PM1236 gears

S

ShawnR

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Hi all

I have purchased a PM1236 but I won't see it for another month or so. :D I have had a small lathe for years, one that needed gears changed for any change in lead screw speed and I am/was really looking forward to no more gears when I ordered the lathe. I did realize that switching imperial to metric would involve a couple of gears but that will really be seldom, if ever. I would mostly do imperial. Now that the lathe arrival is nearer, I was perusing the manual a bit and see that gear changes are indeed required. Is it just switching the 24t and 48 tooth? Is that worth complaining about? Again, probably would not be posting if I had access to see the lathe but kind of wondering if this is going to be a pain. Two common sizes for me are 1/4" x 20 and 1/2" x 13. It looks like one set does coarse and the other does fine (ish)? What is the gear swapping procedure like to do? My current lathe required all 4 gears be changed, and each fastening point had to be altered with a different diameter so it was a PITA. Some pitches were accomodated with one gear change but it was usually the one behind others so, yea,....:mad:

I am sure the PM1236 will be way better than that! But I was surprised I would be switching anything unless I changed units. Anyone have input for me?

Thanks
Cheers,
Shawn
 
I have a PM1236 on order as well. I think there are minor gear changes needed. If it really starts driving you crazy you could do an electronic lead screw upgrade (ELS).

I think to completely get away from gear changes you have to get into the really big (and expensive) lathes.
 
My first lathe was an Atlas 6", (dunno the real name) Gear switching was a bore. I made two or three banjos out of 1/8th CRS, found some gears online and changed from one (standard) set up to another in minutes. I now have a PM1030, same gear change problem. I've made three banjos, have two set up plus the original, need a couple of more gears for the last banjo. Yes, I made pivot pins and T-nuts, too. complete with ball oilers.
What's the point in having a shop if you can't/don't make things.?
 
If you don't have the Norton gear box, I had to change gears with my 1228 to cut 1/2-13, and 5/8-11, not sure if the 1236 is the same.
 
ShawnR said:
Hi all

I have purchased a PM1236 but I won't see it for another month or so. :D I have had a small lathe for years, one that needed gears changed for any change in lead screw speed and I am/was really looking forward to no more gears when I ordered the lathe. I did realize that switching imperial to metric would involve a couple of gears but that will really be seldom, if ever. I would mostly do imperial. Now that the lathe arrival is nearer, I was perusing the manual a bit and see that gear changes are indeed required. Is it just switching the 24t and 48 tooth? Is that worth complaining about? Again, probably would not be posting if I had access to see the lathe but kind of wondering if this is going to be a pain. Two common sizes for me are 1/4" x 20 and 1/2" x 13. It looks like one set does coarse and the other does fine (ish)? What is the gear swapping procedure like to do? My current lathe required all 4 gears be changed, and each fastening point had to be altered with a different diameter so it was a PITA. Some pitches were accomodated with one gear change but it was usually the one behind others so, yea,....:mad:

I am sure the PM1236 will be way better than that! But I was surprised I would be switching anything unless I changed units. Anyone have input for me?

Thanks
Cheers,
Shawn
Click to expand...
It's very easy to do: remove the cap screw on the 48 tooth gear-remove gear, put a spacer behind it so it meshes with the 120 tooth gear.There is a banjo so you can easily line up the gears to mesh properly. Might take 5 minutes. The metric threads cut are precise.
With metric taps and readily available metric bolts it's not something you will do too often.
 
fursphere said:
I have a PM1236 on order as well. I think there are minor gear changes needed. If it really starts driving you crazy you could do an electronic lead screw upgrade (ELS).

I think to completely get away from gear changes you have to get into the really big (and expensive) lathes.
Click to expand...
Did you get the email that our lathes are in the warehouse so depending on when you placed your order, your lathe will be shipped. I was only a couple weeks ago so I am almost last.
 
ShawnR said:
Did you get the email that our lathes are in the warehouse so depending on when you placed your order, your lathe will be shipped. I was only a couple weeks ago so I am almost last.
Click to expand...
Yup. They said a week or two for inspection, then they'll start shipping them out. I actually asked them to hold mine a little longer, as I'm right in the middle of purchasing a new home - and I want to close that so I can have it shipped straight there. I'm not planning on having mine until early May.
 
pacifica said:
It's very easy to do: remove the cap screw on the 48 tooth gear-remove gear, put a spacer behind it so it meshes with the 120 tooth gear.There is a banjo so you can easily line up the gears to mesh properly. Might take 5 minutes. The metric threads cut are precise.
With metric taps and readily available metric bolts it's not something you will do too often.
Click to expand...

mmmm.....I know I can be impatient. Guess I did not expect any gear changes but I am sure the quality of the rest of the machine will more than make up for it. The only conflict ie cause to change gears is the common 1/2-13 I use so maybe I will start doing fine threads, if I am going to be that lazy...;)

Thanks for the input.
 
That situation can be frustrating --- a guy I worked for for a couple of years, had a lathe made in India, Mysore Kirloskar; I was having to do the change gear thing for coarse/fine threads, there was an 8:1 ratio between the two gear ranges; my cure was to gear it half way in between the two ranges and figure from one range and divide by two what was indicated; worked for me, but he never really caught on ---
 
ShawnR said:
mmmm.....I know I can be impatient. Guess I did not expect any gear changes but I am sure the quality of the rest of the machine will more than make up for it. The only conflict ie cause to change gears is the common 1/2-13 I use so maybe I will start doing fine threads, if I am going to be that lazy...;)

Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...
You can get a die head for threads or get the 1236T, both costing more.
 
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