Cutting Helical Gear Wheels On An Old Lathe

Many have asked me to show how I make my worm gear-helical gear wheels for my engines, and I try in this video to show, that it can be done on an old lathe, without using a milling device.

[@leerogers6423]

Your lathe is a Drummond Brothers 3 1/2 " Flat Bed. Often known as a ''Pre B Type'' although it was never officially called that by Drummond Brothers . It was made between 1902 and 1912 in the county of Surrey. If you can read the serial number on the bed at the tailstock end I can date it for you. It was designed to be a small professional machine not as a light hobby lathe . The subsequent model the B Type was standard issue to all British armed services including a special Admiralty model for the Royal Navy. Yours is a very well sorted example , it's wonderful to see it being used so expertly.

[@colinlothlorian]

I have the same lathe, stamped with the number 33. Mine still has the back gear and a good selection of change wheels, and the original USA chuck.

[@tonyray91]

This was my fist lathe too. I wonder how many of those Chinese lathes will still be around in 115 years time in working condition.

[@boksermotor]

Hello thank you for your info. My lathe was build in Denmark, it has a script cast on the bed side saying, A. E. Kristensen. København. ( Copenhagen ) . But it might be build under the Drummond brothers license ? . Regard Find.

[@tonyray91]

That is really interesting, I am not a Drummond expert and maybe this isn’t known to those that are? I expect you have seen this but for the benefits of everyone www.lathes.co.uk/drummond-flatbed-1902-1912/

[@crozwayne]

@@tonyray91 Maybe built under licence? like Boxford (& Denford among others) did with the USA Southbend lathe

[@mattprice37664]

Pardon my French but HOLY SHIT. That is probably the most beautiful bench top lathe ever made!!! Congrats on being The caretaker for that beautiful piece!!!!

[@jimbaritone6429]

I have a similar very early Drummond Brothers flat-bed lathe, which I found about 50 years ago, although it doesn't seem that long ago. While I was still a subscriber to the British publication "Model Engineer," one of the readers in their correspondence column dated my lathe (tentatively) as having been built between 1902 and 1903. It has the original Drummond brass name plate, which is my good fortune. The chap in the UK narrowed the date to this period because of certain characteristics of the headstock design which were improved very early in production. I have the basic lathe and a 4-jaw chuck, but none of the change gears or other accessories. Yours looks to be in excellent condition. Mine came from a neighbor, who did not know the lathe's history. How it came to be in the basement of a farm house on the prairies of western Alberta, Canada would be an interesting story all by itself. I traded a running Maytag 2-cylinder washing machine engine for it - probably a reasonably fair exchange. If you are interested, I will see if I can confirm the serial number and any other information from the builders' name plate. Thank you for showing your lathe, still operating and doing very useful work. It reminds me that I need to get mine set up again after moving to a new house about 4 years ago.

[@OTOss8]

You're the cool uncle or brilliant grandfather I always wanted. It would be such a lovely thing to spend time with you in the workshop learning how to operate these beautiful machines.

[@EPaulIII]

One word, BRAVO! You, sir, are a master machinist.

[@norbs]

This is a absolute genius idea, I saw people making gears in the lathe but this is next level, thank you so much for sharing.

[@boksermotor]

Many thanks to all, for your kind and fine comments. Best regards Find.

[@WheelH0rseC101]

absolutely awesome, would've never thought of using a lathe in this manner. thank you sir for showing me new techniques for making gear sets

[@bigpumpkin22]

Necessity is the mother of invention, The way they did it in the good ole days , just thinking outside the square

[@marvinpybus4599]

Just when I think that I know a little bit about machining, along comes a clever guy like you who shows me that I am still a wannabe.

[@danielzunigagutierrez6300]

I can relate to that. A machinist that calculates gear ratios is at a different level.

[@rprichard8452]

I been machining since 1972, and never thought of your setup! That is fantastic sir! It’s far more than inspirational to me. I guess I’ll have to see now if I can do this to my old South bend. Thank you for your precious time.

[@matthewfish6113]

Thank you, it brings me great pleasure to see a craftsman's work.

[@tomwatters2530]

I had one of these Drummond lathes for years and made all kind of things with it. I sold it eventually when I bought a larger Logan lathe. I hope the new owner is using it well.

