mini lathe gear change solution

[Stevohdee]

Greetings fellow head scratchers,
The Chinese mini lathe is often described like a kit you have to assemble, adjust and redesign properly. I have a Sieg C2.

The most annoying and ridiculous design fault is the gear change system. One has to be an ambidextrous contortionist to change gears on these things, so for those that aren't, here is my solution...

Firstly the bottom curved slide nut, replace with a joiner nut that clears the gear wheel or make one out of brass hex.





The straight slide is adjusted by an almost inaccessible nut which to loosen or tighten requires numerous re-positioning of spanner...Grr

This design allows tightening of gear and position simultaneously.



(measurements will vary on different machines)









The clip spring is the spline from a car windscreen wiper blade, bit of bending and a couple of slots in bracket to hold in place.











I thought the clip and nut would hit the gear housing above it with certain gear combinations but doesn't.

Till next time, Cheers