ken holliday
novice - just learning
i seem to have a warped gear or bent shaft in the gearbox I have amanual parts show on page 9, -15 through 22 , do you have one for sale? or know where i can get one
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standard modern 9 inch utilathe 1960 approx model part needed
- Thread starter ken holliday
- Start date
I have the spindle and some headstock gears from that one that was parted out. BrentH had the machine, I know the gear box is gone but I'm not sure what he has left.
Maybe the person that bought the gearbox has parts from his old one, if he had a gearbox to start with.
Maybe the person that bought the gearbox has parts from his old one, if he had a gearbox to start with.
ken holliday
novice - just learning
hi thanks for the quick reply, i have a nephew who is apprenticing as a millwright, he is helping me due to my mobility handicap
he has removed the gear box from the lather, inspection shows either a bent shaft or warped gears - in the manual (found online) it would be page 9 parts 15-22, it was sticking in one spot, would revlve about 90% of a revolution freely. Then hard to turn , it also seems there is a gap between gears - 10thousandths , reduceing to nil at this spot
he has washed and cleaned debris from gears and finds it turns freely now, I think we will reinstal as is and hope it works
i am in regina
he has removed the gear box from the lather, inspection shows either a bent shaft or warped gears - in the manual (found online) it would be page 9 parts 15-22, it was sticking in one spot, would revlve about 90% of a revolution freely. Then hard to turn , it also seems there is a gap between gears - 10thousandths , reduceing to nil at this spot
he has washed and cleaned debris from gears and finds it turns freely now, I think we will reinstal as is and hope it works
i am in regina
ken holliday
novice - just learning
not ever having used a steel lathe, i learn by trial and error - lots of error!, i was changing feeds on the fly, and have since been told that is a bad thing.
Youtube is your friend for learning stuff. Never change any gear settings with the machine running, gearbox/headstock/leadscrew forward-reverse. And if you're still not sure, ask, we're all here to help.
I was going to ask how long you've been doing machine stuff but you just answered the question.
I've been playing for around a couple of years and have found the level of knowledge on this site is incredible and diverse.
I was going to ask how long you've been doing machine stuff but you just answered the question.
I've been playing for around a couple of years and have found the level of knowledge on this site is incredible and diverse.
I have been under the impression that changing feed rates was about the only thing you can do on the fly. I'd be too chicken to attempt it though.
@RobinHood should be able to comment on this.
@RobinHood should be able to comment on this.
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Brent H
Ultra Member
Changing feed on the fly can get you in big trouble fast - If parts of the Christmas gear tree are sticking it could be because of a couple things:
Gear 14 is the gear that locks all the others onto the splined shaft. There is a taper pin(maybe split pin) holding that gear in position. If you sheared that off it may change some spacing resulting in the biding. There is not a lot of room in there for things to float freely - The other thing is that the whole shaft had shifted over sticking on the spline and just needs a tap to get it back.
Note the small clearance (orange arrow). The pin is indicated by red arrow. The shaft is splined and would be an interesting build
I don't have any parts anymore. I scrapped the bed and headstock piece and the carriage. The whole GBX is now running a lathe in the USA.
Fabrication : "That is the way"
Gear 14 is the gear that locks all the others onto the splined shaft. There is a taper pin(maybe split pin) holding that gear in position. If you sheared that off it may change some spacing resulting in the biding. There is not a lot of room in there for things to float freely - The other thing is that the whole shaft had shifted over sticking on the spline and just needs a tap to get it back.
Note the small clearance (orange arrow). The pin is indicated by red arrow. The shaft is splined and would be an interesting build
I don't have any parts anymore. I scrapped the bed and headstock piece and the carriage. The whole GBX is now running a lathe in the USA.
Fabrication : "That is the way"
Interesting..... someone told me it was legit to do on the Utilathe? I find changing the feed lever positions a bit of a struggle and have been tempted to try it under power.
Brent H
Ultra Member
@YYCHobbyMachinist: doing it on the fly if you are perfect you are engaging the feed box right on the correct gear and may not have any issues, however, if you rattle part way through a gear or you go clunking in from a higher feed to a lower feed all you are doing is chipping teeth or stressing the assembly. I will always just spin the chuck by hand to click into the next gear.
I guess on the 9 inch Utilathe you "clutch in" the feed using the knob on the apron, so in theory, provided you are declutched you could switch feeds. It would/could get messy if you forgot to de-clutch. on the 10 and 12 Utilathe it tells you not to change course to fine feeds at spindle speeds over 100 RPM. I just don't do it at all so as to avoid any issues. I can see the wear from people in the past riding the gears into the spot they want.
