According to Rex B "":

spaco wrote:
Thank you for this information. It will go on my gift list.

("It" being the MLA cross-slide casting.)

Pete Stanaitis

So now that I take another look at this, why could you not just use a
chunk of steel and machine it to the dimensions on the drawing, to fit
your crossslide? Is it really that advantageous to use an iron casting?

Yes. The reasons which come to mind a

1) Since the casting is close to final size and shape, there is
less metal to machine away, and thus less waste.

You'll need to borrow time on somebody's milling machine if you
don't already have one -- and given the reason for the T-slotted
cross-slide, it would seem apparent that you don't have one. I
don't think that you have enough travel on the existing
cross-slide to get away with milling it in the lathe.

2) Cast iron tends to absorb vibration a lot better than steel
does, so you have less contribution to chatter.

3) Cast iron on cast iron dovetails will wear better that steel on
steel will.

4) I think that it will be easier to mill the T-slots in cast iron
than in steel. (That said, I've milled a circular T-slot in a
6" diameter chunk of 12L14 -- probably the nicest machining
steel readily available.)

Good Luck,
DoN.
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