10-04-2017, 08:36 PM
As its name implies, "backgear" is a gear mounted at the back of the headstock (although in practice it is often located in other positions) that allows the chuck to rotate slowly with greatly-increased turning power. For a novice the ability to run a workpiece slowly might seem unnecessary, but a large-diameter casting, fastened to the faceplate and run at 200 r.p.m. (around the bottom speed commonly found on a lathe without backgear) would have a linear speed at its outer edge beyond the turning capacity of a small lathe. By engaging backgear, and so reducing r.p.m. but increasing torque, even the largest faceplate-mounted jobs can be turned successfully.
Screwcutting also requires slow speeds, typically between 25 and 50 r.p.m. - especially if the operator is a beginner, or the job tricky. A bottom speed in excess of those figures (as found on most Far Eastern and some European "Continental" machines) means that screwcutting - especially internally, into blind holes - is, in effect, impossible. These lathes are advertised as "screwcutting" but what that really means is just power sliding - a power feed along the bed. With these machines, even if you go to the trouble of making up a complex pulley system to reduce the spindle speed (like the early Atlas 9-inch), you will find the torque required when turning large diameters at slow speeds causes the belts to slip. The only solution is a gear-driven low speed - and so a properly-engineered small lathe, with a backgear fitted, not only becomes capable of cutting threads but can also tackle heavy-duty drilling, big-hole boring and large-diameter turning and facing; in other words, it becomes possible to use it to the very limits of its capacity and strength. To show how important backgear has always been considered, examine the specification of the many small English-made metal turning lathes made from the mid 19th century onwards: nearly every one was so equipped. For more on lathe parts and functions click here and for a further explanation of the desirable features required in a small lathe.
