Amount of play in mill table

[zoltan]

I have a X2 mill.

Currently I'm setting up a dial indicator about 4" from the center of the table, then grab the two ends of the table and try to "twist" it table horizontally and measure the amount of movement as indicated by the dial indicator. By alternately locking the X and Y gibs it gives me a measure of how much movement axis has. Currently I have 0.002" of movement in the X and 0.003" in the Y, and the hand wheels have a little resistance to turning. Any tighter and the hand wheels start getting really hard to turn. If I allow about twice that movement in the two axis, then the hand wheels start turning very easily.

I suspect I'm putting more torque on the table during my test than it will see from cutting operations.

So, I guess I'm asking what is a good/reasonable number to shoot for here?

 

[portlandron]

There are two areas that you can get movement/play from. Ones is wear in the lead screw/nut. The other is wear in the table. Not much you can do about wear in the screw/nut but one thing to check is that how ever the nut is secured that it is tight. Regarding the table movement it can be cut done by tightening the gibs.

 

[zoltan]

There are two areas that you can get movement/play from. Ones is wear in the lead screw/nut. The other is wear in the table. Not much you can do about wear in the screw/nut but one thing to check is that how ever the nut is secured that it is tight. Regarding the table movement it can be cut done by tightening the gibs.

I understand, but what is a reasonable amount of play to shoot for?

 

[purpleknif]

My XJ9512 has an adjustable nut foe the table. Check for one on yours.

 

[portlandron]

I am no expert but I think it's trade-off between having the gibs so tight that it is hard to turn the handles and having them so loose that there is more play in the table then necessary. If they are over tight it would also be harder on the screw and nut wearing them out faster.
I would be happy with a couple of thousands play. I checked my old Rockwell mill and it has 6-8 thousands. Even with that I can mill parts to 1/2 a thousand if I have to. It's just a matter of advancing the cut so that the play has been taken out and don't back off the leadscrew until you have finished the part.

 

[Tin Falcon]

Zoltan IMHO the gibs are a weak point. It can be difficult to find the sweet spot between turning handles and little to no play.
If you have not already done so remove the burs from the dovetails on the ways. Make a new set of gibs from brass or bronze. if still not smooth you may need to scrape or lap the ways a bit. A hardware kit from little machine shop may also help the gib adjusting screws that come with the machine are junk.
this Fignogle Gib Jig will aid you in making new gibs. I used my shaper but you can do it on the mill.

IMHO the numbers you are not too bad but. Why constantly fight to adjust the thing when there is a good fix.

Tin