Instead of a separate bracket (banjo) to carry the changewheels the Artisan used a complex system that utilized the inner part of the cast-iron gear guard. The cover was fitted with both fixed and sliding studs for the gears to run on and the whole assembly arranged to rotate on a bolt mounted to the rear of the headstock spindle; by moving the cover in the appropriate direction the rotation of the leadscrew could be reversed.  It was also possible, with some effort, to alter the ratio between spindle and screwcutting gearbox input shaft: the large (96 tooth) "screwgear" on the end of the leadscrew was held in place by a quick-release spring clip; by removing the gear room was provided for the stud of an intermediate compound gear (of 28/56 teeth) to be moved into one of two long slots and adjusted to engage with any of the three gears of a triple-pinion stud gear (with 12, 24 and 48 teeth) positioned in the upper left-hand section of the cover.
When the large gear was replaced on the gearbox input shaft it could be positioned, by slotting the clip into on of several groove turned in the shaft, to hold it at the right depth. To obtain the necessary clearance the gear could be fitted with its pronounced central boss facing either inwards or outwards.