I've been looking at lathe design - you can probably guess why, but I shan't tell you, that would be too (un-?) fairbrotherish.
However, I have some questions, and I hope you can help.
Does anyone know of any good sources on lathe design, preferably online, but I can try the library if that's warranted. I'm especially interested in smallish lathes, about 70mm above bed and 200mm between centres, but capable of very high accuracy (~0.001mm).
Is belt drive better, or is a fully geared head a reasonable choice? Remembering also that I am probably going to have to cut any unbuyable gears...
In the headstock of a small lathe with some kind of belt drive, the pulleys are usually arranged so the largest is nearest the chuck. Any special reason?
Is myford type backgearing better than the traditional type with two cog sets at either end of the pulleys? Why?
I have a zillion more, but that's enough for one post. :)
Thanks,
-- Peter
"Sweet dreams are made of Anything that gets you in the seam And I feel like I'm Seventeen again." Eurythmics