Linear Rails

For those of you who have converted your benchtops to linear rails instead of using the dovetails and gibs was it worth the trouble? Is there a certain axis you see more benefit for and would leave the other factory? I have a G0619 ive planned to convert for years now and am finally in a position to revisit the project. I have the mechanical parts but not the electronics. Before I dove in and started to deal with the gibb issues I wondered if I should bite the bullet and go with linear rails instead. If I did go the linear rail route what kind of preload seems to work well?

I do plan to add mass and stiffen the column in this process so hopefully that will make the mill a little more capable too.

Pretty loaded question. haha, It's a lot of work and it could cost a pretty penny depending on the rails you get. I certinaly wouldn't trust the Hiwin knock off rails on ebay and amazon to do the job.

If you're planning on CNCing your machine and doing any type of "production" or repedative work it might be worth the upgrade. Not having to worry about adjusting gibs it super great and I don't worry about wearing out the commonly used areas of the machine. If you're not planning in CNCing it I honestly wouldn't convert it over. Spend that time and effrot into srcaping the gibs so they fit better. Gibs are a tried and true method that work, but I feel like a lot of these import machines aren't fit together very well and it causes people to get frustrated trying to adjust the gibs.