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setting up vertical slide on cross slide.

With no formal training, I am sure I must be making hard work of this. I am trying to set up a swivelling vertical slide on the cross slide of my super

  1. Whilst the reference mark on the vertical swivelling surface is a clear, and hardly marked '|' , and is therefore no problem to set up, the mark on the horizontal base plate is a badly worn 'V', which seems to have been scratched wider and wider before I acquired it. I have had a few passes with the piece I am trying to mill and am running out of spare metal! It's easy enough to hold a pencil in the chuck, and align the vertical slide by trial and error, and I guess it would be possible to gently bring the face of the slide up against the face of a chuck with jaws removed in an attempt to align it. What I am wondering though, is there an easier or better method, especially one which saves me from having to remove and replace my machine vice from the vertical face plate each time I locate the vertical slide onto the cross slide? Any suggestions gratefully received.

Geoff Marshall

Reply to
Geoff
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Use a Dial Test Indicator attached to the bed to indicate off the back of the machine vice (if in good condition) or the front of a parallel clamped in the vice and pushed as far in as it will go. This will get you lined up for the horizontal base plate. For the vertical base plate, use the DTI on the bottom jaw if the vice or on the top of the parallel that you may still have clamped in the vice. If you haven't yet got a DTI, get one and a magnetic base. They are useful for all sorts of alignment jobs. about 40 quid from the likes of Chronos etc.

Mark Rand RTFM

Reply to
Mark Rand

Geoff,

A quick and dirty method I have used on my ML10 is to wind the vertical slide down such that the lower end is below the level of the surface of the cross-slide, then push the underside of the vertical slide against the side of the cross-slide and tighten up. On my ML10, this gives pretty accurate results very quickly. If I want it very accurate, then the vice comes off and the vertical slide is held against the lathe faceplate - could be quicker changing faceplate for chuck then winding your jaws out, and then back in again :-).

Jim.

Reply to
Jim Guthrie

In message , Jim Guthrie writes

I would second that!

Reply to
Mike H

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