A Lathe Without Changing Gears for Threading

Wow everyone! I didn't expect to get so many answers this soon on a Sunday. I should have been more specific with my language - my apologies. What I was really referencing was not having to open the gearbox and physically change the gears. I don't mind moving levers to achieve the threading which is what I expect. I was looking to see what lathes just use levers to change the gearing for the threading you would wish to do both in inches and metric. That's the type of lathe I'm wondering about; manufacturer and model. My search terms for this type of lathe has not been returning what I'm looking for which is why I came to the well of knowledge.
 
You're looking for lathes with a quick-change gearbox, although QCGBs which can do both inch and metric threading without changing any gears are somewhat rare.
 
If you are working in imperial measure, there is no need for a lathe that can do metric threads, and if it was something you occasionally want to do, changing the metric transposing gears is not so onerous as to be too much trouble. The quick change gearbox was invented in 1896 or 7, and nearly every small lathe after that offered a quick change option. A good choice of lathes to look for is South Bend, they are plentiful on the used market.
 
I would not say that universal gearboxes are rare, it is just that they are more common with more expensive lathes over 10K like the Grizzly G0509g, almost all SunMaster lathes which are branded under kent (ERL, TRL, RML), Acra 1440C, SouthBend, PM/QMT 1440TL, etc. You might also look at some of the older engine lathes from Clausing/Colchester, Harrison, or other light industrial models. If buying used make sure everything works and it is not badly worn.
www.grizzly.com

16" x 40" 3-Phase Gunsmithing Metal Lathe at Grizzly.com

<h1>G0509G 16" x 40" 3-Phase Gunsmithing Metal Lathe</h1> <h2>The original Grizzly gunsmithing metal lathe.</h2> <p>The G0509G 16" x 40" 3-Phase Gunsmithing Metal Lathe came to life after the founder of Grizzly was talking to his gunsmith. <p>Frustrated that there wasn’t a lathe specifically for...
www.grizzly.com www.grizzly.com

Search Results for “1440c” – ACRA Machinery

acramachinery.com acramachinery.com
 
Even some of the old timers can cut both imperial and metric threads by simply changing a couple levers. The Sheldon MW-56-P lathes could be purchased with the metric threading option. Keep in mind these lathes were sold in the late 1950's through the mid 1960's. Unfortunately, the option was not that popular in the US at that time. I've been looking to purchase the system for several years. They occasionally come on the market when someone is parting out a lathe, but they are very expensive. The last one I saw come up for sale had an asking price of more than I paid for my lathe and all the accessories that came with it.
 
My Summit, I believe made in Poland cuts metric and imperial with the ration of a knob.

Greg
 
I have a Grizzly G4003G. It can do imperial threads from 4 to 112 TPI without touching the change gears. For metric it will do all the thread pitches with only two gear changes.
 
Gimme a quick change gearbox with the levers and I'm happy. I'll investigate the ELS; it's definitely interesting.
 
More expensive and or modern lathes can do threading with no or minimal gear changing. Less expensive lathes, generally require gear changes.

For my 10 x 22 lathe, I made my own ELS using a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller and a touch display. In my approach, there are simple context sensitive menus to select feeds or threads. Still finishing up the physical packaging for the display. Hope to get that settled in a week or two. My ELS can cut imperial and metric threads and is not limited by physical gears. If I wanted 13-1/3 TPI, or some bizarre thread, like 3.14156 mm, I could do it. I have a thread on it in the DIY Electronics CNC, Arduino & Raspberry Pi sub forum. My ELS is runs, although it's apart now for the buttoning up phase.
 
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