[@cdrive5757]

Some folks will look at a Rembrandt and marvel at what they see. I feel no different about your old Drummond Bros. and your *MAGNIFICENTLY PRESERVED* old gas engine! OMG!! They're like looking at the centerfold of Machinery Hotties! Your friction brake is novel but have you considered using an Electronic Brake? Just about all electric AC or DC motors can be braked with or without mechanical interaction or addition of same. I'm a long retired EE/Tech desiring nothing more than keeping that old girl cutting curls or chips! Wakodahatchee Chris

[@georgejohnson1498]

Dear Find, Thank you for posting! I have been watching your videos for maybe ten years. You are an inspiration. Med glad hilsen fra Georg. Best wishes from George [Half-Norwegian living in the UK]

[@danielzunigagutierrez6300]

Your consciene talking to you in your dream. A machinist that calculates gear ratios is at a different level.

[@bobkerwin2111]

Love your work you get a lot out of that Lathe, it's a Drummond brothers thread cutting Lathe the same as Morson took to Antarctica in 1912, I got my one 1981 still working.

[@DavoShed]

I never thought about powering the lead screw instead of the spindle for really course pitched. Makes sense when you think about it. Nice video. Simple, direct and complete. Well done

[@Biokemist-o3k]

This is so beautiful!!! I have a 150 year old lathe that I loaned to a friend to restore whole I restored another lathe. Really incredible my friend.

[@johnwhittaker633]

Thank you so much for posting this. I have been wondering for quite some time on how you make the gears seen on your fabulous engines, now I know!

[@mikegarwood8680]

Thank you so much for posting this. Now your knowledge, wisdom and skill can be preserved and passed on instead of being lost. Mechanical Engineers, for the most part, are now just CAD drivers (fewer might know CAM software). Very few really understand machining like this from a hands-on perspective and (almost) all that are left who do are at retirement age. Just sad.

[@gary.solexa]

Fabulous blend of old and new technologies on this beautifully-maintained Drummond pre-B!

[@jerryglen986]

The 1920 lathe is the most beautiful styled machine.

[@624Dudley]

Hello Mr. Hansen, this video was suggested by KZbin. I’m pleased to have found your channel, and will watch the whole collection. I admire your craftsmanship!

[@romandybala]

Thankyou for showing your engines and now the methods you used to make them. Greetings from Melbourne Australia

[@seanadams9072]

I have an old Drummond lathe in poor condition that I am trying to restore and this video is truly inspiring, thank you for your clearly explained video, it has moved me to commit more time to my project and turning education.

[@jambusspeakermouse1325]

I have a Drummond B type in perfect original condition. Still has the original paint work and treadle with belt. Ended up buying a second lathe as i didn't want to ruin it. Wife calls it my show lathe.

[@broheim23]

I am just beginning in machining as a hobby. Until now I have assumed cutting helical gears would take years of experience and might not be something I get to fabricate. This video throws that assumption out the window. Thanks for sharing, Find! Great work! And please make more videos that will inspire those of us eager to learn! 👍

[@Dieselfitter01]

I see I have a very special new mentor. I do not know why I have not seen you and your incredible work prior to this date.

[@gyrogearloose1345]

Thanks for this Mr Hansen. I've enjoyed your particular approach to machining these helical gears very much.

[@GoCreateHobbyMachineShop]

Fantastic! I love how you've gone about cutting these gears. And a beautiful Engine at the end.

[@MelbaOzzie]

Very interesting. I quite enjoyed watching this video. Somehow watching "old school" machining is more interesting than watching some of the CMC machining.

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday Mr Hansen, thank you for explaining how you made these gears, very very interesting, throughly enjoyed watching mate, thanks again, cheers Matty

[@jimsimpson8663]

Hello Find , thanks for explaining how to make these years by a " shaper" method . The Drummond lathe was made down the road from me in Guildford Surrey England about 100 years ago! I have a Little John lathe that is about 70 years old , and I am in the process of adapting it to cut gears using a hobb , which I will have to make as well , Hobbs are too expensive for me to buy ! The gears on my lathe use 16dp X 14.5 degrees pressure angle ! All the best, Jim Simpson

[@robertwilkinson5632]

What an inspiration thank you. I like the quiet way you overcome the issues. I have an ancient lathe too I never imagined it could do this sort of work.

