12/19/2019 Myford 254 Lathes

email: [email protected]
Home Machine Tool Archive Machine-tools Sale & Wanted
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MYFORD 254R, 254S, 254 Plus

and 254 Vari-speed Lathes
Manuals & Parts Lists are available for the
Myford 254 range and can be found on this page
1) Myford ML7 16) ML7 Rebuild
2) Myford ML7 Tri-Leva 17) Early and third-party screwcutting gearboxes
3) Myford Super 7 and ML7R 18) Myford ML7 photographic essay
4) Myford ML8 Wood lathe 19) Super 7B power cross feed photographs
5) Myford ML10: (Modern 31/4" Lathe) 20) Super 7 Plus (Big Bore) photographs
6) Myford 254, 254S and 254 Plus 21) ML7R photographs
7) Myford/Drummond M Type 22) Rodney milling attachment
8) Myford ML1, ML2, ML3 & ML4: Pre-1947 23) Amolco milling attachment
9) 4-inch " Precision" Lathe: MF74 & MF32) 24) Staines & Big Swing Milling Attachment
10) Myford Mini-Kop: (Hydraulic Copying) 25) Myford Milling Machines
11) Myford Special & Capstan Lathes 26) Myford Super 7 "new in the box"
12) Myford 280 Geared Head Lathe 27) Myford ML7 "new in the box"
13) Myford Accessories 28) Myford ML7R Photographs
14) Myford Replicas and Clones 29) First Myford ML7 Catalogues
15) Serial Numbers 30) ML2 Capstan - home conversion
31) ML2 Rebuild

Although Myford had toyed with the idea of a larger lathe in the 1960s with their
beautifully-made, short-lived and expensive-to-produce geared-head 280, the 4.75-inch
centre height "254" (the number derives from the swing in mm) marked Myford's first
sustained move into the field of larger types. Introduced in 1984 to span the needs of model
engineers and light industrial users two versions were announced simultaneously, both
constructed from the same basic components: the entry-model 254R and the more
sophisticated 254S. The 254R used changewheels for screwcutting, lacked power cross feed
and was sold as standard with an unhardened bed and the same arrangement of cross slide as
the super 7 with a bridge-type end bracket, small micrometer dials and the feed-screw nut
fixed into the front wall of the saddle. By contract the 254S had an induction-hardened bed
(to 45 Rockwell; 450 Vickers) together with a screwcutting and feeds' gearbox and power
sliding and surfacing driven from a separate shaft below the leadscrew. The power-feed
arrangement necessitated not only a new apron but also a different design of cross slide
drive with a Boxford-like bracket fixed to the face of the saddle and the cross-slide nut
carried on the underside of the cross-slide casting. Another consequence of the power feed
set-up was the need to move the saddle-to-bed gib strip from the front of the carriage (as on
the 254R) to the rear where, in theory and an ideal world, cutting forces should come up
against a "solid" metal-to-metal fitting and not through adjuster screws. However, in the
writer's experience of a 254, this appeared to make not a jot of difference with even heaviest
interrupted cuts failing to induce chatter. Other differences included very much larger, very
clearly engraved satin-chrome micrometer dials on both cross and top slide and a thread-
rolled leadscrew protected by a fully-enveloping "spiral" spring cover - the latter two items
being standard on all subsequent variants. Although the cover gave the leadscrew absolute
protection from wear caused by swarf (and guarded against the operator's clothes being
caught) it could be sprung away from the left-hand face of the apron for lubricant to be
applied.
Continued below:

Early 254R--the basic model

Continued:
Cast in the UK from gray iron to B.S.1452 - Grade 7 the 150 mm wide straight bed (there
was gap option) featured large circular chip-clearance holes between the ribs. The ways

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were flat and the shears vertical - a feature on all Myford 7-Series lathes - and deliberately
chosen to allow the machine to be used for milling with either a traditional vertical slide
carried on the T-slotted cross slide, or from an optional powered vertical milling head (by a
third-party English maker Rishton) bolted to the rear of the bed. The maker's thinking
behind the use of flat ways (long considered an essentially English design) was the need to
absorb thrust from all directions and make the lathe as adoptable as possible for the
greatest number of users. Two bed lengths were offered giving just over 21-inches between
centres as a short-bed model and just over 31-inches as a long bed - though in each case a
little more capacity was available by letting the tailstock casting overhang the end of the
bed (but with the clamp plate still fully engaged, of course).
If the bed form was traditional the enclosed, box-section headstock reflected a good deal
of modern thinking where, although it had the appearance of a geared-head machine, drive
was by a narrow (Z section) 5-step V-belt pulley overhung from the left-hand end of the
spindle. This layout, which at a stroke removed the necessity of accommodating a pulley
between bearings, was identical to that used on many smaller lathes: for example, the pre-
war English EXE and the Austrian Emco Maximat 3000 and Standard Series of the 1960s.
However, unlike the Emco models, the 254 enjoyed a range of (properly) geared lower
speeds by the use of an oil-bath lubricated speed-reduction gearbox built into the
headstock. The gears were hardened and then ground using the "Reishauer" process, a
method that resulted in a precise tooth form and hence unusually quiet running on slow
speeds. 10 spindle speeds were available from 53 through 80, 121, 182 and 275 in low and
380, 584, 881, 1372 and 2000 r.p.m. in high. This was a range slow enough for threads to
be cut safely by amateurs yet fast enough to allow the use of carbide tools and high rates
of metal removal by the more experienced. Although a well-designed and smooth-running
arrangement its control was not without some awkwardness with the engagement of slow
speeds requiring the necessity to first disengage the spindle-pulley coupling - by
unscrewing two socket screws at the left-hand end of the spindle until the assembly
"locked" - before turning the headstock-mounted knob to engage the gears. As a point of
interest should you ever have occasion to dismantle a 254 headstock on all but the very
earliest models the pulley assembly is located on the spindle by the interference-fit of its
needle roller bearing and to remove it a special puller is required.
Continued below:

