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I've seen the suggestion of freezing UHMW before the final tapping pass. The presumption was that it expanded, but maybe it no longer deforms away from the tap.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I remember being blown away the first time I watched a screw machine (multispindle Gisholt IIRC) spitting out parts at a fraction...

You might be trading one problem for another. Explore the causes of the problem first. Is the lead screw possibly a shosh off center? Could you increase resistance by increasing the bearing...

BTW, when working with Super Glue, especially in this sort of messy application, have some release solvent on hand. At a minimum, acetone-based nail-polish remover, but there is stuff on the market...

The Gimli Glider did not get into trouble because of metric measure or because of Imperial measure. They could have fueled up in glugs and splashes, as long as everyone agreed on what was to be used....

As someone who has done a little bit of machine work, and rather more following pencil drawings over the wall instead of just throwing them, I find this very encouraging.

I bet Jesse James wished he had that much sense...

I used metric in college, thirty some years ago. We dealt in grams and kilos, but it had nothing to do with being intelligentsia, or even to do with classwork.

What do you call a person who can't do arithmetic in their head?

Poorly educated.

The metric system is perfect for them.

I find it amusing that the post which started this thread is...

For those who are contemplating an attempt to bring precision to the Cummins X-Y vise, there is an article in the British magazine Model Engineering Workshop which may be of interest. The author...

Almost no particular detail is absolutely necessary. The more details you attend to the better your machine will perform.

Pretensioning the leadscrew will further the benefits of supporting it at...

Commenting on the first post in this thread, I have a tip regarding CA adhesive. Acetone is an effective solvent for freeing stuck fingers; for commercial Superglue nail polish remover works but...

These images should serve as encouragement to anyone considering undertaking such a project. The obviously only just good enough construction (and that is by no means meant as an insult) compared to...

Another possibility, which I ran into at a builder's supply store in Milwaukee, is patio door track. It would mean revising many of the details, but it could be made to work and appears it may be...

It occurs to me that a lapping primer is in order. As Chuck mentioned, the abrasives are available from the auto parts store, which will be more convenient than an industrial supplier for many of us....

Chronon, those are very useful pictures for further discussion of the x-y vise. Here's some response.

First picture - the screws control clearance for the gib strip. Researching that phrase will...

Yes, that's the x-y rig under discussion. HF item looks just about identical, including the close-together bolt down slots and the cheap stamped end plate I suggest replacing. Weights listed are for...

"Ish" is an ending put on a number to indicate imprecision.

In the example above, the router spindle has a top speed of approximately 30,000 RPM.

Paint Shop Pro, available for download as a limited time demo, can import .dwg, .dxf. and .wmf, and export wondrous .jpgs, .pngs, .bmps, and other more specialized raster formats. No guarantee that...

Believe me, if there'd been two pair in that dumpster I'd have grabbed them both.

We know that one pair of good slides, installed in the standard manner, does a minimally sufficient job. If my...

It cleaned up fairly well. Paint Shop Pro knocked out the red graph guide lines with just a few clicks. The two lines across the top which I left freehand are the shafting for the Y axis. I designed...

I'll be concentrating on this thread, but CAD is one of the things I aim to learn from this project. Right now I have some pen on graph pad sketchs exploring my angled slide notion. Should I post...

I just dug out the pair of drawer slides I knew I'd scavenged some time back. Turns out that they are Accuride precision units rated 150 lbs the pair, with a retracted length of 28 inches. I'm going...

To answer Phil, Cummins is the truck I bought mine off - they do a tour of the country selling out of cheap auditorium space.

Chuck detailed the processes I hinted at in my post. The one other...

I've got one of those tables, bought off the well-known truck, and have planned to use it for such operations. Two things need to be improved.

First of all, the ways are just plain rough. The...

The engineering formulas found at http://www.engineersedge.com/Calulators_Online.shtml will help determine what shaft dimensions are suitable. Scroll down for beam deflection, and also for the...