My new mini lathe suffers badly from the gibs twisting.
I see from other posts, this is not uncommon.
The compound slide it the worst. As the gib twists it raises the slide and fouls the leadscrew.
I have replace the adjusters with cone points, with little effect.
I have been recommended to drill and tap the cross slide for more adjusters. am reluctant to do this first as the holes would have to be very close to the edge of the metal, and I have a very wobbly pillar drill.
Has anyone done this? Does it fix the twist problem. Can someone supply more details of the fix: position of new holes, pictures of drilling, angle of holes etc?
My first attempt to fix the problems will be to make better fitting jibs. I have no milling machine, so they will have to be filed by hand.
I have some brass and key steel I could use.
Brass would be easier to file, and kinder on breaking in my new files, but I have read that using a softer material for gibs can cause them to pick up abrasives and turn into a lap that wears the lathe. Is this an issue?
Would people recommend I use brass or steel?
Can I also confirm my understanding of how a gib should work:
- The gib should be a good fit in the hole, unlike the gibs supplied.
- The slide should ride on face F.
- There should be full contact on face A.
- The gib can contact at B, but fit is not critical.
- There should be clearance at C and E.
- The gap at D should be as small as possible.
Thanks.