Forgotten Websites

Do you have a forgotten Website?

May sound like a silly question, but you would be surprised how many websites get forgotten in the rush to keep a business running.

Don't be surprised if the number of enquiries that originate from your site go down, but do you know why? You maybe like many business owners are not really interested in websites and the Internet, but your potential customers are, and it to those you need to be communicating with, your competitors could already winning business from you, and you don't know why.

Check out a short article on if a website is an asset or liability

What do you want?

Who can help?

A short post, but it might just help if you own a business website and need some help and support. According to a UK bank report, 50% of UK companies don't own a website. Yet in America the figure is in the high 90%. Is this why they can recover and expand quicker than UK businesses?

Website Value

Every website has a value, maybe a few £$€ it has cost to create and host. But it has been shown that a good website can be listed in the company accounts as a Brand resource valued at thousands of £$€. An accountant will help explain the benefits to a companies accounts of have a high Brand value, and a website is the quickest and cheapest method to boost revenue.

Let a website support company help you understand what is possible, only you can make something happen by making contact.

Got your own website?

Everybody seems to have a website

Nowadays everybody seems to own a website, for business, hobbies and family. There are literally billions of sites. This number only matters if you want to get found by strangers using a search engine.

With many free options, the only limiting fact is the time available. But if you really want to find customers, there are some things you should know and steps to be taken. One of the most important is making certain the site is responsive.

What is responsive?

Briefly this is the ability of the website to adjust to the product the visitor is using, and the number of users is anything from 50% and upwards, this is a big market. An interesting article on Responsive Web Design can help explain what steps to take. Have fun.

Got a website and need support?

Finally I have been able to create the small business support website which has been an idea for some months. The greatest challenge has been to create useful information for the small business owner  with or without a website.

Northampton Business Marketing

Customers always come first. So it has taken time and is not fully completed. A collection of articles is under development, the first has just been published. Twitter has been launched and a new Facebook pagewill be available shortly

The follow advertisement takes you to the site.

Mystery Shopper for business and e-commerce websites

Affiliate Marketing Solution

Affiliate Marketing is not new

Creating and managing your own sales network using Affiliate Marketing techniques is now available for just about any size of company. Existing managed programs may not be suitable in every situation, so operating a private affiliate program just for your own company could have significant benefits. See a range of articles and information before you decide.

Hosted Affiliates is the name to remember.

Visiting Munich?

Munich City Guide

The original Munich City Guide has been extensively updated this last few months. Enjoy a visit from the comfort of an armchair, see the sights and feel the buzz.

2011 Update.

I acted as the virtual Webmaster for this Blog and the main Myford website. A new company has taken over the Myford product, and I am no longer involved.

A virtual Webmaster has many benefits for companies. Some are listed here.

Pay only for hours required.
Offers an independent view of an existing website.
Often has a greater understanding of resources, (many free) which can boost visitors.
Allows the company to use existing staff for other functions.
Not restricted to office hours.
Produce management reports showing marketing and sales results.
Marketing the website covers Blog postings, membership of appropriate Business Forums.
Monitor competitors websites and actions.
Report any negative publicity and take steps to correct.
Add resources to the site, including Spam free email forms, customer community, ticketing system.
Can answer emails which deal with the website.
Create and maintain all types of website sitemaps.
Time can be a few hours per month or as agreed, Fixed hourly rate.

You may think of other things.

If you would like to know more, please make contact.
See Business Networking and Website Sitemaps for additional information.

You maybe a person that likes to offer small jobs for a Fiver, try the new site at Marketing Yourself for ideas.


Drachsi

This Blog is no longer being updated

For more information please contact www.drachsi.com

A Great Spring Show

Great people, great weather and plenty to talk about, our Spring Show was something to remember and some great buys too. Not all of our Show Offers went during the three days so here is a link to what we have left. If you want anything from the list ring us or email us with SHOW PRICES followed by the item and price. Please remember there are limited quantities.

