Replacement 9" Thread Dial Gear?

[tobnpr]

I'd like to replace my thread dial gear if possible.
Grizzly apparently no longer sells their new $50, 10k gear, it's been discontinued.
Why? Makes no sense...Thousands of 9's out there, why not sell them, even at double the price- better than a clapped-out one on Fleabay for $200.

Suggestions? Shop that would fabricate? Heck, If I ordered 100 new bet I could sell the 99 extra ones in a couple of weeks as theres no shortage of SB 9's still humming away with worn screws

 

[Ken-Bergen]

How do you wear out a thread dial gear?

 

[John Strange]

I saw some 3D printed ones that seemed a bit pricey, but not sure they were for a 9".

 

[gadget73]

How do you wear out a thread dial gear?

leave it engaged all the time and never lube the lead screw. Or use grease to make sure that you have a lovely metallic abrasive slurry on the screw like my 10L came with. It cost me a worm and wheel though, not the thread dial.


3d printed would probably work fine for hobby use as long as it gets dropped out when not needed.

 

[johansen]

I can make one for you if you find the ebay 3d printed prices as reduculous as i do. 5$ sound good? I need one myself and havent gotten around to it yet... the files are on thingverse...

 

[tobnpr]

I can make one for you if you find the ebay 3d printed prices as reduculous as i do. 5$ sound good? I need one myself and havent gotten around to it yet... the files are on thingverse...

Sure can't pass that up Thanks, just let me know when you get to it- but would rather pay you more so I don't feel guilty, lol.

As to the wear, it's not extreme- but noticeable and it bothers me. I need my threading to be tight/precise as much of it is class 3. It was like this when I bought the lathe and rebuilt it two years ago, I've kept it "kicked out" off the leadscrew when not threading since I've had it. The leadscrew shows no visible wear, half-nuts are in great shape so it is a bit puzzling.

I'm still trying to figure out why Grizzly would stop making these when there's such a huge market for 'em.

 

[kitno455]

I need my threading to be tight/precise as much of it is class 3.

The threading dial does not control the pitch of the thread, the leadscrew and half-nuts do. The dial just tells you when to drop the half-nut lever. You could press a baseball card against the leadscrew and count clicks and the thread would have the same precision.

allan

 

[johnoder]

For instance....Hendey, one of the finest tool room lathes ever conceived and built, would thread all day with no threading dial (due to having apron mounted lead screw reverse)

Threading dial not present, but nearly perfect threads being produced - day in day out, year in, year out

My old write up on that system:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...ory/hendey-lathe-emergency-113621/#post421468

 

[Zahnrad Kopf]

Hmmmm... maybe we should knock a few real ones out and throw'm on the 'bay...

 

[johansen]

Hmmmm... maybe we should knock a few real ones out and throw'm on the 'bay...

There are no doubt a lot of people who need the apron wormgear as well

 

[Dumpster_diving]

Lathes without thread dials

Further to the discussion of lathes without thread dials (and where to source them)...A question, an offer, and a suggestion.

I acquired a 13" South Bend from the 1930's that similarly had no thread dial. No threaded hole for one in the apron...just absent. So far as I know, no reversing lever either. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the reality that no-one saw fit to retrofit a thread dial in 80+ years using the lathe. Is that really possible? Would no-one have found the need to thread on a lathe in all that time?

I had my son 3D print a thingeverse thread dial. Came out great, but the design is not for the SB 13 (probably would fit a SB 9 or 10). As serviceable as a plastic thread dial and gear would be for hobby use...I don't expect it would last long. So I never installed it. PM me the specs on the gear you need and if it's a match and fits your lathe, I'd be happy to send it to you. .

But...for what it's worth...I bought the cheapest thread dial off of e-bay I could find and made my own gear to replace the one that came with the e-bay dial. Not hard at all to make a serviceable thread gear to match the SB13 and not hard to replace the original gear in the non-SB thread dial. The teeth need to be a close but not perfect match to maintain contact/alignment. That would be my suggestion for avoiding the plastic 3D printed versions or paying a ton for an original replacement metal thread dial.

 

[garyphansen]

There is no need for a thread dial on a lathe with a 4 thread per inch lead screw if you are cutting 4,8,16,32 and 64 threads per inch. For other thread per inch pitches just leave the lathe in gear while cutting the entire thread and run the bit back to the starting point by running the lathe in reverse. A thread dial is faster for the other pitches but it all depends how often a odd pitch is needed.

 

[gadget73]

The first thing I threaded on my lathe was done without the dial. Its stupid, but I didn't have a bolt the right size to mount it on hand. I simply stopped it and reversed the motor as needed. Its annoying, especially with a single phase motor, but you can do it. I ended up running it up to the shoulder by spinning the chuck by hand.

 

[tobnpr]

The threading dial does not control the pitch of the thread, the leadscrew and half-nuts do. The dial just tells you when to drop the half-nut lever. You could press a baseball card against the leadscrew and count clicks and the thread would have the same precision.

allan

Absolutely, now that I actually think about it...thanks for pointing out the obvious to me. I'll crawl back into my hole now...