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Victor lathe help

Backtoworker

Plastic
Joined
Nov 12, 2022
Hello all first time poster on this forum. I have a Victor 1918 lathe that I'm restoring and going to use down the road. My issues I am having right now is that I can't any info about this lathe other than an article about it, I don't have timing belt for it so I would have to do some guess work on the little guy, and I don't have any of the gears for threading and would like to know if anyone would have any info on the gears for threading that way I can make my own gears so that way she is fully functional.

Thanks for taking the time to read and one day when I have her completely finished I'll post a pic of the lathe.
 
Interesting possible connection based on the Vintage Machinery link. Victory Machinery Exchange (or some name like it) survives to this day. They started in 1918 in the old machine tool district of Manhattan. An address on Lafayette Street puts them right in the heart of what was a solid few blocks of machinery dealers and at least one other manufacturer (Garvin).

Threading charts and information for a "loose change gear lathe" in terms of gearing to cut different pitches can be calculated. If the pitch (threads per inch) of the lead screw is known, determining the change gears becomes a matter of setting up a ratio of turns of the spindle to turns of the lead screw to produce a given pitch thread.

The lathe is basic in its design, and has a 'quadrant' with some smaller gears to engage/disengage and change the direction the lead screw would be turning in relation to the spindle. The output gear on this quadrant, if it is there, will be what would mesh with the change gears to transmit the power to the lead screw. This output gear is known as the 'stud gear'. There are two steps to be taken to start the process of figuring out change gearing.
The first, assuming the stud gear is in place, is to measure its outer diameter (use a vernier, dial, or digital caliper for this). Count the number of teeth. Use the formula:

D = (n + 2) divided by P, where n =number of teeth, P = diametral pitch. Once you have the diametral pitch, you know the size/shape tooth (assume 14 1/2 degree pressure angle on an old lathe's gears). Diametral pitch, referred to as 'pitch', is what you look for in finding change gears to match the stud gear.


There is a slotted link which is sometimes called the 'banjo'. This slotted link is the 'neck' of the banjo, and the body or round part of the banjo is bored to fit around the lead screw bracket. The banjo can be swung around the lead screw bracket and clamped in position to mesh different combinations of change gears between the stud gear and the lead screw gear. There were studs machined with flats to fit in the slot of the banjo, and nuts to clamp them solidly in place in that slot. These studs had machined journals on which the change gears were placed. There were some sort of retainers to keep the change gears in place on these studs.

If the banjo is in place on the lathe, you are already ahead of the game. Even if the lathe is not setup for threading due to a lack of change gears, it can be run for 'plain turning' and used to machine the studs for the change gears (using a die to cut the threads for the nuts to lock the studs in the banjo slot, and filing the flats on the studs to fit them into the banjo slot). Boston Gear had standard change gears in various pitches in their catalog. Pricey, but it will give you an idea of what is out there.
Some new gears of this type are furnished with a 'pilot bore' thru the hub. The person using that gear has to bore the hub to suit his needs. If you get the diametral pitch and find the pitch of the lead screw, you can setup the ratios needed to cut different pitches of threads. If the stud gear is in place on the lathe, then you have the starting point for figuring the gear ratios. There are two types of change gearing: simple (usually the stud gear, an idler which does not change ratio, and the lead screw gear); and, compound. COmpound is usually used for finer pitch threads and has a center gear in the train that has two gears keyed together on a common bushing. The stud gear drives a larger diameter gear on this bushing, and there is a smaller diameter pinion keyed on this same bushing. This smaller pinion drives the larger gear on the lead screw. This gives a much greater gear reduction for cutting finer pitches or, if the lathe is equipped with power carriage feed, gives a finer feed.

I do not know the diametral pitch of the change gears on the popular small lathes such as South Bend or Logan. If you get lucky, or have to fit a new stud gear, you can look into using loose change gears for a 9" SOuth Bend Lathe. Nothing standard from one lathe builder to the next, but gearing has certain basic parameters used in the design of it. Fitting a new stud gear and using used change gears from a South Bend 9" lathe may be an economical way to go about it. You are still on your own for the chart as to making up the gearing, as this depends on the threads/inch on the lead screw. May not be the same as South Bend, but gearing is gearing.
 