Here are a few pictures to remind those who made it and a flavor for those who didn’t.

A happy customer

Cherry Hill’s Stuart No 9

Bar stock on sale

Belt sander kit

Christopher Vine’s Bongo

Bongo under steam

Bongo

Derek Brown at work

Lathes for sale

More lathes

Mike Sayers’ Bently

Helicopter demo

Gas turbine power

Loco construction

Motor Cycle Restoration

Other used machines

SMEE stand

SMEE interest

Ornamental turning

Ornamental puzzles

Traction by John Littler

Watchmaking by Maurice Fagg

Watchmaking

The Boss serves cake

Collectors Corner

At our Factory Open Days we have been selling workshop mugs decorated with the Myford name. The first was produced to celebrate 75 years of Myford and the second to coincide with the re-introduction of a historical Trade Mark to package our Genuine Spares.

Both were short runs of 300 and we have a few of each left. They have been popular and it has lead us to consider producing a third. Not sure what the next key event will be but something will happen that’s worthy of a workshop mug. If you want one of the remaining mugs they are £6.00 + p&p.

Email us.

New Website for Myford

 

The start of something brighter

During the Model Engineering Show week our new, and improved, Website, www.myford.com will go live. Its aim is to present a portal for information about our tools, accessories and machines that is easier for you to access and easier for us to keep up to date. Along with it will come a monthly Newspaper we call   Myford Engineering Update, its already got the name MEU. Like the website site its task is to help provide the fuller picture and to assist Myford users with a level of Technical Support we have only previously offered by phone.

Tell us what you think and what you would  like in the next issue. Contact

Skill Centre launched at Autumn Show

Want to improve your skills?

If you feel there is something more you want to learn come to Myford

Our successful Autumn Show proved to be a great place for old friends and fellow engineers. Ivan Law, Harry Paviour, Maurice Fagg, DAG Brown, James Hill, Peter Thomas, John Wilding and Roger Bunce all helped to put on a display full of fascination and excitement. It was also a chance to catch up with some engineering feats which included a return visit from the Gas Turbine Association. Put through its 120,000 rpm paces was Martin Kaye’s remarkable Helicopter which, at full chat, actually drowned out the Fairground Gavioli in our car park.

The pictures are courtesy of David Carpenter and more can be found on his ModelEngineeringWebsite.com Thank you David. The event also got an extensive write up from him too.

Come along and learn

We used the visitors at the Show to gauge response to our intention to open a Skills Centre at our Works in Nottingham. We will be offering courses of various levels aimed at supporting Myford users who want to increase their Turning Engineering skills. Numerous people showed interest and conversation ranged across the full three days and left us with the feeling that it really is a good idea and likely to be of value to many.

If you are somebody who didn’t get to have your say we would like to hear from you. Click on the ‘REPLY’ link below and tell us what you want to learn and we'll contact you in January 2011 with a list of options…REPLY

Also apologies to those who didn’t get a flyer and therefore missed the Show. Click on the ‘Show Mailing List’ link below and give us your email and address, we will contact you well before the Spring Show which will be in April 2011…SHOW MAILING LIST

Chris Moore, Myford MD (centre) chats with customers

Prof. Pete Thomas extols the virtues of the Polly locomotives

Roger Bunce and John Wilding

Polar Star by Mr. Bellamy

LNWR 0-6-2 express passenger tank – the ‘Watford Tanks’

DAG Brown demonstrates

Richard Allsop with a customer

Footnote: The winner of our Prize Draw was Mr. J. A. Donovan of Alconbury Weston, Huntingdon - congratulations we look forward to seeing you soon.

Guide to Inspecting Pre-owned Lathes

Buying a pre-owned Myford Lathe?

Free booklet will help you check it before you buy

At Myford we have produced this short Guide intended to help people inspect and evaluate a used Myford Lathe before buying. Almost every used Myford Lathe is capable of being returned to it’s original specification, it’s a matter of time, skill and access to genuine components.

