Thread: gear cutting questions

You talk about needing to know how to work out the correct involute gear cutter needed,not sure why you are worried about this.
If you are going to use your existing change gears as a Template for your form tool it wont matter.

Must have misunderstood the info on the web page, assumed a special gear cutter was needed when cutting mild steel.
Prefer to buy the gear cutter, seems reasonably priced, unless the
fly cutter type setup, is o.k. to use for mild steel

The fly cutter will be ok,what you would find is that you would need to do multiple cuts to get to your correct full depth.
Normally when working with larger DP gear cutters you would go full depth in one cut.
As you will be doing this on a lathe your ridgidity of your workpiece will be a problem for single cutting with or without an involute cutter.
If you are going to buy an involute cutter you would then need to know the correct DP and the PA.
If the Lathe is metric they could well be Module gears.
If it is an older Imperial machine there would be a good chance the PA would be 14 1/2 degrees.,if it is newer it could be 20 degrees.

Lather, yes vertical slides normally bolt onto the cross slide. If you have a T slot cross slide it's easier. Sometimes they go onto the compound, in place of the toolpost. The latter setup gives more flexibility - in both good and bad senses.

At the back of the Hercus gear catalogue (Google it) is a page that shows profiles of various gear teeth at actual size. This may help you ID the gears you have. While you're there you may as well see if they have something suitable for your project. It's hardly worth tooling up for a on-off. But if you do want to get into gear cutting - a road I am stumbling down myself - Ivan Law's book is the best twenty bucks you can spend.

Your compound will be fine with an angle plate on the cross slide.
This is another link of making gears.
Reg's Shop Tips

At the price CTC is selling gears it would probably be easier buying one to suit or if you can afford it buy the set, then you will have them for future use.

Dave

Thanks for the help.
Dave, was that gear cutters or gears ?

Sorry, it is gear cutters they sell.
CTC Tools Product List
CTC Tools Product List

Dave

Lather,

I've puchased gears from HPC Gears in Chesterfield, England. If making your own is too much of a problem, their products may be a good alternative

HPC Gears Home page

Bob.