A Model Engineers' Fantasy Lathe Concept Design

Alex du Pre shares his thoughts on what might make an ideal lathe

- Alex du Pre

The editor’s challenge in MEW285 to design a lathe of the future certainly got me thinking. I am lucky enough to own a Myford Super 7B lathe, a design that is considered by many to be the ideal model engineering lathe and one that has stood the test of time. But it is not without its shortcomings and since it was introduced in the 1950s, technology has moved on. Electronics and computing are now being widely adopted in the maker community with the advent of affordable 3D printers, laser cutters and the like. Many people have fitted CNC upgrades to their lathes and mills and are exploiting the possibilities of programmable microcontrollers such as the Arduino, which have broad application in machine control. Digital read-outs (DROs) are a commonly used machine tool upgrade.

In this slightly tongue-in-cheek piece, I have set out to propose a concept for a thoroughly modern model engineers’ lathe that takes full advantage of this new technology but retains the convenience and versatility of the Myford. My main aim is to provoke thought. I don’t claim to have any particular skill in machine design and certainly don’t have the knowledge to design the electronics in detail. But as someone who has spent countless hours operating my workshop machine tools, I know all about their best and worst features and which accessories are useful, so I hope my ideas are grounded in some sort of reality.

Please hold on tight as I attempt to reinvent the hobby lathe.

Why is the Myford so good? And bad?