Thread: Brass Foil in 1957 J-head?

I'm trying to rebuild a poorly cared-for Bridgeport (tons of thick grease in ways, no chip guards, chip wipers missing), and noticed some kind of foil lining in some places in the saddle.

I've found what I think is brass foil lining the longitudinal feed gib and even between the nut holder and the saddle (two strips for each pair of socket cap screws).

Why is the foil there, and do I need to keep it there?

A shim behind the longitudinal axis gib is not that unusual to shim the gib out because of wear. The shim under the nut I don't know unless something was remachined and the nut needed shimming to get it back in alignment.

Originally Posted by OldMachinist

A shim behind the longitudinal axis gib is not that unusual to shim the gib out because of wear. The shim under the nut I don't know unless something was remachined and the nut needed shimming to get it back in alignment.

Mine had one too

Originally Posted by OldMachinist

A shim behind the longitudinal axis gib is not that unusual to shim the gib out because of wear. The shim under the nut I don't know unless something was remachined and the nut needed shimming to get it back in alignment.

The gib had room to be tightened though. The foil was also on the inside of the gib, it even had a hole for way oil (grease). There was some type of hard adhesive bonding it to the gib, and that adhesive has been difficult to remove. Maybe I need a new gib?

Both foil 'shims' were not folded, they're pretty thin. For such a terribly maintained machine, I'm not convinced these shims are necessary, and I almost feel like I shouldn't trust the last person who serviced this machine.

I'll update this post with pictures when I get the chance, probably tomorrow evening. The saddle/table are off and 90% degreased, just need to take off the knee and service that part and its ways. The knee stop bolt is missing and the top part of the ways were painted over... ugh.