1900-1950

Cast bronze worm gear · 40-tooth, 20 DP · for Draper X-3 textile loom drive

Sand-cast phosphor-bronze worm gear from a Draper X-3 loom, 40 teeth, 20 diametral pitch, imperial bore.

Price

$675

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Ledger entry

SKU: MS-IP-0412
Era: 1900-1950
Condition: Original casting, cleaned and inspected. Light wear on lead face; teeth full-form.
Dimensions: 6.75" OD × 2.25" face × 1.25" bore
Weight: 8 lb 12 oz
Provenance: Salvaged from the closure of the Fall River textile complex, Massachusetts, 2018.
Category: Obsolete Industrial Parts
Tags: bronze-gearworm-geartextile-loomdrapersand-cast

On this piece

A sand-cast phosphor-bronze worm gear pulled from the drive train of a Draper X-3 loom, one of the machines that clothed America between the wars. Forty teeth, 20 DP, 14.5-degree pressure angle, 1-1/4" imperial bore with a single square keyway. The casting is unmarked but the geometry is unmistakable.

Draper's Hopedale foundry closed in 1980, and no one has poured a replacement for this exact tooth form since. When a mill restoring a working loom for a museum or textile heritage program calls us, this is the drawer we open.

A new one could be cut from bar stock for four figures and six weeks. This one is here, and the patina belongs on the machine.