How best to adjust gibs

[tmuir]

I noticed tonight on my lathe that the cross slide has a lot of play in it.
I've obviously used it enough that it is time to adjust the gibs.
I've never had to do this before so I'm looking for some guidance.

Do I just do them up all slightly and then check the crosslide travel doesn't bind anywhere and all movement is gone or is there more to it than that.
Thanks Tony

 

[Jadecy]

That is how I do it but I am by no means an expert on the subject.

 

[rake60]

Most manuals recommend the gib screws be turned in until you just
feel resistance and lock them in place there.

I have also seen a few that suggest snugging up the screws then
backing it off 1/4 turn.

They should be as snug as possible without causing excessive drag.
It's a fine line to hit. Don't be surprised if it takes more than one
attempt to get the results you want.

Rick

 

[zeeprogrammer]

I've repeated the process...snug one down then back off...go to next...when I come back around to the first one...I've had to snug it down further...I keep going until I see the procedure makes no difference. That is, snugging down and backing off is the same as before. I don't know if that's right. I'm still learning.

But from what you said...seems to imply you've never taken the gibs out. I had similar questions in the forum before and someone suggested polishing the gibs. When I took my gibs out the burrs were very obvious. I polished (sanded) and reinstalled and they were much much better.

The problem I was experiencing was looseness, then binding...then looseness as I moved the cross slide (the top part that moves between tailstock and head - I still don't have the terminology down yet - and I'm at work right now). I think it's important that the gib be fully engaged when doing the adjustment. That is, even pressure across the whole thing...don't let one end 'hang out'.

Hope I contributed.

 

[Maryak]

When adjusting gibs, I was taught to work from the centre of the gib to its' extremities. i.e. for odd numbers start with the middle one and then the next one out on alternate sides. For even numbers start with the centre two. Check for the slight resistance on the first one, (or two); and use this feel as a guide to adjusting subsequent locks on the gib.

Hope this helps ???

Best Regards
Bob

 

[tmuir]

Thanks all.
I think I got it pretty good last night but will have another play with it tonight.
Your correct zeeprogrammer I've never taken the gibs out.
Whilst it all works ok I don't really want to touch them incase I stuff them up.
I have dismantled my watchmakers cross slide recently because I had no choice as it had 30 year old grease and sawdust that have turned to cement on the threads making it almsot imposible to use so I had to completely strip that down and clean all the parts. The big difference with that is can hold the entire cross slide / top slide and fittings all in one hand. :big:

I had been thinking a need to adjust them for a week or two but the deciding factor was when I crashed my parting tool due to movement in the crossslide.
Luckily no major damage was done other than a small chip off the bottom of my parting tool and even the part survived as I was parting about 0.5mm oversize to allow clean up and damage was resticted to that 0.5mm of the item.