Why Would I Need A Quick Change Lathe Gear Box?

I work mainly in metric and my lathe is only a generic 9x20 but the qcgb is essential for some thread sizes along with the change gears.
My thoughts are if you dont have it available there will probably come a time when its needed for one simple job and you wish you had it.
I dont know anything about your lathes though.
 
My delicate fingers can't be allowed to get so dirty with the change gears. Nitrile gloves are very nice to keep my sensitive hands clean. :D
 
I admit to never having a lathe without a QCGB. Here’s some logic for you: All of my stuff is for me, not for pay, so the easier and quicker the lathe is to use, the more fun it is. I like the quality of finish coming from power feeds, and occasionally I have to try a few different feeds. Changing gears is just work. Ergo, gotta have QCGB. Also applies to QCTP, DRO, tapping heads, collets, spin indexer, rotary table, big... oh, sorry. Me stop now.
 
I can do all SAE threads and feeds on my lathe without swapping gears. I just have to swap gears for metric threads so I avoid them when ever possible. I had an old change gear P & W lathe years ago. It was such a PIA changing gears that I just used the wrong feed most of the time. Of course I had to use the right gears for threading but I just can't imagine going back to that.
 
Anyways, if I were to use this tool, would it matter if my lathe had a QC box or not?

Forgive me if the answer is obvious.

That can all depend on what you might want to put threads on.

If you wanted to thread the inside of a large metal lid or cap it might be difficult to find a tap that would do the job. It would need to be a very large diameter bottom tap. :grin:
 
No QCGB, Imagine a bicycle without a derailleur. To change gears you would need to stop, get off the bike and move the chain manually to the desired gear. Now your hands are greasy and you've lost time...
 
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