Myford

Myford is a British machine-tool brand associated principally with small and medium-sized metalworking lathes used by model engineers, workshops, educational users and other specialist machinists. The business originated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, where Cecil Moore founded the Myford Engineering Company in 1934. Its products became particularly influential in the model-engineering community because they combined a relatively compact format with the capabilities needed for turning, threading, drilling and related workshop operations. The company's best-known product family is the ML7 and Super 7 range. The ML7 established the basic form of the company's widely recognised bench lathe, while the Super 7, introduced in 1953, refined that platform. The Super 7 became a long-lived product and continued to be widely used by model engineers well after its original introduction. Its durability, availability of accessories and spares, and the large body of user knowledge surrounding it helped make the model one of the most recognisable small British engineering lathes. Myford's historical product range extended beyond metalworking lathes. It included the ML8 wood-turning lathe, a four-inch planer, the MG12H cylindrical grinder, the 254 engineers' lathe and the Speed 10 lathe. Many of these products were later discontinued, leaving the Super 7 and related Myford equipment as the central part of the brand's legacy. The company was also associated with refurbishment and the continued supply of replacement parts, activities that supported the installed base of older machines. The original corporate structure did not remain unchanged. Myford Holdings Ltd, the original company, was wound up, and the family-owned business operating under the Myford name went through a difficult period in 2011. In July of that year, the company announced a liquidation sale at its Beeston site, describing the sale as a final opportunity to buy spares, lathes and plant equipment directly from the business. At that point the company was still family-owned and was being run by Christopher Moore, Cecil Moore's grandson. A new company was established during the same period. Solicitor Jonathan Oxley founded L & P 240 Limited, which changed its name to Myford Ltd on 26 August 2011. Oxley left the company on 1 August 2011, and management subsequently passed to the Dickinson family, including brothers Richard and Christian Dickinson and their mother Christine. Richard Dickinson also operated RDG Tools, a machine-tool supply business established in 1992 and based at the same premises. The later Myford business continued from West Yorkshire and retained a connection with the manufacture, supply and refurbishment of lathes. The brand's significance is less a result of mass-market scale than of continuity: machines designed and sold over many decades remain present in workshops, while the Super 7 in particular remains a reference point for British model engineering. Myford therefore occupies a specialist position built on engineering heritage, maintainability, practical workshop use and a durable user community rather than on broad consumer recognition.

Myford's history begins in 1934, when Cecil Moore founded the Myford Engineering Company in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The company developed a position in the British machine-tool sector by producing compact equipment suited to workshop and model-engineering applications. Its machines were intended for practical use rather than for the heavy industrial production lines associated with much larger machine-tool manufacturers. The company's most influential product line was its small metalworking lathe range. The ML7 became a widely recognised model among British model engineers, and the Super 7, introduced in 1953, represented an improvement of that earlier design. The Super 7's long production life and continued use helped establish Myford as a particularly durable name in specialist workshop machinery. Even after newer machine-tool technologies became available, the model remained important because of its familiar layout, broad accessory ecosystem and the availability of accumulated repair and operating knowledge. Myford also produced machinery for adjacent workshop tasks. Historical products included the ML8 wood-turning lathe, a four-inch planer, the MG12H cylindrical grinder, the 254 engineers' lathe and the Speed 10 lathe. Most of these models were eventually withdrawn from production, while the company's reputation remained closely tied to the metalworking lathe range. The supply of spares, accessories and refurbished equipment was consequently important to the brand's relationship with owners of older machines. The original company structure was eventually wound up. By 2010, the business was still described as family-owned and was being run by Christopher Moore, a grandson of the founder. In July 2011, Myford announced a liquidation sale at its Beeston site, offering what it described as a last opportunity to obtain spares, lathes and plant equipment directly from the company. The announcement created uncertainty about the continuity of the brand and its manufacturing activities. Continuity was pursued through a new corporate vehicle. Solicitor Jonathan Oxley had established L & P 240 Limited, which adopted the Myford Ltd name on 26 August 2011. Oxley left the company on 1 August 2011, and the new operation was subsequently placed in the hands of Richard and Christian Dickinson and their mother Christine. Richard Dickinson also had an existing machine-tool supply business, RDG Tools, which he had started in 1992 and operated from the same premises. The successor company continued operating from West Yorkshire, with lathes still built and refurbished there according to the cited account. This preserved the practical side of the Myford identity even as ownership and corporate structure changed. The brand's historical importance rests on this continuity: older Myford machines remain visible in workshops, and the Super 7 remains especially prominent among model engineers. The former Beeston premises also became part of a wider property-development story. In 2013, M & R E submitted outline planning material concerning the conversion of the old Wilmot Lane site into housing. This was separate from the machine-tool brand's product history but illustrates the physical transition affecting the former industrial site. Overall, Myford developed from a family-founded Leeds engineering company into a specialist, heritage-oriented machine-tool brand whose strongest assets are its lathe designs, installed base and reputation for serviceable workshop equipment.

