[Newbie] Cracked cross slide and micrometer carriage stop

[robsig]

Thank you! Great advice.

 

[MikeWi]

Are you sure that's a crack on the cross slide? I notice there's a matching line at 90 degrees to it, and another meeting them both at exactly the same place. Too exact for it to be a random crack I'm thinking. May just be a set of scribed lines?

 

[David2011]

Agreed, and I do it all the time, but don't fall asleep with a hard stop! Focusing to cut the power feed before hitting the stop adds a little excitement to keep you awake.

A drop indicator with a mag-back is a more forgiving way to accomplish the same thing.

An indicator on a magnet is definitely more forgiving. It's much harder for me to get a perfectly flat surface than with a hard stop.

 

[David2011]

Are you sure that's a crack on the cross slide? I notice there's a matching line at 90 degrees to it, and another meeting them both at exactly the same place. Too exact for it to be a random crack I'm thinking. May just be a set of scribed lines?

Those do appear to be deliberately scribed lines.

 

[robsig]

Are you sure that's a crack on the cross slide? I notice there's a matching line at 90 degrees to it, and another meeting them both at exactly the same place. Too exact for it to be a random crack I'm thinking. May just be a set of scribed lines?

It could quite possibly be a scribed line. However, the line on the right seems to track at an oblique and random angle off into the casting. I haven't etched it yet, so I'll see. Been spending a frustrating day trying to figure out my precision level. It seems I need a precision level to level my precision level...

 

[Flyinfool]

Definitely scribe lines, the angle change at the ends is from the scribe hitting the compound or getting to the where the surface ended.

You do not need a level surface to calibrate a precision level. there are many YouTube vids showing how it is done.

 

[woodchucker]

That cross slide doesn't look cracked, it looks like scribe lines. I could be wrong, but unless you see the lines on the bottom, I'm betting that the user was marking this for some other purpose.

 

[stupoty]

Agreed, and I do it all the time, but don't fall asleep with a hard stop! Focusing to cut the power feed before hitting the stop adds a little excitement to keep you awake.

A drop indicator with a mag-back is a more forgiving way to accomplish the same thing.

I do that a lot , is a bit less scary The hard stop is good so long as you don't get distracted and might be better for a bore where catching the bottom might also be very bad.

Stu

 

[GeneT45]

I started out as an expert, and have been learning that I'm a dunce ever since... ;-)

The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.

GsT

 

[robsig]

Oh man, can I SO relate to that!!