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Gib Strip Shims With Only .004" Wear?

Colin Heath

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Hello All,

Well I have cleaned up and debunked my Bridgeport BRJ 1979 and started checking fits. The gib strip is at full adjustment even though wear on knee Y axis ways only shows just under .004" wear (0.1mm) is this normal or does the dovetail face wear different to the bed?

My assumption is the gib strip is softer than the bed and therefore sacrificial and should be that way.

Should I assemble, measure and fit a shim or would a new gib strip be a perfect first scraping project?

Any help much appreciated.

Colin
 
Hello All,

Well I have cleaned up and debunked my Bridgeport BRJ 1979 and started checking fits. The gib strip is at full adjustment even though wear on knee Y axis ways only shows just under .004" wear (0.1mm) is this normal or does the dovetail face wear different to the bed?

My assumption is the gib strip is softer than the bed and therefore sacrificial and should be that way.

Should I assemble, measure and fit a shim or would a new gib strip be a perfect first scraping project?

Any help much appreciated.

Colin

glue turcite on it ? i believe .030 is thinnest but it often is machined after using epoxy glue
 
I would adjust the gib up so the top edge is even with the knee top and slide in feeler gages at the top and bottom and then do what Tom suggests. You can buy different thickness of Rulon and I would suggest contacting Tstar.com if you want some Rulon 142 (same thing as Turcite B). You can also use Phenolic grade linen and it comes in thinner thickness. It can be purchased from many Big Box industrial stores too. Be sure to glue it to the riding side because if you glue it to the back side it will squash where the lock presses against it. Add in .005" for the glue.

For a more temp method and cheaper, I have seen where one hack saws a groove across the width of a gib near the thick end and uses brass shim stock the length and width of the gib stock folded into the groove and to anchor it from sliding.

Usually the knee is cranked up for position and locked into place, so .004 isn't a big deal. Now if you bore up cranking the knee, then you may want to scrape it. Rich
 








 
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