Austin 7 Special

I'm unfortunately not familiar with Bayside so could not really suggest anywhere to get steel from there. I was going to suggest if you are local youI'm unfortunately not familiar with Bayside so could not really suggest anywhere to get steel from there. I was going to suggest if you are local you could pop round and we could use my shop.

Generally steel is steel, It's mostly sold by weight so you pay the same price as the next man unless you have a trade discount. The main difference with not buying an entire length is you also have to pay for the cut. Calling around and seeing if anyone has offcuts is always an option too. I generally do this when I just need small parts or I go and trawl through the offcuts bin in my local steel shop to see what I can find.

One thing to consider is that bright bar is unfortunately more expensive than general round bar as it is already machined to size, so if you are trying to keep to a budget you could also just buy regular round bar and machine it yourself. This is a much cheaper option but obviously requires that you do the machining. You will save $$'s if you can do that yourself. You should also consider that you do not need to machine the entire length.

You may struggle to turn the axle on a Myford, they have a very small headstock bore IIRC (3/4" ??) but not impossible to do if you have a fixed steady, just perhaps a little unorthodox (see photo).

You can also mount a cutter in the chuck and the axle on the slide to mill the keyway. Milling is a common activity on the ML7. Supporting the free end is the real challenge. Might need a second pair of hands.

There's heaps of info out there on work-holding using a Myford, they are very versatile machines and favoured by the model engineering crowd. Using a small machine to do big jobs is a path well trodden. If you get stuck feel free to sing out.


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Well, I bought my axle steel. 5.8m of 25mm 1020 bright bar - $80. Enough for maybe 5 axles. Should be be able to cut a keyway, one way or another.Well, I bought my axle steel. 5.8m of 25mm 1020 bright bar - $80. Enough for maybe 5 axles. Should be be able to cut a keyway, one way or another. I think that's all I need. No steps or threads required for my plan.

Have fun!
Simon  More ...

You've encouraged me, Mick! I found that I have a vertical slide for the Myford, along with a vice and a 6mm milling bit. Also found a circlipYou've encouraged me, Mick! I found that I have a vertical slide for the Myford, along with a vice and a 6mm milling bit. Also found a circlip groove tool. No reason I can't cut the keyways myself - although it will be a bit jerry-rigged. My mate has a big lathe and I can cut the circlip grooves on that (the Myford doesn't have the bed length to handle a 1016mm long axle). More to come ...
Have fun
Simon  More ...

Good stuff Simon. Those Myfords really are versatile little machines.

It's early days and this is just a trial cut on the scrap end of my 25mm axle stock - but this does suggest that I may be able to cut the keyways IIt's early days and this is just a trial cut on the scrap end of my 25mm axle stock - but this does suggest that I may be able to cut the keyways I want, with a vise clamped to the vertical slide on the Myford! Woo hoo!
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