A question of clearance

The last piece for my milling machine repair arrived yesterday ... in a ridiculously large box . So this afternoon I'll be doing some machining . I'm wondering how much clearance I need for the sleeve retaining Loctite . I know it can't be a press fit or the glues will all be squeezed out . Is .003" too much ? Not enough ? I've never used this stuff before and I only want to do it once . I will be leaving a shoulder on one end and a fine thread for a nut on the other end . The shoulder end will also be threaded for a backlash adjustment device using 2 screws and a couple of stout springs since Bob expressed his doubt that the original device might not work well .

Best to follow the clearance guidance given by the maker for the variant you've chosen as it can vary quite a bit depending on the formulation. Also material and temperature have an effect, IIRC copper ions are what causes/aids the curing in many cases and I found out putting a brass sleeve in an aluminium body on a warm day with a fine clearance it started to set almost immediately and I had to lean on the arbor press PDQ to get the sleeve fully in place.

I shoulda opened the package and read the back of the blister pack ... max gap is .004 and I think I'll set the parts in front of the AC for a little while before I assemble it . This is a bronze sleeve in brass so I expect it will set up pretty quickly .

My concern was that the loctite bond might break under flexing. I don't know that it will, but Google's AI seemed to think the stuff had nearly zero flex. I didn't cross examine the AI to make sure it wasn't providing partial or incorrect data as it often does though.

Read the bottle for the stuff you have or look it up on line. Loctite has different specs and formulas for different applications.

Years ago an old car racer I knew mentioned they had heard of the wonderful new stuff Loctite and tried it to make a lighter hub design and it worked until the hub fell off so they tried an improved variant and same result. Looking at the specs the problem wasn't the strength but the cyclical fatigue properties which were poor and that was why it was failing as that was exactly what it was subject to in a suspension hub, they went back to the old design, heavier but reliable. May not be applicable in this case and over 50 years has gone by in the product development.

Yep. Lots of new stuff all the time.

This is 640 , max gap is .004" - I'll be cooling the parts before assembly to maybe prevent it setting up too soon . I'm putting a spring loaded "nut" on the end opposite from the original backlash adjuster and filling the old slot with JB weld . I plan on mechanical retention too , shoulder on one end and a nut on the other .

Just remember that heavy cutting can overpower a spring anti backlash mechanism. That is its disadvantage. Its huge advantage of course is that if designed with some modicum of marginal competence it maintains anti-backlash characteristics through the full range of a worn lead screw.

A hard mechanical anti backlash has the advantage of not being able to be nondestructively over powered. Unfortunately it has the issue that after some wear occurs on the lead screw in more used areas it can only be adjusted for one part of the screw. Either it limits range or it is loose in the most used portion of the lead screw.

The choice is a compromise. You choose what is best for you, and there is no objective absolute best.

A hard mechanical anti backlash has the advantage of not being able to be nondestructively over powered. Unfortunately it has the issue that after some wear occurs on the lead screw in more used areas it can only be adjusted for one part of the screw. Either it limits range or it is loose in the most used portion of the lead screw.

------------------------ I install the mill vise in a different position after removing it to spread the wear. It's currently at the right end.

That is a suggested trade practice.

And one that I will be implementing in the future .