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Saddle gib is loose

golash

Aluminum
Joined
May 1, 2005
Location
Northampton Ma
Hi
I was machining a ballscrew and the carriage was kicking up and down as the tool was cutting. After checking out
the machine I see that the saddle gib is loose. I could slide a credit card under the gib. To me it looks like the gib
is not adjustable for wear. I did a search online and its mentioned that tooling pressures are usually down so a loose
gib is not a issue. To my eye it seems like it is a issue. It seems in the case of cutting a ballscrew the helix places
a up and down force on the carriage.
I was going to add three setscrews with brass pins that would take up the clearance under the gib. Re-machining the
gib looked like a pain. Most of the surfaces are un-machined. Need some ideas for a fix.


Regards barry

saddle.jpg
 
Last edited:
You could just remove the gib and adhere (Loctite?) an appropriate shim thickness to the surface. Use brass shim stock.

-Ryan
 
is this a South Bend?
SB`s are designed in a way that torqing the saddle gib bolts down will lock the carriage completely.
the bolts are usually adjusted only finger tight.
 
Saddle gib

Hi
Yes this is a south bend lathe. I tried to tighten the screws but it didn`t hold down the saddle.
I placed 3 5/16-24 setcrews with three brass pins in the original gib. Now its working perfect.
Gib Adjuster.jpg
 








 
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