Myford 254S This much improved model had a screwcutting gearbox, power cross and
longitudinal feeds from a separate power shaft , enclosed leadscrew, large micrometer dials
and a more complete electrical system as standard. Myford 254S Photo Gallery here
Continued:
Although fitting a pulley to the end of the spindle might have seemed an easy answer to
lower production costs, Myford ensured that the set-up was properly engineered and used a
particularly stiff, ground-finish spindle forged from an 11 kg billet of top-quality steel that
ran in precision taper roller bearings. The spindle was bored through to clear 26 mm, fitted
with a 4 Morse nose and came with a choice of a B.S.4442-A3 or (at extra cost) a D1-3"
camlock nose as commonly used on small industrial lathes. Both fittings allowed accessories
to be mounted close to the front bearing with the minimum of overhand and, while the B.S.
nose required chucks and backplates with 3 inconvenient studs and nuts to fasten them in
place, at least it uses the same tapered spigot as the more convenient D1 fitting and so
allows accessories to be made or adapted with comparative ease should factory parts ever
dry up.
Fixed to a pivoting bracket on the back of the bed (and with a good-sized locking lever to
ensure it could be quickly adjusted to allow changes of speed) the 0.75 h.p. 1425 r.p.m
electric motor could be had as a 1-phase resilient-mount or 3-phase solid-foot unit. Because
1-phase motors have a characteristic "pulsing" vibration Myford arranged what they called
"O ring" damping in the bolt assembly that set the belt tension.
Up-to-date, and including either a basic D.O.L. reversing switch or, at extra cost, a complete
safety package, the electrical system included a transformer to produce 110 volts for the
push-button "no-volt" release starter and a 12v tapping for the optional halogen light unit.
Machines produced in later years always reflected contemporary safety requirements with
the addition of built-in controls, including (amongst others) thermal overload and no-volt
releases, a mushroom-headed stop button and safety cut-off switches on the main-drive
enclosure and chuck guard. Later electrical options (at extra cost) included D.C. spindle
braking, an emergency footswitch and a saddle-travel limit switch.
Besides the "backgears" the interior of the headstock also carried the changewheel drive

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reverse gears - replacing a conventional tumble-reverse assembly - and shared its lubricant
supply with them. On the 254R the drive passed to the exposed, 3 mm pitch or 8 t.p.i.
leadscrew through a set of changewheels (using the same DP gears as on the 7-series) while
the full screwcutting gearbox (on the 254S) drove an enclosed leadscrew and gave pitches
from 0.25 to 5.0 mm or 4 to 56 t.p.i. (with one changewheel alteration) and longitudinal feed
rates from 0.04 to 0.32 mm (0.0019" to 0.32") per revolution of the spindle. Cross-feed rates
were approximately half those of the sliding. The screwcutting gearbox was completely
enclosed and fitted with hardened gears running in an oil bath. Changes of ratio were made
by knurled-edge dials, which though of neat appearance, were not as easy to grip with oily
fingers as levers. Both boxes were available with conversion gears to cut metric or imperial
pitches. On the 254S the leadscrew was engaged only for screwcutting - through a dog
clutch engaged by a small dial at the headstock-end - with a separate power shaft to drive
the sliding and surfacing feeds. As a protection against overloads, or an accidental running
of the carriage into the chuck or tailstock, a plate clutch was fitted that slipped automatically
at a preset load. As an option, multi-stops were available for both feed directions that could
be used for repetition turning by allowing the drive to run against them and cause the clutch
to slip. Not as good as complete disengagement, but still useful.
Continued below:

