How do you guys set the gear mesh on the change gears? I tried using a strip of regular paper between each gear but could tell the mesh was to tight. Took a lot of trial and error to get it right. Anyone have any tips or procedure that's quick and repeatable?
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Setting Gear Mesh
- Thread starter MSD0
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My change gears are not exactly round so I have to turn it over by hand looking for the tightest spot then I use a paper shim there to set the mesh. I use two layers of standard printing paper.
I have a small tin of pre folded strips just sitting there so I dont have to search for the paper.
I have a small tin of pre folded strips just sitting there so I dont have to search for the paper.
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I just hold a small piece of ordinary paper up to the gears, turn them so it eats the paper between them against hand pressure forcing them together, tighten things down, and then run the paper out. It has worked just fine every time. A slight bit of lash is all you need, though you do have to watch out for out of round gears, like savarin was saying, closing the gap. There should always be noticeable lash in the gears. Excessive lash is a bad idea, it makes the gears weaker and causes abnormal wear. I have seen some WAY loose gears on lathe change gear trains.
Thanks guys, didn't even think about out of round gears, but that might have been part of it. The other problem was keeping the gears centered so that the faces didn't rub. I think I found a good balance in the end because they ran pretty quietly.
Re the paper, after having a difficult time of tearing the bag from a box of Raisin Bran cereal, I started to use it for setting gear mesh as described above. It doesn't tear like paper does and is the right thickness(.002''). Precut strips are kept handy as Savarin mentionned.
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by hand..feel the backlash
That's sort of what I went by, but by the time you get to the last gear on the banjo, it's hard to gauge the backlash for each gear if that makes sense.
T
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hold them as you go..
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Andre
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Backlash shouldn't be too critical to gear operation. They are NOT an anti-backlash form of movement!
Feel both gears for smooth operation. Too close and they thump, too far apart and you can feel its not smooth.
When clock or watchmakers use gears they set spacing by feel using a depthening tool then use that to transfer the exact optimal gear spacing to the part where holes will then be drilled.
Feel both gears for smooth operation. Too close and they thump, too far apart and you can feel its not smooth.
When clock or watchmakers use gears they set spacing by feel using a depthening tool then use that to transfer the exact optimal gear spacing to the part where holes will then be drilled.