Hello from Leicester and what have I done wrong

Hi everyone, with retirement looming I am setting up a home workshop. I’ve been an engineer since being an apprentice back in the seventies. Just bought a Chester DB8 lathe from a member on here, next is a small mill.

Anyway the reason for my post is twofold one to say hello the other to ask what have I done wrong or not. Just set the lathe for slow feed and now have a gap between the securing screw and the bottom gear and no room for a spacer.
Hope you can see what I mean in the photo. Now the next problem how to post a photo ??

Click on the camera icon at the top of the typing window, then select the photo from your album.

Hello Andy,

I expect you have already done this, but I would double check the gear set up matches the frontpanel info.

Looking at your photo, you could try swapping the two smallest gears in the cluster. The top-most small gear appears to have a bigger diameter than the middle mounted small gear.

Ed.

Hello Andy and welcome. As you can see, a question usually results in answers.

Hope you can get your problem resolved soon.

Brian

Andy,

Thats an interesting one, I don't have that particular machine but looking at the photo, could you not reverse the order of the gears on each stud starting from the top to bring the large gear to the end of the lead screw, you would then have room to fit a small gear behind as a spacer (or indeed if you have a spacer - the spacer). Shouldn't change the overall ratio, just the relative positions of the gears if you get my drift?

Paul.

Doh, cancel the above!  Looks like the position of the first gear on the mandrel is fixed and would need the pulley etc removing!  Also it wouldn't change to relative clearance at the bottom. Sorry.

Edited By Paul Kemp on 07/06/2020 12:59:24

Edited By Paul Kemp on 07/06/2020 13:02:15

+1 to what Paul suggests. The two small gears are both driving gears and the two large ones are driven gears. As long as you keep the order driver-driven-driver-driven it is just a matter of finding a setup that works, often putting two gears with as near possible sizes together as the combination in the middle works out to be the easiest setup. As Paul says, this puts the largest gear in the final position. The other thing you may have to try is the smallest gear in the first driver position.

Martin C

Thanks for the replies, Andy

Welcome to the forum Andy

Might be worth you posting under general questions with DB8 in the title to attract the attention of other owners of teh same lathe!

Neil

Looks wrong for the fine feed as you don't seem to have the largest gear on the leadscrew. Would have expected something like 80T on the leadscrew and intermediate and 75 meshing with the fixed gear on the spindle then the spacer will fit.

Can you post  a photo of the front panel where it shows the gear layout.

Edited By JasonB on 11/06/2020 08:04:41

Don't know if it is just a photo effect but it doesn't look like the last gear in the train is actually on the leadscrew! (I'm sure it is though). My WM250 which has pretty much the same system looks like this. Last gear on the leadscrew is 80 tooth for the slowest feed.

The change gear diagram from the cover looks like this for the slow feeds. 'H' indicates a spacer though I have no idea what 'H' stands for.

John

Edit: typo

Edited By Journeyman on 11/06/2020 10:36:02

Welcome!

It may well be worth you joining the local M.E Society, (Google "Model Engineering Society, Leicester" and it will bring up at least two in or near Leicester.

It is very likely that someone will have the same lathe as you, and will be able demonstrate, face to face (or socially distanced ) the way to set up the gears for whatever feed rate, or screw thread that you need for a particular job.

But don't stop asking questions on here! It will most unusual for no one to know the answer

Howard

Hello Andy, have a look on Youtube for 'Ade's Workshop'

He has produced a very good video about setting up the gear-train on his

Warco WM190, which i think is very similar to your Chester lathe

He does a very good job of explaining the use of the 'spacers'

Keith

sorry forgot to add a link!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL6hINYjd5U

Edited By Keith Gibson on 12/06/2020 17:20:33