A Lathe Without Changing Gears for Threading

[chipinator]

I've been casually looking at manual lathes, watching a few Tube videos, reading, etc... Would anyone happen to know of a manufacturer/model of lathe where you don't have to change any of the gears for threading in either inch or metric? There may not be a lathe like this but I'm nonetheless still curious which is why I come to the well of knowledge. Thanks.

 

[mmcmdl]

CNC . Edit , I missed the manual lathe !

 

[GunsOfNavarone]

ELS conversion?

 

[RJSakowski]

Any lathe with an ELS. At the push of some buttons, you can change from inch to metric, thread pitches, left or right hand threads, and from threading to power feed.

They do require some work by the user as they are an aftermarket addition. The Clough42 ELS is fairly straight forward even for the uninitiated although some machining is necessary. My Clough42 ELS build cost me around $250 although I had some parts on hand. There is a Rocketronics ELS also available at a higher cost. For those more adventurous, there are other ELS builds, a number of them described in detail on threads on this forum.

 

[DavidR8]

@chipinator I personally know the developer behind one ELS system. I can put you in touch with him if you're interested in talking to him.

 

[markba633csi]

I think the OP means not having to physically change gears, and the answer is yes, many modern lathes can cut both inch and metric threads just by moving levers or turning dials

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I've been casually looking at manual lathes, watching a few Tube videos, reading, etc... Would anyone happen to know of a manufacturer/model of lathe where you don't have to change any of the gears for threading in either inch or metric? There may not be a lathe like this but I'm nonetheless still curious which is why I come to the well of knowledge. Thanks.

any "smart lathe" or many servo lathes replace a lead screw with a servo motor and encoder that reads the spindle speed, and replaces traditional hand wheels with encoders that act as hand wheels yet drive servo or stepper motors to move the cross slide and carriage. They can be programmed to feel like normal hand wheels.

Personally I like the MicroWeily and will buy one if I win the lottery.

Servo lathe

Or like they say, convert a hobby lathe of about 10x24 to use electronic lead screw and other options.

Rocketronics ELS

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I think the OP means not having to physically change gears, and the answer is yes, many modern lathes can cut both inch and metric threads just by moving levers or turning dials

BUT changing levers is changing gears. Nope your answer is disqualified.

 

[markba633csi]

Strictly speaking you're right, so the only possible answer is CNC (including ELS)

 

[mksj]

Change any gears, may be interpreted differently in the context of the lathe/question. Often it is interpreted as not having to remove and change gears for for imperial/metric or for models that require multiple change gears for the listed TPI's. In this context, there are lathes with universal gearboxes which for standard threading (all TPI both metric and imperial) do not require change gears. Otherwise as indicated one would need something like an ELS/CNC. I am not aware of any manual lathe with factory ELS, other than Hardinge lathe's and some of their clones.

Universal gearbox, single change gear for mod/DP only.