In article , Harold and Susan Vordos says...

I had to replace the nut for the cross slide on my Graziano years ago when
it wore enough that the major diameter of the screw started dragging on the
minor diameter of the nut. The nut is split in halves, top and bottom, and
is spring loaded such that it keeps backlash out. Once it started dragging
improperly, the lathe wouldn't repeat. A new nut solved the problem.

Most used lathes I've bought over the years have acme threads on the
crossfeed screws that are worn so badly, they look like V-threads in
the center of their travel. I think this is the reasoning behind
the instructions most folks receive, at one time or another, to "sneak
up on it" when trying to hit a dimension. g

I suffered with this only so long on my 9" SB machine and then went
and purchased a brand new 'direct reading' dial set - the nut, screw,
and larger dial, all from south bend. At the time it wasn't outrageous.

Then when I went up to a bigger machine, I knew to ask right at the
start what it would take to fit a brand new leadscrew to the machine
before I finalized the deal. It also had a sharp-v special. I
got a good deal on that one as well, this was around the time when
SB was going crazy with their parts prices, the dealer had a NOS
one on hand, still taped to the original packing stick.

Aside from headstock bearings, I would say that the crossfeed screw
is the single biggest issue that will make a decent lathe into
a dog, or turn a disaster of a machine into a tolerably useable
tool.

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================