We Relocated the Handwheel on Our MONSTER Lathe | Megabore Lathe Setup

We're relocating the carriage handwheel on our monster Megabore lathe, but doing it means machining and fabricating an entirely new drive system from scratch. When we built the walkway platform, it solved one problem but created another. The original carriage handwheel was now far too low to comfortably operate from the new working height. We decided to relocate the original handwheel using the factory output shaft and reduction gearing already built into the machine. The solution was to engineer an entirely new mounting assembly with a chain and sprocket drive connecting the original shaft to a new elevated handwheel position.

That meant machining spacers, a spindle housing, support plate and spindle shaft before milling keyways, drilling and boring the sprockets, broaching keyways on our 150 tonne hydraulic press, drilling and tapping for grub screws, and carefully aligning everything to achieve the correct chain tension. Once the drive system is complete, Kurtis fabricates a custom chain guard from scratch using nothing more than an old zinc coated tray, before everything is painted, assembled and tested.

The finished result is a simple but highly effective upgrade that keeps all of the original reduction drive while moving the handwheel into a far more practical operating position. It's a modification that will make running our Megabore lathe easier, more comfortable and much more enjoyable every time it's used.

═══════════════

New videos every second Friday at 5pm AEST! If you enjoy the video, smash LIKE & SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@CuttingEdgeEngineering?sub_confirmation=1

❤ PATREON (early access & ad-free videos): https://www.patreon.com/cuttingedgeengineering

🧢 OFFICIAL CEE MERCH: https://www.ceeshop.com.au

🛒 OUR AMAZON STORE (workshop favourites): https://www.amazon.com/shop/cuttingedgeengineeringaustralia
(As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.)

FOLLOW US
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cutting_edge_engineering
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cutting_edge_engineering
👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cuttingedgeengineeringaustralia

ABOUT US
We're a down-to-earth, real-life machining and fabrication workshop on the Gold Coast, Australia. We specialise in helping mining and earthmoving businesses keep their machines running smoothly, and we love working on broken parts, the bigger the better! As well as our customer repair work, we also share the big workshop projects, restorations and custom shop-made tools we get stuck into, like the Franna crane project and our heavy duty parts washer build. New video every second Friday. Subscribe to follow along.

#Machining #Engineering #Lathe