# Change Gear Question, 14 1/2"



## RandyWilson (Aug 30, 2016)

Hi all,

 Having lived in a townhouse for the last decade, my machine equipment has been limited to a portable Sieg 7" (aka HF).  We are now moving to a real house with a real barn and will allow for a real shop. We are in the process of major renovations and additions, so we are still months away from the move. But I started looking for a real lathe, hoping to find a 10K, but would settle for a 9A. A friends brother heard of this and said he had a 13" that had to go. He had retired and no longer lived in state; get it now, or wait until the next visit in a year or two. As another thread here says, jump first, figure out what you bought later.

 So I made a run down the coast and retrieved a 13" that turned out to be a 14 1/2". Note to future generations, a heavy enough tilt bed trailer with a ton+ of lathe and accessories is really more than S10 brakes were meant to handle. We got it loaded with three men, a heavy come-along, and an underrated overhead gantry. We got it unloaded with a wife, gravity, and a bit of ingenuity.  It is now wedged into a corner of the barn and will sit until I get things cleaned up, power installed and the lathe properly positioned.

 In the mean time I have been attempting to figure out what I have here.  I have found information on setting up the VFD and other helpful things on this site. But there is one thing I can not find anywhere in web-land. What tooth counts should the change gears be? The stud gear is obvious, 24 or 48T.  The idler doesn't matter as long as it meshes properly. But I can find nothing on the screw gear, the input to the transmission.  Compounding my curiosity is this lathe has two gears bolted to the shaft, the large inner gear driven by the idler, the smaller outer gear in free space. This is further complicated by the lathe having come with what appears to be a partial set of metric gears. Unfortunately the lathe is positioned such that I can't get the gear cover open enough to get a good tooth count.  I did get it open enough to see that the transposing gear was not there. Much disappointment.


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## brino (Aug 30, 2016)

Hi Randy,

Welcome to the group!

Congratulations on the impending "real shop". 
Tooling up is always fun, yet expensive....

Does the machine still have the "plates" that give info like model number, etc?
If so, if you provide the catalog number I may be able to look up some info.
The serial number (which should be stamped on the right front ways) can narrow down the year of manufacture.

Here's a place to look-up the serial number:
http://www.wswells.com/sn/sn_index.html

By the way, this group also really likes photos.....

-brino


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## RandyWilson (Aug 30, 2016)

Serial 1812FKL12

Cat  CL185-C

As best as I can guess, it's 53-54 era. I have submitted the serial number to Mr Wells.

 I only have two pictures so far, one after loading, and the other before unloading.




 Thanks!


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 30, 2016)

We need a pic of what you are looking at. The gears you are missing might be a little tough to find if it is indeed a 14 1/2 as those where not as common as some of the others. I think you may be missing an intermediate gear from the sound of it and possibly the Trans input gear. Try and get us a pic when you can.


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## brino (Aug 30, 2016)

That is a very nice lathe!

-brino


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## RandyWilson (Aug 30, 2016)

Yes, the 14 1/2 is an odd-ball child. Such pieces have a way of finding me, as my list of automobiles owned can attest. The lathe is fully functional, no missing gears. I merely  want to verify what is there is correct which is something only a fellow 14.5 or 16 owner will be able to help with. Sorry I wasn't clear on that part, I'm at work and posting between crisis'.

Not shown in the picture is the tail piece, a 12" 4 jaw chuck. a center rest, half a dozen tool holders (5/8), a 1/2 tool post (ooops), and the rack of change gears mounted on the back that started this question.


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## Reeltor (Aug 30, 2016)

Nice lathe, 
While storing it be sure to put something on the machined surfaces to prevent rust---something other than WD40!!!
Maybe purchased from a boat/marine store


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## RandyWilson (Aug 30, 2016)

Thanks. This one is well preserved. Pickled, even. I'm looking at a bit of time cleaning it up to put it back in service.

 When I went to look at this thing, I really was expecting to find a pile of rust, just from where it was located. Or at the very least worn out from years of operating in a high-abrasive environment. We pulled it out of a shed in the shadows of the Cape Hatteras light house. The man had a propeller repair business. As anyone that has spent time navigating the shifting shoals of the Hatteras inlet can tell you, he had lots of business. Supposedly this lathe was decommissioned well before he retired and left the islands. Every time he came back, he would coat all of the machinery in rust preventative. The unsubstantiated legend has it he would use a Binks gun with a 0.120 nozzle to spray everything with a mixture of 30 weight and STP. 

 He also has a Bridgeport there, but I decided not to push my luck with the load and the wife. Besides, it's an M head. Probably would be fine for how I would use it, but....


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## RandyWilson (Aug 30, 2016)

Okay, pictures. Sorry about the poor quality. They were taken by flashlight and camera flash.

 The rack of change gears mounted on the back of the pedestal. 




I could only get the gear cover open a few inches due to the wall.





And the transmission /screw gears I question.





 I have since found a picture in the 1952(?) catalog that shows details of the 14.5/16 transmission that pictures the same dual gear set. So I am a little more confident what is there is what is supposed to be there. The question remains, though, what is the outer gear for?


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## tq60 (Aug 30, 2016)

Interesting...

You have a quick change gear box so no need for change gears.

Our 14.5 is older and single lever gearbox and also has a sliding gear in the middle of the end that shifts between 2 ratios.

Visit practical machinist forum and check out the SB forum as you may learn more.

Sblatheman (may be miss spelled) is former sb employee and source of info.

Warning...site is for pros so review the rules first 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk


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## Hawkeye (Aug 30, 2016)

Count the teeth on the big intermediate gear (when you can get the door open). It looks pretty close to 127 teeth. You may have all the gears you need for metric and standard threading.


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## RandyWilson (Aug 31, 2016)

Ah, I am an idiot. The real truth of the situation hit me while running the fire trails through the swamp (tis faster than using the interstate). What I have is a stock configuration for the double tumbler geartrain. I also have all of the gears for the metric kit except for the 127/120 transposing gear. That is a disappointment as I could really use metric capability.

 Using the full res pictures from last night, I counted teeth on the idler gear. I was having to use two pictures, so there is likely error. I came up with 81. I'd believe 80, or anything in the 78-84 range. But not 127.

 And the mystery gear floating in space on the end of the transmission. that would be the 48T stud gear permanently parked because no one ever cuts 4TPI.

 Sorry for taking up your time because I didn't think things through.


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