[SPEEDRE]

I have a Grizzly #8688 mini lathe. It is very badly made, nothing is actually inline or on center. I have had it now for over ten years and have used it maybe seven times. That's obscene I know. The reason is I just can't seem to get the adjustment right. Yes, I've been to the mini lathe site that has a step by step and I use that to try in vain to adjust the cross-feed lead screw so it does not bind and have a massive amount of back lash. Can anybody help with this issue. Also, that small brass nut for the lead screw, I think it's not machined correctly. It doesn't want to line up on center with the screw, hence the binding. Has anyone tried to rebuild their cross feed using a better screw and nut arraignment?. HELP,I want to keep my lathe, but, I am tempted to trash it as a lost cause. As an addendum, just what are the gibbs for?. Can I build a cross feed without the gibbs?

[TXFred]

It is very badly made, nothing is actually inline or on center. I have had it now for over ten years and have used it maybe seven times. That's obscene I know. The reason is I just can't seem to get the adjustment right.

As an addendum, just what are the gibbs for?. Can I build a cross feed without the gibbs?

I'm not sure if this is a joke or not. If you don't know what the gibs are for, it's no wonder you cannot get the lathe adjusted.

The lathe CAN benefit from re-making or modifying parts. Look into lapping the slides and saddle. There's lots of good info on this forum and in other places online. But before you go down that road, you have got to tune the lathe as much as possible.

Read this page, and go through all of the adjustments, in order. There's a reason that the gibs are the first item on the list. If you don't adjust those, you'll never get anywhere.

Mini Lathe Tuning

Frederic