Brass gibs

[binfordw]

I'm to the point with my X3 now that its cutting aluminum pretty well, but I'm pretty sure I still have some slop in my Z. I worked with a little steel yesterday and noticed some play in the head. The last time I adjusted the Z gib, I got it tight enough I had to lower my Z rapid feed down to 80ipm to prevent stalling.

I've heard Brass gibs make a good improvement over the stock ones, has anyone done this themselves? Whats involved in machining the Gibs?

[Thorpydo]

I was in the same situation about a month ago. Like you, I planned on machining a brass gib and running with it.

After getting the machine apart, I noticed just how off the stock Z gib taper was and decided to simply regrind the stock gib to match the dovetail.

I am doing some other modifications to the column and haven't had the machine up and actually running yet, but sliding the z carriage back and forth on the column by hand, the results look promising.

If you have access to a surface grinder, this is the route I would go. I set the vise off on gauge pins to dial in the taper. The taper should be .5* . In the end, I had to shim mine.

[degreaser]

Hi -

I'm in the process of doing exactly this on my X2. See:

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread...=100770&page=3

Beginning at post 85.

[Thorpydo]

One thing to consider is that the Z gib on the x3 is tapered longways. The y gib on the x2 is parallel longways.

[binfordw]

So i would need a bit more specialized equipment to correctly taper the Z gib. Sounds like something I probably shouldn't tackle on my own then.

Are there any other options besides a DIY brass gib?

[degreaser]

I wasn't aware of the X3 z-axis tapered gibs. Good to know. I would think that if you have a working cnc conversion, you could do it pretty easily. If doing it manually, putting some thought to setup should allow you to do it. Tapering on a mill is angling the workpiece relative to the plane of the cutter. It's probably not very much of a taper. An indicator should be able to help you adjust it just fine.

Do you have a drawing of the z-axis gib strip?

[binfordw]

I dont, no.

I would like to see a drawing or pics of anyone else whos cut a new Z gib though. If I can rather easily clamp the brass stock and mill it to get the taper I might give it a whirl. I would need to find some brass stock.