I guess on the 9 inch Utilathe you "clutch in" the feed using the knob on the apron, so in theory, provided you are declutched you could switch feeds. It would/could get messy if you forgot to de-clutch. on the 10 and 12 Utilathe it tells you not to change course to fine feeds at spindle speeds over 100 RPM. I just don't do it at all so as to avoid any issues. I can see the wear from people in the past riding the gears into the spot they want.
The half-nut is the only thing that gets engaged on the fly. Even changing from longitudinal to cross feed you disengage the clutch and then change feeds. Parts are getting harder and harder to find so it's better safe than walking away grumbling to yourself "the guys on the forum were right".
Ok, my ears were ringing...
Yes, I do change feed rates on the fly - BUT not with any load on (apron / cross slide feed off), AND only in the fine feed range with spindle RPM < 1000.
The SM1340 gear train is similar to, but slightly different from the smaller SM Utilathe. The fine feed longitudinal range on the SM1340 is 0.053mm/rev to 0.396mm/rev (1/2 of that for the cross slide).
On the Colchester Master 2500, there is one feed selection lever that should only be moved while the feed gear train is engaged (circled in red) - again under no load; you won’t be able to shift without the gearbox turning. The fine feed range is 0.03mm/rev to 0.5mm/rev (1/2 of that for facing)
Now, both the 1340 and the Colchester are “light duty” production lathes - so the gear shifting philosophy is different as well as the gears don’t have straight edges; they are chamfered to facilitate shifting on the fly.
You could turn the spindle by hand I suppose, but you’d be there for a while to get it into gear.
Yes, I do change feed rates on the fly - BUT not with any load on (apron / cross slide feed off), AND only in the fine feed range with spindle RPM < 1000.
The SM1340 gear train is similar to, but slightly different from the smaller SM Utilathe. The fine feed longitudinal range on the SM1340 is 0.053mm/rev to 0.396mm/rev (1/2 of that for the cross slide).
On the Colchester Master 2500, there is one feed selection lever that should only be moved while the feed gear train is engaged (circled in red) - again under no load; you won’t be able to shift without the gearbox turning. The fine feed range is 0.03mm/rev to 0.5mm/rev (1/2 of that for facing)
Now, both the 1340 and the Colchester are “light duty” production lathes - so the gear shifting philosophy is different as well as the gears don’t have straight edges; they are chamfered to facilitate shifting on the fly.
You could turn the spindle by hand I suppose, but you’d be there for a while to get it into gear.
ken holliday
novice - just learning
i was using it to turn a wooden bowl, soft wood, and had to have the cross feed bed clear of the woork as the bowl size was too big to allow it to revolve with the cross feed under it. I used a 15 inch bar with a 2 inch x1/4 inch squre hand ground cutter, I was having to to take only 10-25 thou each pass and had to remove a total of 1.5 inch to get the log totally round. thus the many passes and with my left arm not being able to lify yo change easy i was doing it on the fly, wont do that again!!! longhistory on my lathe, it belonged to my brother in law, came for Balfour tech where he took some classes in high school. He bought it took it to his home in BC, had a hobby of rebuilding airplanes, was killed in mid air crash, i inherited , brought it back- sure i missed some of his accessories - but do have many i have no idea what they are , he had made a hack saw driven by the 4 jaw chuck , attacghed to the bed, i have pictures, i have never tried to hook it up. I have made a belt drive off the chuck with rests to sharpen wood chisels of wood carving, various grit from 400 to 1000 to 2000 to 6000. I have to drive it slow rpm to avoid over heating the chisels, Fun to experiment!!! when the covid is over i am hoping to do more
Welcome to the forum. Don't take this as a criticism but maybe a heads up. Woodworking generally does not play well with metal lathes. A little bit wont hurt and I don't mean abrasion to the bed or anything. Metal swarf is much harder. But sawdust has a way of migrating into lubricated areas its not welcome, making friendly with the oil or grease & swelling up to a paste form. I've read a few stories where guys were rebuilding lathes acquired from woodworkers thinking they would be barely used. But when they opened up the gearbox or shift lever banjo, were greeted by housing packed full of mung, even broken gears or bent shafts as a result. These surfaces are meant to run with a thousandths or so clearance & oil film between them.
Wood lathes typically don't have feed controls involving hand wheels, lead screws or quick change gearboxes etc. Basically everything is sealed up or the few external moving parts are robust enough that dust & chips can be vacuumed or air blasted out. Maybe you can figure out a way to manifold the dust but I don't have any experience there. Good luck!
Wood lathes typically don't have feed controls involving hand wheels, lead screws or quick change gearboxes etc. Basically everything is sealed up or the few external moving parts are robust enough that dust & chips can be vacuumed or air blasted out. Maybe you can figure out a way to manifold the dust but I don't have any experience there. Good luck!