Where to buy Cast iron for a gib?

lazz · Dec 22, 2018

Presently Im in need of one gib... and every now and then material for making a gib would be a good thing to have around... I found on Mcmastercarr.com a 1"X6"X12" hunk of cast iron.
At 6" wide it could easily be a life time supply of cast iron gib material for me.

McMactercarr.com has 1"X6"X12" for about $70 plus shipping...

Is that reasonable?
Is there a better option?

Thanks in advance.

awander · Dec 22, 2018

Cast Gray Iron Sheet / Plate, .414" (1.52mm), 6x3" | eBay

This one is a bit smaller and less expensive

lazz · Dec 22, 2018

awander said:
Cast Gray Iron Sheet / Plate, .414" (1.52mm), 6x3" | eBay

This one is a bit smaller and less expensive

I saw that....
It is shorter than I need.
The stuff from McMastercarr is nearly 8 times the volume of metal for another $10

Thanks

thermite · Dec 22, 2018

lazz said:
.. life time supply of cast iron gib material for me.
Is there a better option?

I bought 980 lbs of high-grade CI that had formerly been a G&L hor-bore's box ways. That's good for a 'lifetime" supply if I live to be a thousand,

But I'd no more make a gib out of CI than take a beating. Got one in repairable / shimmable condition? JF re-use it. Have to DIY one from scratch? NFW.

I have Bronze plate stock put by for that. Works just fine, and its fine to just work. Try folks such as Moses Glick for drops or Speedy's "fire sale" now and then and yer soon stocked-up for years.

2CW

Peter. · Dec 22, 2018

Last couple of gibs I made were from ground flat stock (gauge plate). There's no requirement for them to be cast iron.

lucky7 · Dec 22, 2018

Cast iron's easy to scrape into a good fit and alignment and in a slow axis movement environment (i.e. most manual tools) has been proven to have a long life. Might be a reason many original manufacturers of machine tools use em...

L7

thermite · Dec 22, 2018

lucky7 said:
Cast iron's easy to scrape into a good fit and alignment and in a slow axis movement environment (i.e. most manual tools) has been proven to have a long life. Might be a reason many original manufacturers of machine tools use em...

L7

Mostly they "use" CI-anything - even knobs and levers - because once you are working with a foundry, it gets cheap to make all SORTS of stuff out of CI. Dust cover doors and such, where sheet-metal is all that is needed, CI levers where "many" more durable choices exist.

Meanwhile, Bronze is no harder to scrape and fit than CI, wears even better up against steel or CI, than Ci on either, isn't likely to break if you drop it on the deck, can easily be straightened, and more than once w/o breaking if it goes curved whilst machining or scraping, and needs nothing much "special" as to heat-treat/stress relief.

As said. If you have CI and can do, just keep it. If not, and you are starting cold, just save the hassle.

Whom, here, is going to see a Bronze gib wear-out faster than a CI one, and even so - that much use, the machine very well-damned BETTER have earned the next refurb, and proudly so.

thermite · Dec 22, 2018

Peter. said:
Last couple of gibs I made were from ground flat stock (gauge plate). There's no requirement for them to be cast iron.

Quick enough, given how many thicknesses are stocked. Also easy if one has the wet grinding capability to keep it easy and save on gnarly milling clamping and the amount of time wanted for final hand scraping.

Not otherwise my first choice for generating a taper in, though.

Even once done, I'd personally want to plate or face a steel gib with a slickerier material to reduce risk of galling.

2CW

EmGo · Dec 22, 2018

If you just need a quick piece of cast iron and don't care what grade it is, go to the nearest sporting goods store and grab a dumbbell weight. Cheap. Easy. Readily available.

thermite · Dec 22, 2018

EmanuelGoldstein said:
If you just need a quick piece of cast iron and don't care what grade it is, go to the nearest sporting goods store and grab a dumbbell weight. Cheap. Easy. Readily available.

Also over-priced, poor starting shape, and generally unpredictable shite as far as slag, inclusion, and "wotever".

Durabar can reach a US doorstep in as little as two days. Same again with Bronze. "Plan ahea||" (thump!).... or just correct the error and start over with a BETTER plan.

Your time is "no cost"?

How much of yestiddy afternoon can you afford to buy-back, once WASTED?

EmGo · Dec 22, 2018

thermite said:
Also over-priced, poor starting shape, and generally unpredictable shite as far as slag, inclusion, and "wotever".

I think you have not done this because every weight I've chopped up has been okay. God knows what type it is but no inclusions, voids, slag, whatever. Maybe now that they are Chinese the quality has rised up

And the neighborhood sporting goods store was ten minutes' drive. That's quicker than two days. A ten pound weight was five bucks ? That's less than UPS gets for shipping from two streets away.

I've knocked out a bunch of one-off cast iron gears that way and they all worked out good.

Not a good solution if you need a particular type of iron, I'd agree, but for quick-n-dirty, worth keeping in mind.

tommy1010 · Dec 22, 2018

How big of a piece do you need? If I have what you need you can have it for the price of shipping. It will be cast iron. This is good stuff from the backbone of a piano. No sand holes. PM me if interested.