Interesting possible connection based on the Vintage Machinery link. Victory Machinery Exchange (or some name like it) survives to this day. They started in 1918 in the old machine tool district of Manhattan. An address on Lafayette Street puts them right in the heart of what was a solid few blocks of machinery dealers and at least one other manufacturer (Garvin).

Threading charts and information for a "loose change gear lathe" in terms of gearing to cut different pitches can be calculated. If the pitch (threads per inch) of the lead screw is known, determining the change gears becomes a matter of setting up a ratio of turns of the spindle to turns of the lead screw to produce a given pitch thread.

The lathe is basic in its design, and has a 'quadrant' with some smaller gears to engage/disengage and change the direction the lead screw would be turning in relation to the spindle. The output gear on this quadrant, if it is there, will be what would mesh with the change gears to transmit the power to the lead screw. This output gear is known as the 'stud gear'. There are two steps to be taken to start the process of figuring out change gearing.
The first, assuming the stud gear is in place, is to measure its outer diameter (use a vernier, dial, or digital caliper for this). Count the number of teeth. Use the formula:

D = (n + 2) divided by P, where n =number of teeth, P = diametral pitch. Once you have the diametral pitch, you know the size/shape tooth (assume 14 1/2 degree pressure angle on an old lathe's gears). Diametral pitch, referred to as 'pitch', is what you look for in finding change gears to match the stud gear.


There is a slotted link which is sometimes called the 'banjo'. This slotted link is the 'neck' of the banjo, and the body or round part of the banjo is bored to fit around the lead screw bracket. The banjo can be swung around the lead screw bracket and clamped in position to mesh different combinations of change gears between the stud gear and the lead screw gear. There were studs machined with flats to fit in the slot of the banjo, and nuts to clamp them solidly in place in that slot. These studs had machined journals on which the change gears were placed. There were some sort of retainers to keep the change gears in place on these studs.

If the banjo is in place on the lathe, you are already ahead of the game. Even if the lathe is not setup for threading due to a lack of change gears, it can be run for 'plain turning' and used to machine the studs for the change gears (using a die to cut the threads for the nuts to lock the studs in the banjo slot, and filing the flats on the studs to fit them into the banjo slot). Boston Gear had standard change gears in various pitches in their catalog. Pricey, but it will give you an idea of what is out there.
Some new gears of this type are furnished with a 'pilot bore' thru the hub. The person using that gear has to bore the hub to suit his needs. If you get the diametral pitch and find the pitch of the lead screw, you can setup the ratios needed to cut different pitches of threads. If the stud gear is in place on the lathe, then you have the starting point for figuring the gear ratios. There are two types of change gearing: simple (usually the stud gear, an idler which does not change ratio, and the lead screw gear); and, compound. COmpound is usually used for finer pitch threads and has a center gear in the train that has two gears keyed together on a common bushing. The stud gear drives a larger diameter gear on this bushing, and there is a smaller diameter pinion keyed on this same bushing. This smaller pinion drives the larger gear on the lead screw. This gives a much greater gear reduction for cutting finer pitches or, if the lathe is equipped with power carriage feed, gives a finer feed.

I do not know the diametral pitch of the change gears on the popular small lathes such as South Bend or Logan. If you get lucky, or have to fit a new stud gear, you can look into using loose change gears for a 9" SOuth Bend Lathe. Nothing standard from one lathe builder to the next, but gearing has certain basic parameters used in the design of it. Fitting a new stud gear and using used change gears from a South Bend 9" lathe may be an economical way to go about it. You are still on your own for the chart as to making up the gearing, as this depends on the threads/inch on the lead screw. May not be the same as South Bend, but gearing is gearing.
Thank you for the information. Sorry for the late reply I completely forgot I made this post.
 








 
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