Gib strip on vertical mill

In message , hayjay writes

I am not familiar with this mill but all the machines fitted with gib strips are normally made from cast iron or steel. I would be tempted to discard the gib you have and make a new one. Brazing or joining cast iron is seldom satisfactory and it will need a regrind after which is why I suspect the plastic strip has been added to make up the thickness. Measure the widest and thinnest gap the gib fits into. Get a piece of cast iron (even continuous round can be reduced to size) and machine to the thick width + 0.050". Machine taper to give approximate fit and try using machinists blue. File or scrape until about 70% touching fit along the complete length. Ensure there are hollows to hold a thin film of way oil, check after several weeks use and adjust for slop. Hope this helps - cost should be very little and may take about 3 hours effort.

Some mills use Turcite on the ways. I have it on my Millport milling machine. My machine is a Bridgeport knock off.

"hayjay" wrote in news:40dd1d11$1 snipped-for-privacy@mk-nntp-1.news.uk.worldonline.com:

The 'plastic' is either turcite, or rulon. Rulon will be poured in place, then machined for oil grooves, etc. Turcite is in sheets and is bonded, also machined afterwards for oil grooves.

What color is the material? Turcite is *usually* red, whereas rulon is

Do a google search for turcite. Pete

Recently I had to re-bond this material on one of my machines. This stuff is Turcite. There is an expensive two part epoxy that you can buy nut a cheaper solution is to use a Loctite product. I think the glue is number 330. It is a two part process. First, after cleaning the parts apply the activator. Then, apply the glue and 24 hours later everything is stuck. The package says that the surfaces need not be completely oil free. This is true. I had to clamp the parts back on the machine while the glue set to get everything in position. I oiled the surfaces where I didn't want any glue. The next day I had to use a hammer to get the plate loose. Some glue had seeped around the edges and bonded to the steel I had oiled. The only drawbacks to this glue are a shelf life of about 6 months and the terrible smell while curing. But the kit is only about 30 bucks and will glue lots of stuff. Cheers, Eric R Snow, E T Precision Machine

Thats a piece of teflon. Most machine rebuilders stock it. Its not absolutley critical, though it makes things nicer.

Gunner

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