Peter. · Dec 23, 2018

lucky7 said:
Cast iron's easy to scrape into a good fit and alignment and in a slow axis movement environment (i.e. most manual tools) has been proven to have a long life. Might be a reason many original manufacturers of machine tools use em...

L7

Equally, many use steel gibs. I won't argue with what you say, just stating that cast iron is not the only option. Steel runs against iron just fine.

thermite · Dec 23, 2018

Peter. said:
Equally, many use steel gibs. I won't argue with what you say, just stating that cast iron is not the only option. Steel runs against iron just fine.

Yes, actually, it does.

Most especially if hardened and ground, lapped, or polished to a glass-smooth surface, the oil pockets on the mating CI.

I'd personally prefer steel to CI for making a thin and tapered shape. I just like a good Bronze even BETTER.

I'm not expecting to do this but the one time per-each, so on materials cost vs my time & effort, Bronze wins, here, second only to just re-using what can BE re-used.

Yah don't win prepaid hols, bits of ribbon, nor air-miles as a reward for making a gib. Yah hafta, yah hafta, ELSE NOT.

Dan from Oakland · Dec 23, 2018

If ya scroll down in the MCM catalog page round bars are just below the "bars and sheets" section.
A 1" diameter x 12" long round bar is $13.00. You don't say what size your gib is but the round rod might be a better choice $$$ wise. Its not a lot of extra work to make a round rod into a square or rectangle.

Miguels244 · Dec 23, 2018

thermite said:
Yes, actually, it does.

Most especially if hardened and ground, lapped, or polished to a glass-smooth surface, the oil pockets on the mating CI.

I'd personally prefer steel to CI for making a thin and tapered shape. I just like a good Bronze even BETTER.

I'm not expecting to do this but the one time per-each, so on materials cost vs my time & effort, Bronze wins, here, second only to just re-using what can BE re-used.

Yah don't win prepaid hols, bits of ribbon, nor air-miles as a reward for making a gib. Yah hafta, yah hafta, ELSE NOT.

Which bronze?
I had a few dozen wear pads cast from a 424 for essentially the price of the sand...lost wax from additive cores.
The cost of driving the parts across town to the machinist was damn near the most expensive component.

lazz · Dec 23, 2018

Dan from Oakland said:
If ya scroll down in the MCM catalog page round bars are just below the "bars and sheets" section.
A 1" diameter x 12" long round bar is $13.00. You don't say what size your gib is but the round rod might be a better choice $$$ wise. Its not a lot of extra work to make a round rod into a square or rectangle.

This is a tapered gib .240 X .700 on the big end .138 X .640 on the small end and 8.500 long... Roughly... Im still working on my first cup of coffee while the wife has me finishing the Christmas decorations she cant reach...

I agree making a bar into a flat object is just a few more steps....
If I can buy the flat bar why bother?

This is not an emergency project.... I have time and other lathes to use... I have had a problem with this gib sticking for years... its time to fit it right for once and all...

I am kinda looking to have a little material on hand for the next project...
But not so much more material it becomes a storage problem...

Thank you for your ideas....
Hmmm I dont have any bronze long enough
And a Merry CHristmas to each and every one of you...

thermite · Dec 23, 2018

lazz said:
This is a tapered gib .240 X .700 on the big end .138 X .640 on the small end and 8.500 long...
Hmmm I dont have any bronze long enough

Search "bronze bar flat stock", lots of it in 12-inch portions, many suppliers and alloys.

Pricier that CI or steel? With Copper at 6 large or so a ton? Yah damnbetcha!

But shipping is shipping, you ain't buying MUCH, nor doing this TWICE, and what's your TIME worth, anyway?

Bill D · Dec 23, 2018

Lots of cast iron sewer pipes out there.
Bill D.

PDW · Dec 24, 2018

lazz said:
This is a tapered gib .240 X .700 on the big end .138 X .640 on the small end and 8.500 long... Roughly... Im still working on my first cup of coffee while the wife has me finishing the Christmas decorations she cant reach...

I agree making a bar into a flat object is just a few more steps....
If I can buy the flat bar why bother?

This is not an emergency project.... I have time and other lathes to use... I have had a problem with this gib sticking for years... its time to fit it right for once and all...

I am kinda looking to have a little material on hand for the next project...
But not so much more material it becomes a storage problem...

Thank you for your ideas....
Hmmm I dont have any bronze long enough
And a Merry CHristmas to each and every one of you...

FWIW I've actually done exactly this and only a few months ago. One replacement gib for the compound slide and one for the cross slide on a Monarch CY.

The existing ones had already been shimmed once and I didn't feel like dealing with pulling the bolted on shim/spacer off, making a thicker one etc etc. And still have to scrape the sliding face anyway.

Short form I cut them out of our equivalent of Durabar using a horizontal mill and a long tilting angle plate. Fair bit of work but came out excellent.

Next time (which will probably be never) I'd build a half-arsed sine table for my surface grinder to more finely adjust the long taper angle. Took a fair bit of scraping to get it to where I was happy.

Worth it though - the compound slide now moves very nicely and doesn't visibly deflect/bounce under an interrupted cut. Plus you don't need 2 hands to put on a cut.

PDW

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