After a long search I finally located a standard compound with the top
and bottom slides for a 1300 Clausing I've had sitting around for a
year. When I found the lathe it it had a dual post type cross slide
without a compound. Anyway, the new bottom slide did not come with a
gib. No problem, (I thought), I'll just use the tapered gib from the
original slide. Well the dovetail on the new slide seems to be about
0.0085" narrower than the original and the gib from the old slide
won't go in far enough to use the gib screw. I'm basing the 0.0085"
on the fact that the gib tapers 0.230" in thickness from the wide end
to the narrow end, it's 15.75" in length and it sticks out 0.583"
farther than it should when snug. I'd like to verify the dovetail
width difference with a measuring tool, but the inner and outer edges
of the dovetail are not good reference surfaces making it hard to
measure. What's the best way to measure and compare the two tapered
dovetails? I have a surface plate and some ground drill rod slightly
smaller in diameter than the height of the dovetail, maybe I can lay
the slide carrige face down on the surface plate and measure between
two drill rods at two fixed locations? I have a HSS dovetail cutter
the correct size to widen the dovetail, but I need to see if the
dovetail is flame hardened. I could send the gib out to have it
ground thinner, perhaps on a magnetic sine plate. Ideas? Hate to
mess up a perfectly good cross slide made of unobtanium.

On Jun 18, 1:13*am, oldjag wrote:
After a long search I finally located a standard compound with the top
and bottom slides for a 1300 Clausing I've had sitting around for a
year. *...

You might be able to copy the gib taper by clamping some bar stock to
it and milling the top flat. If it's like the gibs on my South Bend
the bevels on the edges aren't critical, only the lengthwise wedge
taper.

A few months ago I refitted the compound gib to clean up decades of
student abuse. As you noticed they are difficult to measure
accurately. I tried short plugs cut from drill rod but the rough
finish of the flat in the female dovetail threw it off.

Eventually I found most of the wear to be in the bottom of the
compound. After surface-grinding it and hand stoning the gibs they
could be adjusted for nearly constant drag through the full travel.

jsw

oldjag wrote:
I'd like to verify the dovetail
width difference with a measuring tool, but the inner and outer edges
of the dovetail are not good reference surfaces making it hard to
measure. What's the best way to measure and compare the two tapered
dovetails? I have a surface plate and some ground drill rod slightly
smaller in diameter than the height of the dovetail, maybe I can lay
the slide carrige face down on the surface plate and measure between
two drill rods at two fixed locations?
That is exactly the procedure.`

Jon

On Jun 18, 5:57*am, Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jun 18, 1:13*am, oldjag wrote:

After a long search I finally located a standard compound with the top
and bottom slides for a 1300 Clausing I've had sitting around for a
year. *...

You might be able to copy the gib taper by clamping some bar stock to
it and milling the top flat. If it's like the gibs on my South Bend
the bevels on the edges aren't critical, only the lengthwise wedge
taper.

A few months ago I refitted the compound gib to clean up decades of
student abuse. As you noticed they are difficult to measure
accurately. I tried short plugs cut from drill rod but the rough
finish of the flat in the female dovetail threw it off.

Eventually I found most of the wear to be in the bottom of the
compound. After surface-grinding it and hand stoning the gibs they
could be adjusted for nearly constant drag through the full travel.

jsw

That's a great idea for copying the existing part. I called Clausing
today on the odd chance they might still have them on hand. Turns out
they did, and in 4 thicknesses too. Only issue was the price, about
$150.00. But I ordered one anyway...guessing by the time I cut one
from bar oil hardening bar stock, mill it to rough size, harden it and
get it ground to finish size it's going to cost me almost as much.
Kinda suprised they had them..mostly they just have fasteners,
bearings,and some handles etc. for this machine. The corner angles
are critical on these gibs to give full engagement on the dovetail.

In article
,
oldjag wrote:

On Jun 18, 5:57*am, Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Jun 18, 1:13*am, oldjag wrote:

After a long search I finally located a standard compound with the top
and bottom slides for a 1300 Clausing I've had sitting around for a
year. *...

You might be able to copy the gib taper by clamping some bar stock to
it and milling the top flat. If it's like the gibs on my South Bend
the bevels on the edges aren't critical, only the lengthwise wedge
taper.

A few months ago I refitted the compound gib to clean up decades of
student abuse. As you noticed they are difficult to measure
accurately. I tried short plugs cut from drill rod but the rough
finish of the flat in the female dovetail threw it off.

Eventually I found most of the wear to be in the bottom of the
compound. After surface-grinding it and hand stoning the gibs they
could be adjusted for nearly constant drag through the full travel.

jsw

That's a great idea for copying the existing part. I called Clausing
today on the odd chance they might still have them on hand. Turns out
they did, and in 4 thicknesses too. Only issue was the price, about
$150.00. But I ordered one anyway...guessing by the time I cut one
from bar oil hardening bar stock, mill it to rough size, harden it and
get it ground to finish size it's going to cost me almost as much.
Kinda suprised they had them..mostly they just have fasteners,
bearings,and some handles etc. for this machine. The corner angles
are critical on these gibs to give full engagement on the dovetail.

I think that the gibs are cast iron, not O1. The gibs on my Clausing
5914 certainly are CI, judging by the way those gibs behave when saw and
file are used wile fitting the new gibs to the machine.

Joe Gwinn