Top-of-the-range 254 Vari-speed with Rishton-manufactured vertical head

Continued:
Arranged with double walls the apron contained an oil bath in the base from which lubricant
was distributed by splash. The carriage handwheel was fitted with a large, zeroing
micrometer dial and on power-feed versions a knob selected the direction of feed, with a
lever lifted and depressed to engage, respectively, longitudinal and cross feed.
Typically Myford in design, the full-length, 5 T-slot cross slide had an effective lock and a
generous 162 mm of travel (6.375") -a figure that made it especially useful when used
together with a vertical milling slide, . The top slide, like that on the Super 7, was retained
by an inverted cone and two pusher screws and could be swiveled through 360 degrees.
Both feed screws were fitted with Torrington NTA-815 roller anti-friction thrust races and
TRB-815 thrust washers with the clearance set by the factory at zero and not subsequently
adjustable. However, and rather surprisingly, the single toolpost fitted as basic equipment to
both lathes was identical to that used on the ML7 of the 1940s.
A little disappointingly the set-over tailstock carried only a No. 2 Morse taper barrel instead
of a No. 3 (as used, for example, on the Viceroy 5-inch) but with 70 mm (2.75") of travel
driven by a quick-action, 2-start thread with a particularly smooth action..
Subsequent development of the 254 saw the 254S with a standard-fit, screwcutting gearbox,
power cross and longitudinal feeds from a separate power shaft , enclosed leadscrew, large
micrometer dials and a more complete electrical system as standard. In 1989 a revised
machine, the "254 Plus", took things further with its center height increased to 5.34 inches
(by the simple means of deeper castings for the headstock, tailstock sole plate and top-slide
lower casting) and a variable-speed drive system on the "254 Plus Vari-Speed". Myford
254V-Plus Photo Gallery here. The lathe (also listed as the 254V Plus), used a 1.5 kW (2
h.p.) 3-phase motor with inverter drive from a 1-phase supply that, due no doubt to
misgivings about longevity, Myford guaranteed for three years. Speeds ran from 30 to 275
r.p.m in low range (using the headstock reduction gears) and 250 to 2000 r.p.m in direct
drive with the power transmitted from motor to headstock pulley by a wide Poly-V belt. The
Vari-speed was available only as complete unit mounted on the maker's stand and with the
electrical system ready fitted. A digital tachometer was fitted together with a 10-turn
potentiometer for speed control. Initially the "Plus" was listed as available for bench
mounting and the "Vari-speed" only as a complete unit, fitted to a tray-top cabinet stand
some 1256 mm long (1506 mm long bed) and 432 mm deep (710 mm with a splash back).
However, by the mid 1990s both models were listed as only being available fitted to a stand
and with all the essential electrical equipment installed as a factory package. Prices at the
time (including tax) ranged from £4935 for a basic 254 Plus to £6703 for a long-bed Vari-
speed. Weights varied between 173 kg for a basic bench-mount 254R model through 309 kg

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for a stand-amounted, short-bed 254 Plus Vari-speed to 363 kg for the long-bed version.
However, a fully specified long-bed Vari-speed model, mounted on the maker's stand,
equipped with a DC injection spindle brake and fitted with a VM-A powered vertical head
could be as high as 450 kg.
With a comprehensive specification, compact dimensions, an excellent speed range, quiet
running and the easy availability of spare parts all versions of the 254 are greatly sought
after and retain their value especially well..

Myford 254 S with the Rishton-built vertical milling head

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Myford 254 Plus

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Myford 254 Drive System. Motor platform with spring-loaded tensioning

lever and five-speed V belt drive. To engage the gear-driven slow speeds
two Allen screws in the end flange of the headstock drive pulley are first
loosened allowing the drive tabs to emerge from their recesses. Once these
are out, the appropriate dial on the face of the headstock can be turned to
engage the gears.

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Myford 254 Apron Details. Oil-filled apron with level

window and simple but foolproof interlock on power feed and
screwcutting engagement levers

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Myford 254 Apron Details. Large, clear cross-feed micrometer dial,

graduated and zeroing dial on the saddle traverse handle and the button
marked with a double arrow to select power sliding or surfacing

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Myford 254 taper-turning attachment

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Myford 254 fixed and travelling steadies

email: [email protected]
Home Machine Tool Archive Machine-tools Sale & Wanted
Machine Tool Manuals Catalogues Belts Books Accessories

MYFORD 254R, 254S, 254 Plus

and 254 Vari-speed Lathes
Manuals & Parts Lists are available for the
Myford 254 range and can be found on this page

1) Myford ML7 16) ML7 Rebuild

2) Myford ML7 Tri-Leva 17) Early and third-party screwcutting gearboxes
3) Myford Super 7 and ML7R 18) Myford ML7 photographic essay
4) Myford ML8 Wood lathe 19) Super 7B power cross feed photographs
5) Myford ML10: (Modern 31/4" Lathe) 20) Super 7 Plus (Big Bore) photographs
6) Myford 254, 254S and 254 Plus 21) ML7R photographs
7) Myford/Drummond M Type 22) Rodney milling attachment
8) Myford ML1, ML2, ML3 & ML4: Pre-1947 23) Amolco milling attachment
9) 4-inch " Precision" Lathe: MF74 & MF32) 24) Staines & Big Swing Milling Attachment
10) Myford Mini-Kop: (Hydraulic Copying) 25) Myford Milling Machines
11) Myford Special & Capstan Lathes 26) Myford Super 7 "new in the box"
12) Myford 280 Geared Head Lathe 27) Myford ML7 "new in the box"
13) Myford Accessories 28) Myford ML7R Photographs
14) Myford Replicas and Clones 29) First Myford ML7 Catalogues
15) Serial Numbers 30) ML2 Capstan - home conversion
31) ML2 Rebuild

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