Steve-

Sounds like you might be using the power carriage feed instead of the half
nuts. On my SB heavy 10, which like yours has the single lever gear box,
the power feed is one third the speed of threading. In other words, the
setting for 5 tpi corresponds to a longitudinal feed (with the power feed
clutch engaged instead of the half nuts) of .0669 inches per revolution, or
just about 15 tpi. If you don't have one already, you ought to pick up a
copy of the SB publication "How to Run a Lathe". Originals and reprints are
readily available on ebay and elsewhere for modest cost.

Hope this helps,

-Bill Fill
Olympia, WA


"gtslabs" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am learning to cut threads on my SB Heavy 10 Lathe. I put a piece of
plastic rod in the chuck and a pen in the tool holder to simulate
thread cutting. However I am having trouble matching up the actual TPI
vs what the lathe is set for. At first I tried to replicate 10 tpi. I
set the gear to the correct slot, put the sliding gear "in" and put my
3 position gear selecter in the "center". The result was much more than
10 tpi and more that I could count. So I set it for 5 tpi and tried
again. This time I got about 15 tpi. I have my Bull gear pin "out" and
my back gear "in" and my flat belt on the middle pully.

What am I doing wrong? Could I have metric gears? I bought the lathe
used and dont know its history.

Any ideas on what to try?
Thanks
Steve