Posted by Doug Tracey on | Comments Off on How to Order a Modified Catalog Gear: Just Send the Part Number
You found the right gear in the Boston Gear, Martin Sprocket & Gear, Browning, or Union Gear & Sprocket catalog. It has the right pitch, tooth count, and face width. But the bore is wrong, it needs a keyway, or you need it hardened.
Most buyers in this spot assume they have two choices: buy the stock gear and pay someone to rework it, or hire someone to draw a custom part. There’s a faster option. Send us the catalog part number and a written list of your changes. That’s enough for us to quote and build the gear.
Do I need a drawing to order a modified catalog gear?
No. A catalog part number plus a written list of your changes is enough. We only build to a complete specification. We don’t work from samples, reverse engineer parts, or design them. A catalog part number gives us almost all of that specification already: tooth form, pitch, tooth count, face width, hub dimensions, and material. Your written modifications fill in the rest.
Together, the part number and your changes are the print. No drawing required.
What information do I need to send?
The more complete your request, the faster and more accurate your quote. Include:
Catalog brand and part number. For example, a Boston Gear, Martin Sprocket & Gear, Browning, or Union Gear & Sprocket part number.
Every modification, with dimensions and tolerances. Bore size and tolerance, keyway size, setscrew size and location, hub changes, or anything else that differs from the catalog.
Material, if it differs from the catalog part. We don’t recommend materials, so if you want something other than what the catalog lists, tell us what it is.
Additional processes. Heat treatment and hardness, plating, or other finishing.
Quantity and required delivery date.
Certification requirements. We require certs on all raw material and outside processes, and we provide them to customers who need them.
A complete request might read: “Catalog part [brand and number]. Bore 1.000 +.001/-.000. Add a standard keyway for a 1″ bore. Add two setscrews at 90°. Quantity 25. Material certs required.”
What changes can I make to a catalog gear?
Can I change the bore?
Yes. Give us the new bore size and its tolerance.
Can I add a keyway?
Yes. Give us the keyway width and depth, or the keyway standard you want, and its position if the gear needs more than one.
Can I add setscrews?
Yes. Give us the setscrew size and thread, how many you need, and where they go, such as the angle from the keyway and the distance from the hub face.
Can I change the material?
Yes, as long as you specify the material. We don’t recommend materials, so tell us exactly what you need. Depending on the gear type, common options include steel, stainless steel, bronze, cast iron, nylon, and phenolic.
What other changes can I make?
Other common requests include changing or removing the hub, heat treating or hardening the teeth, and cutting the teeth on a shaft instead of a separate gear.
Can I order a modified Union Gear & Sprocket gear?
Yes, and modifications add little cost or lead time. Union Gear & Sprocket started as a catalog company in Quincy, Massachusetts. Tracey Gear purchased the rights to the Union Gear & Sprocket name and catalog in 2002 and converted it to make-to-order. We don’t keep stock, so every Union Gear & Sprocket gear is manufactured when you order it. That’s why modifying one costs you little to no more than the standard Union Gear & Sprocket gear.
When should I buy a stock catalog gear instead?
If you need five or fewer gears used exactly as the catalog lists them, buy them from the catalog. Mass-produced stock gears will beat a made-to-order price at that quantity. For more on that trade-off, read our post on catalog gears vs. made-to-order.
How do I get a quote?
Send your catalog part number and modifications through our request for quote form. If something in your request is incomplete, we’ll tell you what we need before we quote.
Posted by Doug Tracey on | Comments Off on Catalog Gears vs. Made-to-Order: Choosing Between Boston Gear, Martin Sprocket & Gear, Browning, and Union Gear & Sprocket
If you need a standard spur gear off the shelf in small quantities, a catalog brand like Boston Gear, Martin Sprocket & Gear, or Browning is often your cheapest option. If you need anything changed, a made-to-order gear from Union Gear & Sprocket usually wins on cost, lead time, or both.
That’s the short answer. The longer answer comes down to one question: is your part truly standard, or does it only look standard until you start modifying it?
What are open gearing catalog gears?
Open gearing refers to gears that run exposed rather than sealed inside a gearbox or speed reducer. Think spur gears, helical gears, bevel and miter gears, worms and worm gears, and racks used directly on conveyors, packaging lines, pumps, and other machinery.
Catalog suppliers such as Boston Gear, Martin Sprocket & Gear, and Browning publish standard lines of these gears. Each part has a fixed pitch, tooth count, face width, bore, and hub style. You pick the closest match from the catalog and order it by part number.
Made to stock vs. made to order
The real difference between these suppliers isn’t the gear. It’s how the gear gets made.
A made-to-stock gear is cheap because thousands are produced at once. But the moment you need a different bore, a keyway, a setscrew, a hardened tooth, or a different material, that efficiency disappears. Someone has to pull the stock gear and rework it. Custom work isn’t what catalog companies are built for. Their business is standard, mass-produced, inexpensive gears, so a modified catalog gear tends to be expensive and slow.
A made-to-order gear starts from your drawing. Your bore, keyway, and material are part of the first setup, not a second operation.
Catalog Gears (Boston Gear, Martin Sprocket & Gear, Browning)
Union Gear & Sprocket
Production model
Mass produced, made to stock
Made to order
Best fit
Standard parts, off-the-shelf specs
Custom specs or modified standards
Modifications
Limited; often done after purchase
Built in from the start
Effect of changes on price
Can add significant cost
Little effect
Effect of changes on lead time
Can add significant time
Little effect
When catalog gears make sense
If your gear is a true catalog part, used exactly as listed, in small quantities, buy it from the catalog. Mass production keeps the unit price low, and we won’t beat it on a standard gear at a quantity of five or fewer.
The catch is how little you can change. Once your part needs a modification, you’re either paying the catalog company for custom work it isn’t set up to do, or buying the stock gear and paying a machine shop to rework it. Either way, the low price you started with is gone, and you’re waiting longer.
When made-to-order Union Gear & Sprocket gears make sense
Every Union Gear & Sprocket gear is made to order, so customization is the normal process, not an exception. Changing the bore, adding a keyway or setscrew, specifying a material or heat treatment, or adjusting the face width has little effect on price or lead time. Those details are built into the first setup.
What you get is a part made to your specs, not a stock part adapted to fit them. That matters most when:
Your design calls for any modification to a standard gear
You need a non-standard tooth count, pitch, or material
You’re replacing an obsolete or worn part that no catalog lists anymore
You need more than a handful of pieces and want consistent, traceable quality
How to decide
Ask two questions before you order:
Will I use this gear exactly as the catalog lists it?
Do I need five or fewer?
If both answers are yes, a catalog gear is probably your best value. If either answer is no, get a made-to-order quote before you commit. The comparison is often closer than you’d expect, and the made-to-order part arrives built to your spec.
Not sure which side your part falls on? Send us your drawing or the catalog part number with your changes, and we’ll tell you honestly whether a Union Gear & Sprocket gear makes sense. Request a quote at traceygear.com.
