Hi. I bought a South Bend 9 lathe off Craigslist, and it has a lot of minor deficiencies. One of them is a sub-standard cross slide gib. It seems to be short, and it is made of aluminum. It also does not have cone holes for the set screws. Instead, the screws are tightened enough to mark a spot on the surface of the gib. Unfortunately, the gib can be installed in two orientations, so it is marked on both sides.
Looking at the parts manual, the length is shorter than the entire cross slide. Does this one seem to be the correct length? Would it be better to redo in mild steel? It seems that the compound gib, although I cannot remove it, is made out of a soft non-magnetic substance, probably aluminum. They both seem to function OK.
Looking at the parts manual, the length is shorter than the entire cross slide. Does this one seem to be the correct length? Would it be better to redo in mild steel? It seems that the compound gib, although I cannot remove it, is made out of a soft non-magnetic substance, probably aluminum. They both seem to function OK.