• 2013

  Former Beeston site proposed for housing

  [1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  M & R E submitted outline planning material for redevelopment of the former Wilmot Lane Myford site as housing.

• 2011

  Liquidation sale announced

  [1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  Myford announced a liquidation sale at its Beeston site covering spares, lathes and plant equipment.

• 2011

  Myford Ltd name adopted

  [1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  L & P 240 Limited changed its name to Myford Ltd on 26 August 2011, creating the corporate basis for the continuing business.

• 2010

  Family ownership and management documented

  [1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  The business was still described as family-owned and was being run by Christopher Moore, the founder's grandson.

• 1953

  Super 7 lathe introduced

  [1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  Myford introduced the Super 7 as an improvement on the ML7. It became the company's best-known and most enduring model-engineering lathe.

• 1934

  Myford Engineering Company founded

  [1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  Cecil Moore founded the Myford Engineering Company in Leeds, West Yorkshire, establishing the business that would become associated with Myford machine tools.

A specialist British machine-tool brand positioned around durable, precise and maintainable workshop machinery, with particular strength in model-engineering lathes and support for a long-lived installed base.

• Metalworking lathe

  ML7

  The ML7 was one of Myford's principal small metalworking lathes and formed the basis for the later Super 7. It was aimed at model engineers and workshop users who needed a compact machine capable of general turning and related operations. The model helped establish the design language and user community associated with Myford's most durable product family.

• Metalworking lathe · 1953

  Super 7

  Introduced in 1953 as an improvement of the ML7, the Super 7 became Myford's signature lathe. Its compact form, precision-oriented construction and suitability for model engineering made it widely used in specialist workshops. The model's long service life and extensive owner knowledge also supported a continuing market for accessories, spares, maintenance and refurbishment.

• Wood-turning lathe

  ML8

  The ML8 was Myford's wood-turning lathe. It extended the company's workshop-equipment range beyond metalworking and reflected the broader needs of hobbyist and model-engineering users. The model is a historical product and is no longer identified as part of the principal current range.

• Cylindrical grinder

  MG12H

  The MG12H was a cylindrical grinder included in Myford's historical machine-tool portfolio. It represented a more specialised grinding capability than the company's better-known bench lathes. The model is no longer generally described as being in production.

• Metalworking lathe

  254 Engineers' Lathe

  The 254 engineers' lathe was one of Myford's larger or more general-purpose historical lathe offerings. It formed part of the range produced alongside the company's compact model-engineering machines, although detailed production and specification information is not established in the supplied reference.

• Metalworking lathe

  Speed 10

  The Speed 10 was a historical Myford metalworking lathe. It is listed among the company's earlier products but, like most of the range apart from the enduring core lathe family, is no longer reported as being in production.

• 2011

  Corporate continuity pursued through Myford LtdStrategy

  Background

  The original Myford business was undergoing liquidation activity, including a sale of spares, lathes and plant equipment at the Beeston site.

  Action taken

  L & P 240 Limited changed its name to Myford Ltd on 26 August 2011, and the subsequent operation was placed under the Dickinson family.

  Aftermath

  The successor business continued from West Yorkshire and was described as continuing to build and refurbish lathes.

  Source

• 2011

  Liquidation sale of equipment and sparesOther

  Background

  The company announced a sale at its Beeston site during a period of corporate transition.

  Action taken

  Myford offered lathes, spare parts and plant equipment in a liquidation sale.

  Aftermath

  The sale marked a major transition for the original operating structure, while a new Myford-named company continued the brand.

  Source

• 2013

  Planning proposal submitted for redevelopment of former Myford site[1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  Other

  M & R E submitted an outline planning application concerning the transformation of the former Myford site on Wilmot Lane in Beeston into housing.

• 2011

  Myford announces liquidation sale at Beeston site[1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Myford announced a liquidation sale described as the final opportunity to purchase spares, lathes and plant equipment directly from the Beeston business.

• 2011

  New Myford company formed under the Myford Ltd name[1]Myforden.wikipedia.org

  Other

  L & P 240 Limited, founded by Jonathan Oxley, changed its name to Myford Ltd on 26 August 2011 and continued the brand's operations in West Yorkshire.

1. 1Myforden.wikipedia.org