Gibs!

[Memran]

I'm having some issues with my little X1 mill.

There is some slop in all 3 axis, and I'm finding it quite a pain to get the straight gib and setscrews set just right. There seems to be very uneven pressure along the gib (because of the nature of this type of gib), and a an extremely narrow margin for error between too loose and stalling steppers.

In addition in the Y axis, the gib is sometimes getting pulled along with the table.

Can someone give some pointers on how to effectively set this up?
Why didn't they use tapered gibs?

Thanks

[diecutter]

I'm no expert, but some things that worked for me. For the Y axis gib that slides out: At least one of the setscrews should have a dimple on the back face of the gib it seats into. This setscrew will have a pointed end. If the gib is put in wrong the dimple does not line up with the setscrew, resulting in the gib sliding out.

Regarding adjusting: On each axis, find the tightest point and adjust for a moderately stiff movement there. Otherwise when you get to that point it will be too tight to move.

Finally, if your setscrews and lock nuts are not the highest quality, replace all of them. This was the single best modification to the gibs I made on my 9x20 Jet lathe. (make sure the pointed end of the setscrews mate with the locator holes on each axis. Hope this helps.

[Memran]

I finally had some time today to take another look at this.
You are correct about the dimples, however the machine was assembled with the jib the wrong way around, which is why it was able to move.

I took the x and y tables apart to clean, and found its so much easier to adjust the y gib without the x table on!

Quite happy with it now.
Thanks