Back gear repair

Hi Everyone,

I was unlucky enough to break one of the teeth on the back gear cluster of my Craftsman lathe,some time ago,while trying to remove the chuck [OK,I know it has happened before and will again,but not to me I hope ]

What I want to know is ,can I repair this by welding with a cast iron rod or even brazing or failing that,even plastic metal ?

I had to replace the gear unit to get the machine running again,but the repaired unit might come in handy at some later stage,should I drop a clanger again !

Thanking you for any advice.

There are several ways to do it, as always - or usually!

Machine flat and drill for a row of screws and file to form. There are a couple of change wheel gears, on my previous lathe, that had been repaired that way.

Remove below level of teeth and replace the one tooth however you choose (better for when several teeth are damaged). Weld, braze - or even shrink fit - could work equally as well.

Weld as you suggest, but it may be awkward to machine.

I prefer to drop in some grub screws, file/grind to make machining, or filing to profile, easier and fill the gap with braze, then machine the new tooth.

Might be others.

Edited By not done it yet on 10/05/2018 15:40:49

Thanks very much Not -Done-it-Yet,I knew there was someone out there who had been down that road before !

Beware of cast iron welding rods - you need ones almost entirely Nickel otherwise it will not machine with HSS gear cutters.

I’ve not yet broken any myself. I only engage back gear and bump the chuck key with the palm of my hand. If it needs more force than that I resort to other methods of chuck removal.

Picking up a broken gear (for peanuts) and repairing a tooth, or two is good insurance, mind.

I’ve not yet broken any myself. I only engage back gear and bump the chuck key with the palm of my hand. If it needs more force than that I resort to other methods of chuck removal.

Picking up a broken gear (for peanuts) and repairing a tooth, or two is good insurance, mind.