Slides or V rails

[Art Ransom]

I am building a 4 axis wood mill/lathe with a 36" Y and 12" Z. I tried bushings with 1" rods and they have too much flex so now I am building a beefer gantry. I can use slides at $500+ or V rails and V wheels at $200. I like the idea of the V rails because I think I would have less trouble with dust. I want to maintain at least .01" of accuracy. What are the pluses and minuer of each? And where can I get V rail thicher than 0.5" if I go that router?

[Mat-C]

As you've discovered, 1" rods are pretty floppy over 36".
Can you use supported rods and open bushings instead?

[ger21]

The Bishop Wisecarver DualV wheels and guides should work fine, provided they are installed correctly. They are supposed to be very immune to dust.

[Art Ransom]

I talked with local distributer and there is a very dramatic difference in price, $250 vs $750. Why arn't the V wheels used more?

[ger21]

I think because most people find THK's on Ebay for less that the V's would cost.