Here we tell you how to carry out a basic inspection and how faults are rectified when we carry out a Factory Rebuild.

Click here for an online copy or email us for a printed copy.

Changes to the Bed and Saddle Re-conditioning Service Effective 1st September 2010

The full service is very popular and we have no plans to stop it, however we are ceasing the Bed only regrind service.

Over the years we have found that the lower cost option of regrinding the bed alone has unwittingly misled some buyers inspecting pre-owned Myford Lathes offered by used equipment suppliers. To many a smooth, clean lathe bed is a sign that the lathe has been cared for and not subjected to heavy wear.

This, as any engineer will know, is not necessarily the case, a ‘bed only’ regrind can hide a lot of wear indeed. Whilst superficially making things look better it can actually worsen the lathe’s standards of accuracy.

The nominal thickness of the shears (bedways) on a finished new Myford bed is approximately 0.5” (12.70mm). The maximum that may be removed from the top of the bed is 0.025” (.635mm) before complications occur in aligning the apron with the rack and leadscrew.

During a Myford ‘Factory Bed and Saddle Regrind’ metal removal is kept to a minimum, however it may be necessary to reduce the thickness of the shears between 0.005 (0.127mm) and 0.010 (0.254mm) to get back to a sound top surface. In theory it’s possible to regrind a bed between 2 and 5 times. Indeed, as our records show, this has been done for a number of customer owned lathes.

At Myford we have long considered it essential that if a bed regrind is to be carried out then the saddle must be also be ground and the fast edge scraped to give correct alignment. A worn saddle on a newly ground bed offers poor contact and it is not practical to improve this to the required standard simply by scraping.

To complete these grinding operations the various gib strips are re-worked to remove the effects of wear and the front and rear strips stepped to compensate for the reduction in thickness of the bed shears.

As from 1st September we will no longer take orders for regrinding beds only - believing it to be in the best interests of Myford owners and future Myford owners.

Every regrind of Bed and Saddle we undertake is thoroughly checked and inspected at refit. We offer a certificate to that effect and hold a record of all Serial Numbers dates and reports should future owners wish to check the history of their lathes with us.

Myford Technical Support

Myford MA71 Machine Vice

It’s back

The original Myford Machine Vice with pivoting loose jaw is back. Reintroduced by popular request.

This little vice can be found in thousands of workshops around the world simply because it’s so useful. Well, now it is back on our shelves in profusion. It is ideal for mounting on all Myford cross slides, boring tables and vertical slide tables.

Jaw width opening is 39mm (1.535 inch) or 31mm (1.223 inch) with the loose jaw fitted. It is supplied complete with tommy bar and (15473) Set of 4 Tee Bolts with nuts and washers.

If you want one you can buy online from our Rebuilds website

www.myford-rebuilds.com or give us a ring and pay by Card.

It’s cheaper by £3.00 if you buy it online and it’s made by us in Nottingham.

The Part No is 20/292 and it is only £67.89 + VAT

Back Stop & Facing Tool for Super 7 and Big Bore

“A Gift”

This is a Back Stop and range of Facing Backplates in a handy set. Recently called a “real gift” by one of the engineers who regularly buys Accessories from our Spares Counter. He also said it was a ‘well kept secret’. So we thought we should say a little about how useful he and others find it.

The set comprise 9 Flanges, a 2MT (4MT for Big Bore machines) body and a threaded spindle with stop nut. The pieces in the image above. A Kit under two part numbers, Part No 33/066 for the Big Bore and 254 spindle and Part Number 33/065 for the standard bore spindle Series 7 & 10.

When used without the Flanges it makes a very useful chuck back stop. With the flanges it becomes a useful aid for facing workpieces that are difficult to square in a chuck i.e. when chucking length is less than half its diameter.