[@cmbscx1084]

The experienced knowledge and sharing of that is truly astonishing.

[@peterclancy3653]

I have a Drummond round bed lathe in reasonable condition I have a full set of change gearwheels and have accumulated the necessary whitworth spanners. I think it was made around1925. This is my only lathe and Tony from Drummond was good enough to supply me with copies of the original documentation which included the gear ratios that are used to cut imperial and metric threads.

[@stewartmarshall4112]

I have a flatbed 1904 Drummond lathe identical to this one but still original and unmodified aside from some additions such as a dividing plate made for the outer end of the main spindle, a tool post drill and grinding spindle, and a revolution counter for winding radio coils.

[@1crazypj]

That was rather ingenious. When I was training, (mid 1970's), multi start threads or worms were considered something of a 'black art' and considered very difficult to make accurately without specialised gear cutting equipment. Phasing a gear wheel is a much neater solution and actually makes it look easy (although I know there will be quite a bit of math involved to work out lead angles)

[@dobermanpac1064]

Fabulous video explains volumes about the work you do. I’m in awe over your mini two stroke diesels. 👍👍

[@bernieshort6311]

Hi Find, you impress me more and more with each video I watch, your knowledge and ability is awesome. Thank you for sharing.

[@bedeone]

Thank you for posting this video. I always love watching your work!

[@varjagg]

Expert work on a beautiful lathe.

[@joepie221]

Nicely done.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Beautiful work, expertly crafted on such a beautiful lathe. Outstanding 👏👏👍😀

[@bclare2544]

I also have a lathe like yours,a Drummond.I turned and cut the gears wheels for my long case clock on it.Very interesting to see how you make your helcal gears.

[@someotherdude]

Thank You for a great video. Your lathe is so pleasing to look at too- the gleaming, bright chuck, the rich green paint..... it's very understandable and I really enjoyed your practical solutions for gear hobbing. The stationary engine is beautiful! I have several old lathes which are headed for some degree of restoration and mutant servo motor upgrades.

[@eddies6669]

Awesome work , I got a little anxious, but the job is awesome, truly smart

[@simonduff117]

Brilliant ! No need to say more other than “thank you Sir”

[@Jayjam209]

Always amazes me to see a master craftsman at work. Beautiful job. Thanks for sharing. This is a testament to anyone that believes its the tools and not the one operating them. Cheers.

[@victoryfirst2878]

I have been looking for an old lathe like this for years and no luck. Nice find fella.

[@stevenwilson3690]

Your old lathe is super cool. Thanks for showing it.

[@bombardier3qtrlbpsi]

Nice workmanship.

[@robertburns2415]

Brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed. My congratulations

[@jameshickman5299]

Greetings, I must compliment you on the wonderful adaptations you’ve made to an absolutely beautiful lathe. The restoration seems to be thorough, while keeping the modifications sympathetic to the look of the machine. If these additions are going to stay in place, you might consider spending some time refining the installation. Cleaning up the wiring harness and switch mountings. The plastic knob and hand wheel really could stand to be replaced. Please don’t be offended. Your other work is so lovely, and I have never had your skills or talent. I’m just a lowly critic, voicing his opinion. Let’s be careful out there.

[@domminion599]

You are making this look a lot simpler than it actually is. Excellent work!

[@lacaver64]

this lathe is a especific lathe for cut heliciol gears , magnific machine ,thank you for the video

[@ade-woodcrafts]

The modifications you've done to that lathe are so cool! Very interesting video, thanks!👍

[@evildrome]

I have used my lathe as a "shaper" to cut small slots or grooves in bars but it never occurred to me that I could use the same technique to make helical gears.

[@bcwrangler]

Mastery of a gorgeous lathe!

[@enmiredbythelazy4401]

Great video, thank you for taking the time to demonstrate a way to make something seemingly complicated in a simple fashion :)

[@mugsymegaton3769]

Quite impressive craftsmanship and a beautiful old lathe, thank you .

[@xKmotx]

Mr. Hansen, this was fascinating to watch. Thank you.

[@brianmax8147]

Your work is amazing sir.

[@aaorourke7891]

Absolutely brilliant piece of old school engineering!!! Well done Sir, excellent presentation. A tad more interesting than a few thousand line's of gcode!

