How do I adjust the Gibbs?

[CNCadmin]

How do I adjust the gibbs on my lathe and mill? Id their a special lube to use for lubricating or can I just use oil?

[Mcgyver]

depends if they are tapered or straight. Tapered gibbs will have usually have a screw lying in the same axis as the gibb that advances it in or out. as it is tapered, advancing it in or out tightens or loosesns the gibb. lesser machines have screws/set scews along the dovetail at 90 degrees to the gibb. if that’s not clear I could snap some photo's. I don't know how to tell you how tight to make the gibb, except that running them tight increases wear but makes things more rigid. I just snug up the gibb screw and back off ½ a turn or so until it feels right - if you have a heavy duty job, tighten them down more.

use oil. Way oil (sticky) is what I use but some dislike this claiming the chips stick to it. if you use regular oil, 30 wt non detergent is good. If the machine doesn't have it, install some sort of oiler so you can get oil to the contact surfaces of the dovetail.

Mike

[JFettig]

I use real wayoil on my machine and its significantly better than regular oil.
I am pretty sure the x and y gibs on your x3 are just the set screw type, I always just tighten mine down almost all the way and back them off just a hair untill the axis starts moving.
From the pictures I have seen, it appears the Z axis has a tapered gib which has a crew in the very top of the head which you turn in or out to tighten or loosen.

On the mini lathe, the gibs are little strips under the carrage that are screwed into it, to get access you typically have to remove the skirt and the chip tray on the back.

Jon

[trubleshtr]

Rough rule of thumb is .001"/6" of gib.
Are they brass or steel? Most important is that both sides of the ways are the same.
Usually a heavy oil like a #200 is used on ways,you may get away with #68 but that's getting light. You can use grease, just don't use the kind that will get tacky when in contact with water soluble fluids, Greases that are marked"EP" (Extreme pressure) or marine grade,outdoor use ect... you should stay away from. Some lithium based grease will also become more tacky and resist washing away when in contact with water. So I would avoid them too.
"Superlube" is a great multipurpose grease if your local store carries it.

[JFettig]

I have the way oil from page 1993 at mcmaster, iso grade 68, its awesome.

When I bought it, I wasnt sure whether to get the 220 or 68 so i just grabbed one. I am loving it so far.

I used white lithium grease for a while, it worked but the ways got dry after some time, I tried 30weight motor oil and had the same problem. My buddy dropped off his mill, he had used white lithium grease on his, but it got all nasty and tacky. it must have been different stuff. I cleaned that up and put some way oil on and it was all good

trubleshtr, how does that rule of thumb work? .001" of what?

Jon

[trubleshtr]

On Really long spans like stamping presses, you would want to check every 6" approx. with feeler gauges, sometimes on long spans there are more than one adjustment screw to consider on the gibs.
If this is a small bench top mill I would aim for about .002" overall. Just need to make sure both sides are same, front and back. (assuming ways are lapped and true)

[JFettig]

So your saying that I should be able to put a feeler gage inbetween my gibs and table ways? I have mine a little tighter than that I think, tight enough so the table doesnt move at all when I push on it sideways.

Jon

[kong]

Off topic, but I have always wondered...are they pronounced Gibbs, or Jibbs?

[JFettig]

Im pretty sure its Gibbs, its spelled with a g
Thats what I hear at work and all.

Jon

[kong]

Thanks Jon, I say Gibbs with a g, but don't know a lot of machinists to speak to!

[steveg]

Gibs and it's "G"

[xflukec]

Hello to all, I suppose this is off topic but I have just bought a Chinese made 7x14 lathe and it is a lot better than I thought it would be.I have looked at the posts about adjusting the various slides and the post about adjusting the gib prompted me to write this post. I have not needed to adjust any component on the lathe. Has anyone needed to make any modifications to this model lathe? The lathe is a "MetalWorker made by Seig.Regards Wayne.