In use the largest of the available Flanges, less than the diameter to be chucked, is selected. The Flanges have been made slightly below the fractional inch size, e.g. 1.730 dia for use with 1 3/4" dia location.

See instructions for use

Part No 33/066 Big Bore & 254 machines £97.84 + VAT

Part No 33/065 Series 7 & 10 machines £52.93 + VAT

You can order online at www.myford-rebuilds.com or ring us on 0115 925 4222.

Bed and saddle regrinds at Myford

A word to the Wise

As many know this service performed at Myford is popular and adds years of accurate life to Myford Lathes that have become trusted friends to their owners. However there are limits. We did come across one bed we were unable to regrind and the measurements are interesting for those who are considering using the service themselves.

It involved an early Super 7 bed which was originally despatched, as a new lathe, from our works in late 1953. It was returned to us in 2007, after 50 odd years of continuous use. In came the bed with saddle and all associated parts. The owner earnestly requested a bed and saddle regrind but unfortunately we were unable to help.

A lathe bed manufactured in 1953 gave 50 years service, it is still in our works today.

The nominal thickness of the shears on a finished new bed is approximately 0.5” (12.70mm). When we regrind them we normally remove between 0.005” and 0.010”, the maximum that we can remove is 0.025” before complications occur in aligning the apron with the rack and leadscrew. In theory it’s possible to regrind a bed between 2 and 5 times. In fact our records show that this has been done for a number of customer owned lathes.

What caused the problem with this particular request was a dent in the bed approximately 0.075” (1.9050mm) deep and, of course, outside of the limits. All was not lost we were able to source a pre-owned bed which we reground and matched to the existing saddle. This lathe is still performing well today.

Many Bed and Saddle regrinds, and re-regrinds are carried out every year and nearly all fall within limits. The saddle also has its limits inasmuch as lubrication can become ineffective when the oil grooves become narrowed by heavy wear of the slide faces, something to be aware of if regrinding yourself.

Two points are clear, there are times when wear is beyond recovery - and one bad component doesn’t write off a lathe provided the work of repair is correctly carried out and inspected to reaffirm original standards have been restored.

We provide a full description of our Bed and Saddle regrind service together with a schedule of dates when the Beeston Works provides this service. Please visit http://www.myford-rebuilds.com/

Myford Technical Support

ER25 & ER40 Collet Nose Adaptors for the Myford Super 7 'big bore'

Myford, this month, introduce new ER25 and ER40 Collet Nose Adaptors. These Adaptors are designed to provide current ‘big bore’ Super 7 users with an effective means of supporting the use of these popular sized collets.

Each assembly consists of backplate, collet nose adaptor, clamping nut and spanner/wrench with tommy bar.

Simple fitting: The adaptor is mounted on the backplate after the register has been final turned. The machined register ensures that the adaptor is accuracy to the lathe and will maintain so during frequent mounting and removals. A DTI is used to check the bore, any fine variation can be adjusted before the adaptor is locked permanently as a component of the lathe.

And finally for the Super 7 standard bore machines a ER25 Adaptor that replaces an earlier collet hol der with a similar two-part ,assembly developed to offer the same level of simplicity and reliable accuracy.

When adaptors are ordered with a new machine the fitting operation is carried out during final inspection at the Myford Factory.

Spares: The backplate component is common to all adaptors in the ‘big bore’ range and is available on our spares listings. Adaptors can also be ordered individually complete with retaining screws

Pt. No. 20/296 Myford ER 40 Collet Nose Adaptor for 'Big Bore' Super 7 machines. Price £137.96 + vat See fitting instructions

Pt. No. 20/295 Myford ER 25 Collet Nose Adaptor for 'Big Bore' Super 7 machines. Price £136.35 + vat See fitting instructions

Pt.No. 20/294 Myford ER 25 Collet Nose Adaptor for standard bore Super 7 machines. Price £80.34 + vat See fitting instructions

Please contact Sales at Myford Support or call +44 (0) 115 925 4222.

Myford Technical Support