It’s 1″ x 12tpi James

Regards,

IanT

And should have added need to sleeve down  the register area to 1″ from 1 1/8 (which may also be the case for ML8 faceplates) but someone may be able to confirm.

Probably easiest to make a faceplate completely anew, from a blank. Do that, and you can also arrange and size the clamping slots or holes as you think best. The originals for both EW and Myford would be of cast-iron but I don’t see a problem with using mild-steel – except perhaps risking wearing the spindle as well as the plate – or even aluminium-alloy.

Turn raised rim on the rear to give a stiffening flange.

Thread 1″ X 12… but from measuring my lathe I could not decide if of Whitworth or Unified form! The BSW thread-gauge fitted much more comfortably than the UNF one, but of the standard threads, 1″ X 12tpi is UNF.

I have just investigated what Tony Griffiths can tell us, and the spindle thread is the one detail omitted. I did discover mine is the Model D – i.e. back-geared and screw-cutting.

On 4 July 2024 at 11:32 Nigel Graham 2 Said:

 

Thread 1″ X 12… but from measuring my lathe I could not decide if of Whitworth or Unified form! The BSW thread-gauge fitted much more comfortably than the UNF one, but of the standard threads, 1″ X 12tpi is UNF.

 

 

Standard threads such as 1″ x 12tpi UNF etc are for fasteners (nuts and bolts). Special machine parts will commonly use “special” threads where the thread form (cross-section) is adhered to but the number of TPI is chosen to suit the maker’s needs, not to adhere to the standard fastener charts. So it is most likely a BSW thread form, being made in UK. (But not necessarily!)

You won’t find a 1″ X 12tpi tap of BSW or BSW form, but anyway at that size a tap is best used to finish a machine-cut thread to size and profile.

I have not tried it, but it is possible to cut an internal thread by using one “edge” of a tap in a suitable holder as a chaser, and here 12TPI Whitworth form are 3/4″ BSF, and 1/2″ and 9/16″ BSW.

Holding a 1/2″ BSW tap against my lathe’s spindle and in the back of a chuck suggested this could be feasible. Probably best to experiment first on a bit of spare material to ensure the settings etc. are all spot-on as rotating the tap in the holder will affect the cutting-edge height as well as the top rake and clearance.

James,

not having a set of lathe change wheels is a major PITA, compounded by the fact that the EW deploys 16DP (absurdly OTT for a lathe of such small capacity). If Mr stringer had used something more sensible such as 20DP, you would be able to use the commonly available Myford Gears.

However, all is not lost…

if you dial in ….model engineering norge ew lathe.. or some-such into google, you should be able to find the v helpful site referred to above by ianT.

This site as well as having much useful info, also has a guide to an improved banjo design and optional extra conversion for DP20 gears which will significantly improve the utility of the lathe (I have implemented the revised banjo to give lower feed rates, but not made the full conversion to 20DP).

The other alternative is to make your own change gears. I have successfully used 3D  printed gears made from decent quality PLA (use traditional ‘rock hard’ PLA, not not the PLA modified for increased flexibility). Nylon would be better, but you will need a printer capable of running at 300c + and an a way of keeping the filament dry for optimal results.

Or cut your own, which will be a fabulously expensive and time consuming operation by the time you purchase/make the cutters and blanks!

As an extra thought, if considering a revised banjo, I don’t think it would be beyond the bounds of possibility to further adapt to use the commonly and cheaply available Chinese minilathe gearsets. You can get a set in metal for £ 60 to 70 on the Bay (ie less than a set of myford gears).  Clearly you will need to check what size can be adapted to fit on the spindle, then work out if the remaining selection will cover the pitches you are likely to use (including the feed pitches). They are module 1 gears, so easily available if you need to infill or a special (like a 21 or 63 for example).

BTW, Tracy Tools sell a 1″ x 12 whitform tap, but I would not advise attempting to hand tap at that size!