and a spare saddle faceplate, some very effective wick-oilers for the main bearings, and added improvements to the tailstock-wheel and a handle on the traverse (very handy, if you can’t get used to the ‘reversed’ operation of the slide travel direct off the rack!)

The picture below will give a better overview and the last one shows it in size relation to the Super7

Please ignore the chaos, these pictures were taken a few weeks ago before I got organised… 🙂