Frank_Dorion
Aluminum
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2004
- Location
- Plainville, CT USA
I just made a lucky acquisition. Through a friend’s referral, I was able to acquire via a trade a very nice early D. E. Whiton gear cutting machine. It uses standard involute gear milling cutters. I’ve attached some photos. I’m just about positive it was built pre-1900. D. E. Whiton moved their factory to New London, CT in 1886, so a pre-1900 manufacturing date is certainly possible, and the machine’s general design strongly suggests that era. It will cut gears from a fraction of an inch up to 30 inches in diameter, with either straight or angled teeth. It will also cut bevel (miter) gears at any angle between zero and 90 degrees. There is provision for both manual and power feed of the cutter carriage and a very efficient quick indexing mechanism. This machine was originally equipped with 42 index plates which allowed cutting any number of gear teeth up to 100 and many additional gear tooth counts above 100. Miraculously, all 42 of the original index plates are still with the machine, as well as about a dozen different original arbors for holding the gear blanks. Additional index plates are easily made – I already plan to make one for cutting 127 tooth gears for making metric conversions. This couldn’t have come at a better time either since I am planning to make full sets of metric change gears for both my Rivett 608 and my Pratt & Whitney Model B lathes. Here's a look at the new machine and some links to more photos:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter4.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter3.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter7.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter12.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter11.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter10.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter9.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter13.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter16.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter17.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter1.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter4.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter3.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter7.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter12.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter11.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter10.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter9.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter13.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter16.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter17.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n212/fdorion/GearCutter1.jpg