[@barumman]

Excellent work, thank you for sharing it with us.

[@bustednuckles2]

Absolutely ingenious method and absolute brilliance in figuring it all out. Incredible workmanship on top of it all. My hat is off to you sir. I just stumbled across your channel and hit subscribe before I was half through this video.

[@millomweb]

Many thanks for creating this video. It is a very interesting lathe with what looks to be a very interesting 'modification' regarding the leadscrew drive (headstock end) and it's certainly not common to power a lathe through the leadscrew :) You clearly have a lot of engineering knowledge and skill to create such fine craftsmanship as your work in this video and the engine shown towards the end. Wiper motors are very good for adapting to one's needs - whether leaving the original crank on, driving from the reduction gear or via direct drive from the motor shaft itself. (My dad ground the motor shaft down to fit to Meccano !)

[@davidlong3824]

Nice little lathe.

[@walterg4025]

Excellent video! Thank you for posting.

[@PhillMagGamerDad]

Truly amazing, thank you for ahowing this technique! I was hoping you could explain your technique, or perhaps link a reference for correctly depthing worm and worm-wheel meshing? I've seen the likes of Chris from Clickspring explaining how to correctly messure the depth meshing of spur gears, but cannot find any explanation of how to do this for worm-gears

[@silverbullet7434]

I'm impressed really , that's a great amount of thinking and work but very rewarding . thanks

[@christaylor528]

Thank you for sharing that fascinating example of ingenuity, superb engineering with basic equipment.

[@paullongley1221]

Brilliant setup, really like it 👏👏👍

[@cristianpopescu78]

The old one is pure Art,..beautiful!!❤👍

[@pgs8597]

G’day Hansen. Thanks for sharing, interesting method for cutting gears. Cheers Peter

[@todayintheshopbanksy5904]

Absolutely love that lathe. Beautiful machine.

[@JustinLaudano]

I’m so glad your back!!!!

[@DAKOTA56777]

Interesting, I always thought making gears, particularly non-straight gears, would be really hard, but this system is actually quite simple.

[@McFingal]

Lots of outstanding information in this video, thanks for sharing. This is part of the best reason for watching KZbin.

[@anthonycayford3763]

This was simply amazing, thank you for sharing with us

[@BensWorkshop]

Very nice work and very interesting technique In part using the lathe bed as a shaper and the headstock as a rotating diving head. Are you likely to do something on injectors.

[@noahwail2444]

Thank you very much, it was a real plessure to see how you do it. I have only made gearweels on milling mashines, so this was an eyeopener. I have admired your work for many years, so it was nice to see how some of it is made. Cheers. ;o)

[@joseeduardomartins6541]

Dear Sir, you are a genius! congratulations! What a pleasure to see that!

[@steveo7624]

Very cool old ladies I wanted to take some basic machining courses so I can learn how to use different leaves any ideas thanks you’re doing a great job I love your stuff it’s the first time I see you KZbin

[@rc166honda]

Truly outstanding work.

[@opticschief]

Thank you for sharing your clever idea.

[@MehmetBoysal]

You are a master of gear making sir.

[@kaibroeking9968]

Good to know that you are well! I had always wondered how you made those gears. Thanks for explaining!

[@martiniv8924]

Great Engineering skills, what I would call old school 👌🏻😎

[@fredjones7307]

Excellent, I've always known them a skew gears, not very efficient gears apparently.

[@glenskidoo]

Very cool stuff Mr. Hansen, thanks for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us. Glen.

[@nightster6378]

Lovely piece of work Mr. Hansen, excellent! Thank you.

[@ebla83]

You do excellent work sir. You are a craftsman.

[@brianyoung9014]

Beautiful work.

[@bigblue1402]

Amazing use of a lathe. You have given me a project. Thanks alot

[@goofyvids2978]

I LOVE YOUR LATHE!

[@G58]

Exceptionally good engineering. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and work.

[@donwright3427]

Nice lathe. I use my 75yr old Atlas nearly every day .

[@seamuspurcell5065]

very nice work , love that machine and the engine

[@YooProjects]

Professional works mate! Great video. Waiting for your next project 👍Thanks

[@TheDagda1000]

Excellent piece of engineering. Thank you for sharing.