Fixing Slop In My Cross Slide.

[guitarpro1324]

Hey everyone I have an old enco 110-2075 and it has quite a bit of play in the cross slide dial. If the brass nuts are to blame then where can I go to get some made? can I fix it myself? Can I add a dro and just forget it?

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[tertiaryjim]

That " slop" or backlash is usually from the bras nut and possibly wear of the screw.
Even with a DRO, it's good to have a minimum amount of backlash.
Check to see if the nut on your lathe is adjustable.
If so, set it so there is a minimum of backlash and no drag from the nut.
Check the full travel to see if there are tight or loose areas.
Also check the screw that holds the cross slide nut to see that it's tight.
If you disconnect the nut from the cross slide, move the cross slide by hand and adjust it's gib till there is
minimum play and no drag. Always make certain it is well oiled first.

 

[mzayd3]

Unless you are going to use ball screws, you will always have backlash. I have learned to just deal with it. The only real time it is an issue is when you reverse the feed of the cross slide. In most operations, you get within 10-30 thou and take a final cut after measuring. The dial should be accurate for that unless you back off the feed screw after measuring. If you want easy repeatability, add the DRO.


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[Wreck™Wreck]

Unless you are going to use ball screws, you will always have backlash.


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Not actually true, it is quite easy to build 2 opposing lead screw nuts that are adjustable, one moves axially to the other and will remove all backlash.

The reason this is not often done on manual lathes is that is not needed and would of course cost more. You are not interpolating arcs with a manual machine so backlash is not an issue.

 

[guitarpro1324]

Thanks guys. I checked and it has around 10-15 thou of play. This is my first lathe and I'm just learning the basics at the moment. I've attached a couple pictures of the nuts and a set screw I found in between the two nuts but I don't know the purpose of it.





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[guitarpro1324]

That " slop" or backlash is usually from the bras nut and possibly wear of the screw.
Even with a DRO, it's good to have a minimum amount of backlash.
Check to see if the nut on your lathe is adjustable.
If so, set it so there is a minimum of backlash and no drag from the nut.
Check the full travel to see if there are tight or loose areas.
Also check the screw that holds the cross slide nut to see that it's tight.
If you disconnect the nut from the cross slide, move the cross slide by hand and adjust it's gib till there is
minimum play and no drag. Always make certain it is well oiled first.

How tight are the cross slide nut screws supposed to be? I can tighten them all the way and still have around 10-15 thou of play. The gib is tight as well, no play when pushing on the slide.

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[RJSakowski]

The pictures didn't show but if your lathe is like my Grizzly 602, the set screw biases one nut against the other to remove lash. Try tightening the screw and see if it helps. As mentioned above, check the entire travel of the screw for tight spots. These will usually be at the extremes of travel where there is likely to have been less use.

 

[guitarpro1324]

There are tight spots on both extremes of travel. Thank you RJ I will go tighten that set screw and see if it helps. Also I'm not sure on the orientation of the nuts. I have been using them in the direction they are in the picture shown above. The enco manual is useless and doesn't give specifics to any of this.

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[RJSakowski]

If you have tight spots on the extremes of travel but excess backlash in the middle, the most likely culprit is a worn lead screw. Reducing lash in the middle would most likely make it difficult to move the cross slide at either extreme. Note that improperly adjusted gibs can contribute to tightness. You can take the gib out of the equation by loosening the gib. If you still have tight spots, it would be the lead screw.