Garrett Wide Range Attachment (AKA, Garrett Millerette) for Lathes.

In a way, I can appreciate that the Cincinnati dividing head has high number plates with some prime numbers, such as 53 having been previously discussed; this lessens the necessity for differential indexing that is necessary with the B&S type of dividing head; it requires concentration and care to do normal indexing, but with differential indexing, having the dividing plate revolve at the same time that the worm crank is being turned makes it all the worse and increases the chance of mistakes being made; having said that, The B&S is the one that I own and use, and have needed to differential index many times, like for making prime number change gears, such as the 127 tooth for metric transposing.
The Cincinnati dividing head will divide 33 with the standard dividing plate, which is double sided (only one plate is supplied), and a high number plate, (optional at extra cost) will divide 127, both not requiring differential indexing.
I have a Cincinnati end gear train and change gears that are surplus to my needs if anyone has an interest in spiral cutting capability; it came off a #2 universal made in the late 1930s.
 
Well the Henry Ford Museum sent me the scans of the booklet with an unbelievably fast turnaround! While it does give some more information on the Millerette's uses, it is more of a catalog than an instruction manual. Unfortunately no extended ratio charts...
 

Attachments

  • The Garrett Millerette Converter.pdf
    2.9 MB · Views: 39
Eddy,
I have a few photos. I have the original dividing head - with an additional user made base (green) - the tailstock attachment, a holding device and all 24 gears (15T to 31T, and 35,37,41, 43, 47, 49 and 60 - 24DP) and a few user made taper adapters (the taper is like an "extended" 2mt - extend the large end, and remove off the small end). Also a small 3 jaw chuck has been adapted to fit - not in photos
Thanks for posting, How long have you owned it, have you used it yet?
 
Hi Eddy,
I saw one a while ago (end of Nov. 2017) at my local used tool place.
I only recognized it because of this thread, but I took a couple photos:

View attachment 260195View attachment 260196

I kinda lost track of this thread and never got around to getting them off my phone, until the thread was updated.
Sorry, they had no manual.

-brino
Cool, that one looks like it has the vise attachment, which is even rarer!
 
I have a Mastermill lathe milling attachment, which consists of a motorized milling spindle that mounts on the lathe compound; it has external and internal grinding attachment spindles, a angle adaptor that could be used for thread milling, and a shaper attachment that would be used for keyseating, it also had a keyseating attachment kind of like a broach that would stroke back and forth while pressure was applied forcing it into the cut. I got the whole kit at a local estate sale, including most all of its parts and adaptors and literature; these were later sold by DoAll under their name, mine is probably either WW-2 or the 1950s. When I get time, I will do a posting of it. It is all in as new condition, I have never used it, only bought it because it was there, along with so much stuff a person would have to see it to believe it; the guy was a college industrial arts teacher who regularly surveyed surplus in government storage; my friend and I who helped price items bought more than the rest of the sale combined!
 
The Millerette that I had was equipped with a good deal larger vise than the one shown. In my earlier post, I forgot another feature of the MasterMill milling attachment; It came with a dividing head that was fastened into the rear end of the lathe spindle with an expanding bushing and anchored to the headstock casting with a torque arm so that the spindle could be indexed for such as gear cutting and keyway cutting. The whole MasterMill design is about the direct opposite of the Millerette.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top