Patent ID: 8584558

Claim:
A subassembly for a pipe lathe including a segmented base ring, a drive gear assembly coupled to said segmented base ring, and a plurality of bearing assemblies, said segmented base ring being structured to be removably coupled to a work piece having a perimeter, said subassembly comprising: a gear ring including a first side having a bearing slot, a second side disposed opposite the first side, and a plurality of teeth, said bearing slot being structured to receive at least a portion of each of said bearing assemblies; a separate ring member comprising a first side facing the second side of said gear ring, a second side disposed opposite the first side of said separate ring member, and a plurality of apertures; at least one tool mounting portion disposed on the second side of said separate ring member, said at least one tool mounting portion being structured to mount a number of tool assemblies for machining said work piece; and a plurality of fasteners extending through said apertures of said separate ring member and fastening said separate ring member to said gear ring, in order that said separate ring member rotates with said gear ring but not independently with respect thereto, wherein said teeth of said gear ring are structured to cooperate with said drive gear assembly of said pipe lathe to rotate said subassembly about the perimeter of said work piece; and wherein said separate ring member further comprises a plurality of segments and number of coupling mechanisms; wherein each of said segments is structured to extend around or within a corresponding portion of the perimeter of said work piece; and wherein said coupling mechanisms couple said segments together.