Any tips or tricks to the back lash adjustment on cross slide

[mac1911]

I have been working on a 90s vintage Smithy 1220.
I had a friends dad stop by to look at it and he says its in great in shape other than miss use and never properly cleaned ( has alot of the original rust preventive goop ) or set up . So thats what I have been doing
I have almost eliminated all the slop in the dial handle assembly, ran out of shims.
Now I have been playing with the crossslide nut 2 piece design , which I found on disassembly the plate not attached and screws just laying in the recess.

So is there a trick to this adjustment? Here is a photo of it before cleaning but after re installing the screws.
Its all cleaned up now and I had to shim the hole to reduce the slop there.
Im just not sure how far the plate should be from the screw?

 

[Uglydog]

I've never worked on a Smithy.
If available, a manual is always a great place for me to start a project. If available...
Is your machine a Midas 1220?

Operations Manuals and Parts Diagrams

Granite Series Manual and Technical Documents Granite Operations Manual Granite Part Manual(s) Granite Technical Documents Midas 1220/1230 LTD Manual and Technical Documents Midas LTD Operations Manual and Parts Diagram Midas LTD Technical Documents Midas Lathe 1440L and 1337L Manual and...

smithy.com

If not does the cross slide assembly look anything like the Midas or other machine listed?

Daryl
MN

 

[markba633csi]

I doubt if the manual covers this- basically if you try to take too much lash out you will have binding, so you'll have to back off a little
so that you have smooth travel over the full range
I believe they did call it Midas at one point

 

[Uglydog]

I doubt if the manual covers this- basically if you try to take too much lash out you will have binding, so you'll have to back off a little
so that you have smooth travel over the full range
I believe they did call it Midas at one point

Perhaps not spelled out in the manual. However, when I opened the free link it showed exploded views.
From the exploded view you might be able to interpolate an adjustment (if there is one) without disassembly.

Daryl
MN

 

[mac1911]

Perhaps not spelled out in the manual. However, when I opened the free link it showed exploded views.
From the exploded view you might be able to interpolate an adjustment (if there is one) without disassembly.

Daryl
MN

The manual is very vague . Here is a video , im thinking of replacing the screws with allen socket screws as its a bit of a pain getting in there with the table on.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

if you were so inclined, you could make another acme nut from bronze or other materials as well
i took some delrin and created a new nut that was slightly smaller in ID, this grips the feedscrew very firmly.
the result is decreased felt backlash
have a look, it may inspire other ideas

Zero Backlash LH Trapezoidal Thread Cross Slide Nut, From Delrin

My good ol' Shenwai SW900B is showing signs of excessive slop at the dial. excessive slop for me is right around .050" after pondering materials to construct a new nut from, delrin was immediately apparent. its tough and structurally sound, it's easy to get and cheaper than other materials...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[mac1911]

My inclinations will grow with skill.
I have other problems.
I was setting up to mess with left hand thread cutting to make another needed part and found Im missing a few gears to make the combination work. I also found a few gears with missing teeth AND I dont know what I did but as I was finishing up a long feed cut with the lead screw in N the machine did a clunk clack clank and yup a gear broke. It looks like 3 teeth sheared off and about 8 gears have chunks .
Fun stuff…
I set it back up to factory and everything seems fine? Maybe gear was already cracked? Replacements are not cheap

 

[mac1911]

what type and where can I get bearings that will be better than these. ?
Would sealed bearings be better?

 

[Ulma Doctor]

those are ball thrust bearings, they are sufficient for the application.

 

[wayback machine]

That shaft is a thing of beauty .
Amazing finish, really ............. :-0