On 2008-05-04, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
Jon Elson wrote:

Joseph Gwinn wrote:

[ ... ]

One reason that self-feeding is less of a problem when the tool moves
perpendicular to the spindle axis than when the tool motion is parallel
to the axis may be that the carriage is narrower along the way than
across the way, by a factor of about two.

I don't think I'm having much rocking. And, it turns out that the
carriage is more of less square, not a 2:1 rectangle.

Yes -- the Clausing carriages have wide wings.

[ ... ]

The ways are flame hardened, according to the nameplate on the lathe.
This means that grinding is the only way. One can do this by hand,
using coarse diamond grit embedded in a piece of aluminum as the tool.
It won't be fast, but it will work. Diamond dust cuts hard steel quite
well.

I wonder if the dovetails are also hardened. Most of the wear is in the
gibs, so one assumes that they are softer that the dovetail material.

Actually -- the wear is normally on the harder of two mating
surfaces. This is because harder objects (grit, etc) embed in the
softer surface and cut the harder. This is how a lap works.

Enjoy,
DoN.

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